EDITORIAL:Communication is the culprit

To us, it seems to be a classic case of misunderstanding.

Yet, whatever the reasons that the management of 5 Points Plaza had to discontinue its 45-year relationship with the proprietors of Jack’s Jewelers, the outcome has been nothing short of a public relations black eye for the shopping center.

Maybe it didn’t have to be that way.

As the center’s manager Maureen Sloan James explained, there probably were many good reasons to part ways with the jewelry store owners — an outdated store, disgruntled customers. And by their own admission, 5 Points had looked the other way with the jewelry store over the years, even maintaining lease rates from 1998, all in deference to Jack’s history at the center.

In the end though, we know full well that tough business decisions are just that — tough.

James said as much when she spoke to our reporter.

“In 10 years I’ve never been in such an awkward situation,” she said. “I just feel so badly; my function is to keep the place clean and professional.”

We don’t envy her one bit.

But the court of public opinion is not very forgiving when you pit the small mom and pop merchant against the big bad landlord.

It also didn’t help 5 Points’ cause that the owner of Jack’s, 84-year-old George Jack, was the center’s very first tenant, was the Community Grand Marshal in the Fourth of July parade and was just named as a Legacy Award winner by the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce, something by the way, that the center manager James nominated him for.

Couple those facts with the recent sudden death of Jack’s daughter, Linda Oase, who was largely responsible for running the store, and you couldn’t have a more heart-wrenching story.

But 5 Points should have ensured that it was the one telling this story, not reacting to it. If George Jack felt, as he said, that he got “a big slap in the face,” then something went terribly wrong in the communications department.

Still, we appeal to the court of public opinion not to find any real villains here. The main culprit we see is a breakdown in communication, with some tragic circumstance and misunderstanding added for good measure.