Bob Evans suffers from old age, pure and simple ("Sunny side down, Dispatch article, Tuesday). For some reason, it can't figure out that the customer base is shrinking rapidly and the company has failed to adapt to changing times.

Bob Evans suffers from old age, pure and simple (�Sunny side down, Dispatch article, Tuesday). For some reason, it can�t figure out that the customer base is shrinking rapidly and the company has failed to adapt to changing times.

The comparison with Cracker Barrel is apt. Cracker Barrel operates with the same price point as Bob Evans, around $10 or so at dinner, but my perception is it delivers more for my money and, more important to me, serves a consistently good product.

Bob Evans� product is all over the map depending on the time of day and the restaurant, which to me means there is an issue with training managers and having managers who pay attention.

I used to go to Bob Evans quite a bit at lunch and dinner, but I can�t remember the last time I was there for something other than breakfast. When I tried to call and talk to someone, a very brusque and unfriendly person was uninterested in hearing from a customer, and nobody called back.

I suppose it is a sign of the times.

Howard J. Mellon

Columbus