Whatever happened to values?

Sir,
In the Cyprus Mail of October 20, Andreas Kadros, president of the Gas Salesmen and Distributors Association, explains that. “It is obvious that anyone buying a gas cylinder late at night is going to be ripped-off”.  I do not know if I should admire his honesty or be disgusted that such a fact is freely admitted.  Why should a shopkeeper, developer or any other trader “rip-off” a customer?  Before coming to settle in Cyprus with my family I considered other countries, including France, Portugal and Spain.  What tipped it for me was the Christian spirit I saw in Cyprus and its attachment to the Church, along with the family values that Cyprus had.  What has happed to these values?  Do retailers, developers and others who make their living off the backs of their customers know the difference between good business sense and giving value for money, between right and wrong and between stealing and honesty.  Or are these matters just a blur when it comes to getting the customer to part with their money?

Peter G. Davis, Droushia

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.