Marriot Hotels

I just came back from vacation visiting the grandchildren in Vancouver, U. S. of A (just north of the Oregon border in Washington State. Not to be confused with Vancouver, Eh? Just north of the Washington border in British Columbia.)

The stay was paid for with points earned during numerous business trips. Redeeming the points took two phone calls. I changed my reservations: no sweat. We checked out and there was an issue about the points dates not matching the stay dates. The person at the counter clicked a couple keys on the computer and said, “There shouldn’t be a problem. If anything comes up, we’ll call you. Have a good trip back.”

That’s what I like; being treated like a customer. They provider does the work, and I do nothing except reap the benefits. Too many companies nowadays isolate themselves from their customers hiding behind telephone menu systems and web sites. It’s become a self-help world and if you have a problem, it’s your responsibility to fix it.

The stay? The people were courteous. The facility was great (the wife and I liked the mini-fridge … wine, cheese and crackers before bed always goes over well). The grandkids loved the pool and my only complaint about the hot breakfast was that they have what has to be the world’s slowest toaster.

Triad Job Search Network (TJSN)

Another free resource is the Triad Job Search Network that meets at The Covenant United Methodist Church, 1526 Skeet Club Road in High Point (about a mile west of the intersection of Hwy 68 / Eastover & Wendover / Skeet Club Road) each Tuesday from 9 AM to 11 AM.

TJSN won’t get you a job, but they will help you learn the skills you need to get a better job quicker.

There is a volunary $3 donation at the door. It pays for the coffee .

Professionals in Transition (PIT)

This group is run by a group of volunteers, all of whom share a common denominator: they’ve been laid off and been in the job search and want to give back to those who are now seeking work themselves.

PIT is primarily a self-help networking group.  The facilitators’ purpose is to assist people in giving each other leads and advice. No outside solicitation is allowed.

 PIT meets at the Greensboro Jaycees (401 N Elm) on Wednesday evenings from 7 PM to 8:30 PM. They also meet at the Winston-Salem Red Cross on Thursday evenings at the same times.

If you are looking for a new job whether you are still employed or not, check it out. It’s free.

Enterprise Rent-a-Car

I used these guys a lot when traveling to the various Marine Corps bases on the East coast with my fromer assignment with my company (You go Devil Dogs). They were always courteous and efficient. Since they are closed on Sundays, Sundays are essentially free.

Both locations from which I rented arranged so I could park my ‘85 Tempo in a secure area. (Now you know why I didn’t drive my own car).

On one occassion, I was at the city limit on my way to Camp Lejeune when I got a call from the office to abort the mission. I turned around and came back. I had the car for at least 45 minutes. I know I had to have burned a gallon or two of gas (although the needle was still on “F”). Yet they didn’t charge me.

I liked their services so much, and their cars, that I bought my car from them. It was the easiest experience buying a car I’ve ever had. I got exactly what I wanted at a price well below sticker price at other lots. The only problem with the car is it wasn’t my first choice of color.

Free Gasoline

If you have been keeping track of another post you will know that at the moment Wilco / Hess is selling gasoline at 16 cents a gallon less than Exxon / Mobile.

At that price, after you buy 19 gallons of gasoline at Wilco / Hess, the 20th is free as compared to buying the gas at Exxon / Mobile. In other words, 19 gallons of Exxon gas costs as much as 20 gallons of Hess gasoline.

Wilco / Hess

I can’t believe that I actually have something nice to say about an oil company.

Over the past week, gasoline prices had been coming down. Then on Thursday, the price of oil hit $90 a barrel. The amount of the price increase warrented an increase of about a penny or two a gallon. However the Bush Brigade (rich oil men) are in a panic because it crossed the magical $90 a barrel and they shot off their guns to spook the herd and start a stampede. There is actual danger that the CEOs of the major oil companies won’t get their billon dollar bonuses this year.

However, Wilco / Hess has held its ground. It has not raised its prices as of today.

Gate raised their prices 9 cents a gallon overnight as did Exxon / Mobile. Gate is also the only local gasoline station that raised its prices on 9-11. On my way to work that morning the price was $1.349 / gallon. That afternoon, it was $1.479. That’s equivalent to a 27 cent a gallon spike in today’s gasoline prices.

I haven’t been in a Gate station (other than an emergency stop in the men’s room) since 9-11. I will patronize Wilco / Hess even if they aren’t the cheapest gas around — however, they usually are.

Let’s hear it for Gate gasoline, they’ll do ANYTHING not to piss off the terrorists. Must be a European-owned company.

[Edit] 10/29/07 Exxon / Mobile raised their gasoline prices another 6 cents a gallon today while Wilco / Hess is holding fast. Wilco / Hess will have to raise their prices eventually as their supply of lower-priced gasoline is exhuasted. In the meantime, Exxon / Mobile is making 15 cents a gallon more on the same gas they were making a profit selling 5 days ago.

[Edit 10/31/07] Wilco / Hess finally raised their price to $2.78.9 which is still 11 cents a gallon cheaper than Exxon / Mobile.

[11/1/07] Exxon/Mobile $295.9 – another 6 cents per gallon into the CEO’s pocket. Now leads Wilco / Hess by 17 cents a gallon.

[11/2/07] Wilco / Hess closed the gap $283.9 but Exxon added 4 more cents today in it’s daily price raise to $299.9. So the gap is only 16 cents a gallon.

Friendly Center Tire

I was in town maybe two weeks when my brakes started chattering. I brought the car to Friendly Center Tire at about 9 AM on Saturday. They close at 12. I had no track record with them as a loyal customer, but the “squeezed me in.” That was in 1995. Ten years later they still were taking care of my 1985 Tempo. I credit the extra 10 years of the car’s life to my driving habits and their maintenance.

What I like most about them is that they do not take the typical automotive mechanic approach to a problem: keep replacing parts until the problem goes away. They actually drive the car, then diagnose the problem. Then fix it and then drive the car again to make sure the fix takes. They have spent hours and dozens of miles on a single problem.

When the problem is of a nature they can’t fix, they make very good recommendations for shops that can fix the probelm.

Jiffy Lube

OK, they are more expensive than my normal mechanic, but you can’t beat them for convenience. Just watching them work you can see that they work as a team. I asked the manager about this, and yes, they do get training on more than how to do an oil change. They get training on how to deal with customers.

One time I left my car with them and told them I would be back later. I left the keys on the dashboard. When I came back, the car was still not serviced. They told me I didn’t leave them the keys. I told them I left them on the dash. They moved me to the front of the line, serviced the car and didn’t charge me.

On another occasion, they fired the people who were supposed to be doing the state inspections on the spot because they were late. They brought in other inspectors from who knows where.

I deal with the one on Battleground, down the block from Lowes.