For the past month I have been in search of new tires for my truck. I had priced tires at Sears several weeks ago, and walked away a bit disillusioned that the prices for the circular chunk of rubber could be so expensive. Yes, I have bought tires before and yes, I have had the same disillusioned feelings about the upcoming purchase.
My train of thought had me looking at a pair of BF Goodrich all-terrain tires. I have never been a fan of Goodyear tires; abhor General tires; feel Uniroyal tires were made of soft rubber; feared Firestone after its problems several years back. Those heartfelt reasons limited my selection. I had priced Cooper and Bridgestone (which I eventually purchased) and considered Michelin (which I have run many times). However, the Goodrich tires have long had an appearance that seemed appealing.
So on Friday morning--YES, BLACK FRIDAY--I ventured out at 5 a.m. (awake due to my never-ending insomnia) to see if the Sears advertisement, with many tires being shown as on sale, included the Goodrich tires of my desires. When I arrived, Larry greeted me by name and began the search. To my dismay, the Goodrich tires weren't on sale, because they are a DAILY SPECIAL. Hmmmm...pretty expensive tires to be labeled as a "Special."
The Bridgestone tires were some $40 less per tire (a total savings of some $160 which eliminated any appeal I had for Goodrich). The installation process would begin eventually, but the typically quiet garage I am familiar with when I arrive at the usual 8 a.m. opening time, was flooded with patrons who had the same "beat the crowd" idea I had.
So, what do you do on Black Friday at Grand Central Mall at 5:30 a.m. A quick look out the auto center entrance showed me that lots of people were shopping at Sears, so I decided to take a walk through the mall.
Sears was bedlam. It seemed to the untrained retail eye that there were way too many customers standing in line to pay at the way too few functioning cash registers. And this was a storewide dilemma. People were lined up eight to 10 deep at every cash register--and it wasn't even 6 a.m.
A 10 minute walk out of Sears (which should have typically taken maybe 3 minutes) put me on the extreme north end of the mall. A quick look led me to believe that 90 percent of Wood County was up before the sun began to climb on the eastern horizon. And, surprisingly, only a small percentage of the mall establishments were scheduled to open prior to the 6 a.m. chimes.
People were standing at store portals, staring through chained off entrances, salivating at the possible purchases that were pending when those stores did open. The big stores--Sears, Penney's, Belk, and Elder-Beerman were taking in consumer cash hand-over-fist. Smaller stores, such as Bath and Body Works were jam-packed and the food court was serving "breakfast" to a large contingent of shoppers.
Certainly the start of the Christmas shopping season was well underway. Case in Point. A national tracking agency said sales were up in 50,000 establishments by some 8.3 percent on Black Friday, 2007. The monetary count was $10.3 billion this year as compared to $9.5 billion last year.
At least at the outset, the retail segment of the economy was ready to have a Merry Christmas! And to think, I was a part of that hysteria.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Cleaning Off The Desk, #4
Welcome back to "Wild, Wonderful," West Virginia!!!
It took three years, but "Open for Business" in no longer the slogan tourists are confronted with then they enter the portals of West Virginia. Gov. Joe Manchin claimed the "Open for Business" slogan was designed to let the business world know the state was anxious to invite industry to locate here and, of course, become part of the tax base.
That "Open for Business" placard, however did not paint a pretty picture for West Virginians. They hated it and made their feelings known. But Manchin, a respected but obviously stubborn politician, refused to be budged.
Now, with an election year approaching, Manchin has done an about face and through two separate Internet voting opportunities the population has opted to return to the classic "Wild, Wonderful" moniker that seems much more fitting.
#########
Congratulations are in order for Michael Symon of Cleveland. The young chef was the winner of Food Network's The Next Iron Chef. Symon, a former high school wrestler at Cleveland St. Edward, who saw his athletic career shortened by an injury, was anything but short in his performance as he climbed over seven other opponents on his way to joining such notable American chefs as Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Cat Corra.
Symon, along with his wife, operates Cleveland's Lolita restaurant. A perusal of the menu has made me decided that if I can't get to a Bobby Flay or Emeriel Legasse eatery, than Lolita has to be on my to do list. During the competition to name a new Iron Chef, Symon won at least three of the challenges and was named on the ballots by all three of the present Iron Chefs that assisted in the judging of the finals. Many of their comments centered on Symon's dishes being of Iron Chef quality both in presentation and substance.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that I am a big, big fan of Cleveland. Growing up there I was always thrilled to hear the descriptive phrase. "Cleveland, the best location in the nation." Michael Symon is just one more reason why that phrase is so completely accurate.
######
Many of us have had the opportunity to stop at a Starbucks. Better yet if we have visited a Barnes & Noble or a Borders bookstore we have found a coffee shop on site. Now the idea of a coffeehouse has gone a step further.
Centennial High School in Franklin, Tn, has opened a coffee shop on campus. Located in the library area, the coffee shop has proved quite profitable for the school. Averaging about $200 per day, the coffee shop will potentially give the school an extra $10,000 over the course of a school year. And, more importantly, that chunk of money will be utilized to provide scholarships for the students who are working in the coffee shop.
Naturally, the issue of health was addressed. But, an on-site viewing of the number of kids who were stopping off-campus to buy coffee, lattes, cappuccinos and other caffeinated drinks, made the decision to open its own coffeehouse easier for the school.
In addition to the entrepreneurial advantages for the students and the school, the coffee shop has had an added positive impact. Case in point. Prior to the coffeehouse operation, the library was averaging about 6,000 visits per year while checking out about 3,000 books. Those numbers have grown to 65,000 visits and the checking out of 45,000 books.
It took three years, but "Open for Business" in no longer the slogan tourists are confronted with then they enter the portals of West Virginia. Gov. Joe Manchin claimed the "Open for Business" slogan was designed to let the business world know the state was anxious to invite industry to locate here and, of course, become part of the tax base.
That "Open for Business" placard, however did not paint a pretty picture for West Virginians. They hated it and made their feelings known. But Manchin, a respected but obviously stubborn politician, refused to be budged.
Now, with an election year approaching, Manchin has done an about face and through two separate Internet voting opportunities the population has opted to return to the classic "Wild, Wonderful" moniker that seems much more fitting.
#########
Congratulations are in order for Michael Symon of Cleveland. The young chef was the winner of Food Network's The Next Iron Chef. Symon, a former high school wrestler at Cleveland St. Edward, who saw his athletic career shortened by an injury, was anything but short in his performance as he climbed over seven other opponents on his way to joining such notable American chefs as Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Cat Corra.
Symon, along with his wife, operates Cleveland's Lolita restaurant. A perusal of the menu has made me decided that if I can't get to a Bobby Flay or Emeriel Legasse eatery, than Lolita has to be on my to do list. During the competition to name a new Iron Chef, Symon won at least three of the challenges and was named on the ballots by all three of the present Iron Chefs that assisted in the judging of the finals. Many of their comments centered on Symon's dishes being of Iron Chef quality both in presentation and substance.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that I am a big, big fan of Cleveland. Growing up there I was always thrilled to hear the descriptive phrase. "Cleveland, the best location in the nation." Michael Symon is just one more reason why that phrase is so completely accurate.
######
Many of us have had the opportunity to stop at a Starbucks. Better yet if we have visited a Barnes & Noble or a Borders bookstore we have found a coffee shop on site. Now the idea of a coffeehouse has gone a step further.
Centennial High School in Franklin, Tn, has opened a coffee shop on campus. Located in the library area, the coffee shop has proved quite profitable for the school. Averaging about $200 per day, the coffee shop will potentially give the school an extra $10,000 over the course of a school year. And, more importantly, that chunk of money will be utilized to provide scholarships for the students who are working in the coffee shop.
Naturally, the issue of health was addressed. But, an on-site viewing of the number of kids who were stopping off-campus to buy coffee, lattes, cappuccinos and other caffeinated drinks, made the decision to open its own coffeehouse easier for the school.
In addition to the entrepreneurial advantages for the students and the school, the coffee shop has had an added positive impact. Case in point. Prior to the coffeehouse operation, the library was averaging about 6,000 visits per year while checking out about 3,000 books. Those numbers have grown to 65,000 visits and the checking out of 45,000 books.
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