Is It Really The Price of Gas?

Didn't particularly notice a fall-off in visitation during our recent stay on the Outer Banks. But, according to some restauranteurs we spoke with, they're down, on average, about 30% so far this year.

A lot of that represents less weekend business. But it was a fairly rotten spring---cold and rainy---and that may have contributed. One suggested that long term visitors just aren't eating out as much. Instead of dining out four nights, they only go to restaurants two nights, and dine-in the other two to make up for higher gas prices.

Maybe. And maybe there are other causes. F'rinstance, we were out and about and stopped in at Dirty Dick's for a quick lunch. Friend Wife will kill for soft-shell crabs, and the place was convenient.

Now Dirty Dick's is nothing more than a crab shack masquerading as a restaurant. So our expectations weren't particularly high. But even so.....

We were seated. And we sat. And sat. And sat. Almost 15 minutes, and nobody even asked for our drink order. The hostess happened to pass, and we asked if any servers were working that day. "Oh," she said, kind of laxidazically, "haven't you been served? I'll try and find somebody." We told her not to bother trying, and left.

Is that getting to be typical? As things get tough is service getting worse rather than better? I have no idea. But it got me to thinking, and wondering if others are experiencing a similar fall-off in service levels?

Dear KYH,

YES, as one who is in the business world daily and servicing the public, I can honestly say that customer service had dropped to a level of totally unacceptable standards. Where there used to be fast friendly service with a smile, it is all too common now to find the employee (wether it be cashier, wait-staff, or telephone CSR) apathetic, inconsiderate and you absolutley know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they could give a crap about you or the job they are supposed to be doing. I am appauled by the things I see and experience, and I am saddened to say the least.

I quit shopping at the local Wal-Mart because of the employees' bad attitudes, even the Manager seemed to have lost the ability to care one way or the other.

I do not blame you & Barbara for simply getting up and walking out, we do the very same ourselves. But I would write a letter to management! Let enough businesses suffer from lack of good customer service skills and maybe they will begin to wake up and take note!

Youngsters wonder how come they never get raisies and promotions to higher levels with-in a company not realizing that attitude plays such an important factor in thier performance on a job. I remember yrs. ago I worked at Longhorn Steak House for 2 yrs., I won the awesome attitude award in less than a 6 month period, and was promoted to a lead position and trainer in no time at all, simply because I cared. Where I am at now I am Office Manager in under 3 yrs., customers request me and why??? because I care, am cheerful and well-liked, my raises reflect the fact. We are a customer based business and we are not hurting too awfully by the turn of events with gasoline and the economy, and our customers are happy. But it is because we do care.

I do not know but one guess is that society has slowly moved to a do it youself mindset, and the youngsters think that anyone needing help is an idiot. Business owners need to wise-up and begin looking at the day to day operations and start observing how things are being done at their locations and make darn sure that their employees are all they should be, or they are going to begin taking their losses much harder than before. We can walk out, and when we simply do not eat out except on rare and special occassions because we can not afford it, we will demand good service or we won't frequent that particular business. Maybe then things will improve.

Well now that I got that "off my chest", please remember it is just my own opinion, and observations, but I was beginning to wonder if it was just Rome, GA or inbreds or something??? It sort of feels nice to know that it isn't just our "neck of the woods" that has experienced bad service and crappy attitudes! Wow what do you know, thanks for sharing the... not so great news

Cathy

I will say this, one of the first things people cut out of their budget is going out to eat.

Soon we will be cutting out eating at the rate things are going.

Thanks to this "gasoline crisis" and with the storms in the mid-west things don't look so good.

The farmers were raising prices due to the gas prices.

Now they won't be able to feed their cows because the corn crops were destroyed. So they will be slaughtering all their cows this year and next year they won't be in the meat business - meat will be quite high.

Why not?

Everything else is going up.

Too bad they didn't show porno films at the gas pumps so we wouldnt' be the only ones getting screwed there. And if prices keep going up - people wil not be purchasing all the extras from the stores - which means the stores will have to raise their prices even higher to make their profits. Maybe movies should be showed their too.

sorry - no I don't believe in porn - but it makes sense to me -

We do need to keep it in perspective though.. Some of the bottled water people are drinking out there comes out to about $50 a gallon, not to mention coffee..

And don't forget the additional $1.25 tax on each pack of ciggies that started on June 3rd.

No more bad habits allowed - no more going out - no more eating out - no more fun times - no more Sunday rides - no more tomatoes - no more meat - no more water - no more coffee - ain't it great to live in the "free" land??? The land of opportunity.

Do I think we are heading into another Great Depression - hell yeah! But this time it will be worse. No one will be safe. Too many sickos out there.

What will be more important? Seeds to plant for food or guns and ammo to protect it and what is yours? Makes a person wonder...................

Mama I love you and I am going to say people are hardened and there are alot on drugs that rob and steal to pay for their "habit", and times are far different and scarrier, but Cest La Vie', I still am inclined to echo Jafo and say we must keep perspective so here's what I heard the other day that will cure all our woes.........

They charge us $125.00 a barrell for oil
we charge them $7.00 a bushel for corn
let's up the price of corn to $125.00 a bushel and things will even out and we'll all be just fine....................NO PROBLEMO!!! Cest La Vie' wish I'd of thought of it myself, now can any of our elected officials get up the balls to carry thru???????? That's a $100.00 question!

You're right, Cathy, service has been going to hell in a handbasket for quite some time.

But I'm talking about above and beyond that. Seems to me (and I'm sure Mama will agree), when things are tough in the restaurant business that's the time to make sure service is at its best. You want the people who are dining out to choose your place, rather than the one down the block.

Most of the time, if I have a bad experience I do contact the management. But my impression is that they don't really care. If it was just our server (I use that phrase loosely, being as we never had one) that would be one thing. But nobody in the place seemed to give a damn. And that reflects management's style.

I'll say this, though. It will be a very cold day in hell before we ever walk through those doors again. And if I have anything to say, neither will anybody we know.

Here Here KYH, I agree 100%

The unfortunate thing is - many will be heading to BK and McD's for their dollar menu. Many won't care about the service - they'll just dish out the rudeness right back.

Times are changing - and not for the better.

As Americans we are in for a rude awakening - very soon. And it's a shame that so many won't be willing to help others. We turned into a "me-me-me" society. I'm not saying everyone is that way - there are plenty of good people out there. Just hard to find as many as you wish there could be.

Our country is in trouble - and it seems like there is no help for us. Even our politicians won't help us.

Looks like we will end up being a 2-society country - the very rich and the very poor unless something changes real fast.

Obama and McCain - what are you going to do as leader of this country when you come in? Send more money and food to other countries without taking care of your own people? Stop the giant companies from merging and taking over? Stop these insane gas hikes? What about heating bills for Americans? Any break there? Medical care? And I mean medical for Americans - not the free care for illegals. And why do foreigners get free educations when we can't?

What about the emplyment situation? What about this mortgage crisis?

Why are insurance companies allowed to collect premiums and when it's time to pay out they play in the gray area and get away with it?

Where is FEMA when people need them?

Who is regulating the millions of dollars worth of items donated to the Katrina victims that are sitting in storage and never given to anyone?

Why do we spend billions to go into space? Now that we've got there - what are we going to do with it? Pollute it like we did the earth? Billions of dollars could have saved many homes, fed many people, paid for many to have insurance, given poor children an education.

What else can I say -

this -

and this really bugs me -

In February 2009 your analog TV will no longer work. You can get 2 couplons from the government to purchase a box to watch your TV OR you can pay cable and dish to watch the same movies day in and day out.

Coyote Ugly has been on cable for 2 months - just about every day. And that is not the only one.

And we pay for this.

The good thing is - basic cable - up to channel 99 - is not too expensive (my heart goes out to those on limited incomes that cannot afford it) and they are working real hard at adding many more channels showing many more and different movies - all over channel 100. Even PBS is on it now. Amazing - we pay to watch TV, we pay to drink water, good grief!

Next - we will have to pay every time we flush...................

hey don't laugh - some jerk will read this and it will be on the floor of Congress to be voted on soon!

Mama's *****in'............or should I say - venting?

It has always been my belief that if you wait for a politician to make your life better, pack a lunch, your going to be there a while.

The US by far is the most charitable nation on the face of the Earth. I know a good portion of the world thinks everyone here is either a Paris Hilton or a Mike Jackson sycophant but that is just because the media never follows the average joe/janet around.

When a disaster strikes anywhere in the World, the US is the first to step in and offer assistance, not China, not Russia, not [Enter the next 'big threat nation' here]. This is one reason why the US holds such a dominate position in the world.

The worst enemy to the US is fatalism and self deprecation. We always seem to think that we are not good enough; a two sided coin which helps us to strive to be the best, yet dooms us to never be satisfied. Lately everyone seems to think the US is coming to an end, which is the same thing I have been hearing for the last 38 years of my life.

I myself say, chin up, live your life without worry of who is in office and what they can do for you. Make society better by being a better person.

Don't raise your children in fear of the boogie man (i.e. child predators and pedophiles) or in chicken little theorem (the great depression is coming, the great depression is coming). Let them live the childhood you did. Even at the worst crime rates, the chance of children being abducted and or abused are comparable to when YOU were a kid. The only thing that is different is the 24 hour news machine who's only mode to profit is through scaring the hell out of you that you must squeeze your children tightly and not let them breath.

Forget what Washington is going to do to or for you and just endeavor to make the most of what you have. I have always agreed with the saying that the door of opportunity swings on the hinge of opposition.

Just my Pollyanna way of life I guess.

I tell ya, KYH... I spoke tonight w/ friends & former co-workers at an Alaskan lodge operated by Princess Cruises, and they are really feeling the pinch. They atttribute it to gas prices and the overall general bad economy.

Like most cruise-ship companies that go to Alaska, well over 75% of the passengers are quite elderly. The ships that dock and unload passengers that are then shuttled to various land excursions and hotels & lodges are still seeing high numbers with 110% (overbooking is always a factor) vessel & property occupancy, (most folks save for years to go to Alaska, so if they were budgeting/planning to go this year- they still are going), but the folks' spending habits are drastically changing.

The restaurants & lounges at the lodges, (which granted- are quite pricey) and the art galleries, gift shops, junk stands, etc. are seeing record-low spending. Land excursions like helicopter flightseeing tours, sailings and whale-watching, guided fishing tours, etc. are really suffering. Folks are only doing that which is included in their package deal and nothing more. One lodge has a camp ground with a small general store that sells limited food items and camping staples to their RV customers and they are seeing hotel guests in record numbers hiking down the mountain to shop at the store, and housekeepers are seeing all kinds of food-goodies stashed in guest rooms, that they normally don't see.

Folks are finding creative ways of saving any way they can.

I have a very unique personal situation- and granted, I've been spoiled, but... here's MY deal. I've enjoyed the luxury of working/living at work-camps that catered to my every need. 2/3 of the year I lived at camp and had everything provided for me. I never had to buy my own food, laundry supplies, fuel, etc. Only time I spent money was when out of camp while on RandR, or for some personal toiletry items. Now, for the very first time in MANY years, like everybody else- I fill up my gas tank 1-2 times per week, I buy groceries weekly, etc. And while I am not complaining- and while most certainly don't sympathize (nor would I dream of asking them to) I find that compared to what I was regularly paying for these items 10++ years ago before working in these environments that provided me w/ so much, today's prices, especially in the last year or more are much higher than I can really comprehend. I guess that's to be expected since I was living in a spending vacuum for so many years. But golly- it's weird! I honestly don't know how folks do it. And if it gets worse.... gadzoooks!

Jafo just FYI:

I love your "Pollyanna" style, I myself would rather live that way that the opposite!

I am not totally unrealistic and I do see and hear the changes in times and as CAG pointed out the spike in prices are indeed going to have to make an impact on our lifestyles, and it is most definetley hurting many people, just imagine those who have a long commute to work, and their new gasoline exspeneses.

But I love your healthy attitude and admire you keeping a positive outlook, and the philosophy that "I will do the right thing no matter what!" Keep on keeping on my friend!!!

And you are sooooo right about politicians

Cathy

I once went through something similar, Chubby. We were living in Boston in the late '60s, where we shopped at Haymarket Square and in the wholesale meat market. In Boston, unlike most cities, consumers could shop at the wholesale butchers as long as they purchased complete primals. But then they'd even cut it up for you.

Last beef tenderloin I bought, divided into steaks, roasts and other cuts, cost me 94 cents/lb. A complete rack of center-cut pork chops was something like 25 cents. Etc.

Then I moved back to New York, and walked into a supermarket. Thought I was going to have a cardiac.

But it's not just that you've been living in a spending vacuum. The incredible price run-up is truly a sudden spike.

There are several factors. It was bad enough when gas prices were the only driving force. But then came the ill-advised energy bill that congress pushed through for political reasons. Nobody on the hill, apparently, knew (or cared) how corn-based our economy is. The fact is, the price and availability of virtually every food product in America is directly or indirectly tied to corn.

So, when you put all your marbles in a basket labeled "corn-derived ethanal" everybody except congress critters can see how that will effect the economy. But maybe they don't realize how it effects them and their livlihood.

Here's an example:

Because the price of corn is at all time highs, farmers have converted to corn in record numbers. Among many other factors, this has lead to a wheat shortfall. Which means flour prices have skyrocketed. Which in turn means the price of bread and pastries becomes less and less affordible. So, just as in the days of poor immigrants, day-old and two-day-old bread and pastries are being bought because they're affordible and fresh-baked isn't.

But the trickle-down can be carried even further. A favorite bait among bear hunting guides are day-old pastries they used to buy inexpensively from the bakeries. But now people are buying the day old stuff for their own tables, which means the guide cannot afford to run his bait stations, which means he has to go out of business.

But I'll bet you the sport who's having trouble finding a bear guide doesn't once think that he can't enjoy a hunt because his congress critter voted for the energy bill.

The really sad part is that it's all based on a fallacy. There isn't enough land in the whole world to produce even a small fraction of one percent of our energy needs. Ethanol, as a viable energy source, is as big a joke as the methane conversion trend of the 1960s.

And I ask the same question you do. How can anyone with any sort of reasonable job afford to feed his children when milk is four and five bucks a gallon?

Kyh You Buy A Milk Goat!

Your Post Really Makes Me Stop & Think!

Wow, Wow, And Wow The World Is In A Pickle.....

Do You Know Why Solar Energy Has Never Really Taken A Hold? I Truly Believe That People Are Missing The Boat On The Most Available Resource In The World, Until It Explodes That Is, And Then We Won't Have Any More Woes Lol!!!

Kyh This Is My Favorite Motto: Laugh To Forget But Don't Forget To Laugh!

The main problem with solar is the fact that there are no real good solutions for storing solar energy as of yet. Seeing as how the sun goes away for roughly half the day makes that a big problem.

I watched a news report on a guy who was using solar and wind to make hydrogen in is back yard. This is the way I always thought it should happen, but is also the biggest fear of the industries. If you could make a clean alternative energy in your garage, you would have no need for a filling station.

Hydrogen of course is one of the most abundant elements in the universe, unfortunately it tends to stick to everything so getting pure H is hard.. I think the saying was it took two gallons of gasoline to get 1 gallon of H..

However, if solar could refine enough H (basically splitting H out of H2O), along with nuclear, hydro and wind doing the same thing, I could see a day when oil will be used more for painting and lubrication rather than energy..

Let's face it - everything is going up because of something. Less wheat, corn fields ruined by the weather, flooding of the Mississippi causing foods to sit on barges and rot, gasoline which won't stop rising - you name it.

How can you feed a family? Milk $4 -$5/gallon; bread $3 - $4 (or more) per loaf, meats and veggies are up anywhere from 40 - 60% over last year. Gasoline won't stop rising. Home heating is ridiculous. Adjustable mortgages are killing people - or just forcing them out of their homes. Rents are up 30 - 60% over the past year. Years ago you paid auto insurance which would go down each year as your car got older. Now it is the opposite. The premiums are rising because it costs more to fix cars. Homeowners and renters insurance does not cover much if you ever have a problem. And if they give you any money for any reason - your rates wil soon double.

Pasta that was 89 cents/lb is up to $1.39 or more/lb. Dairy products are unbelieveable.

Today General Mills announced that they are cutting their cereal box sizes down 1/3 but they are not lowering their prices. More restaurants are decorating your dish with grass (you know what I mean) to make it look like you are getting something.

Last year you could get ground beef on sale for 99 cents/lb - now the sale price is $2.09/lb.

Ice cream is now sold in 56 oz containers instead of the regular 64 oz. half gallons.

I bought a box of ice cream cones - I now need a smaller ice cream scoop. I could not believe how small they have gotten! But with half gallons of ice cream being downsized I should have expected it.

Bags of chips used to be 2 for $4 - and 7 or more oz. per bag. Now they are 2 for $7 and 4 1/2 - 5 oz.

Pringles have gotten smaller.

I remember older people complaining about 5 years ago that dressing bottles, cracker boxes, etc. were all too big for one person and sometimes they had waste. Now it seems like everything is heading into the individual size!

Have you notice bars of soap lately? Smaller. They keep this up and they will be hotel-sized.

Anyone remember those big nickel candy bars from years ago?? They make them smaller now - $1.49 for a candy bar that used to be 49 cents. I could not believe the price of candy bars. Ditto with ice cream novelties - no more 59 cent items - 3 bucks is more like it.

Love these 10 for $10 sales in the supermarket. Half the size of a normal size and a buck for one is too much!

One store I was in today - buy one get one free on chips - save $4.29. Cripe!

Even the off-brand items that used to be cheap are getting too high.

Ball jars - smart people. Raised all their prices as well. That'll teach ya to can or freeze your own stuff!

It's all around us. Everywhere you look. Sure this is only the beginning of it. But how long do you think people will be able to buy the "extras" and "frills"?

I'd love to hit the mega millions - buy acres and acres of land - set up a large farm with cows, dairy cows, pigs, chickens, etc. plant orchards and veggies and find a bunch of families to live on the land and help to farm it, share in the canning and preserving; build some wind mills for energy, etc. At least we'd have electricity and eat well. LOL

Mama, I hope you hit the lotto soon! By the way can I come if I promise to milk the cow, hoe the garden, and help in everyway I can?

We may have to go back to the communal lifestyle, just leave the stupid pot-heads out of the picture and it may work this time around. That is probably the reason they failed to begin with: the pot and all the stupid free love stuff. Idiots!

Well KYH, another strange component to this story is this: Not only are more farmers than ever switching to corn because they perceive it as a total MONEY CROP, but here in central Illinois corn country we still have MOUNTAINS of LAST YEAR'S corn piled 3 times the height of farm houses on the ground with tarps over it, MOLDING. I was born and raised here in farm country- have had ties here all my life, and I have NEVER seen such surplus, such waste and such high prices all at the same time. Ever. It's enough to turn one's stomach.

The problem with Illinois and corn, Chubs, is that it spoils you for anywhere else.

I remember, once, being out in Wyoming during an incredibly good season. Or maybe it was Montana. Anyway, my host was bragging on their 80 bushel corn. "Eighty bushel," I asked? "With 80 bushel corn my neighbors (we lived in northern Illinois at the time) would let the insurance company have it."

But, when you have 12-16 feet of black dirt, and plenty of sunshine, and rain in the right amounts, 120 bushel corn---a record anywhere else--- becomes just average.

More directly to your point: What do we have, right now? One federally funded pilot plant? And a document that says we're going to need corn to produce all that ethanol that's going to replace gasoline---that is, if they can figure out how to keep the alcohol from melting all those plastic components.

What we really need is an open season on stupid politicians. Oh, wait. That's redundent.