We tend to recommend businesses by what they do for us.

The other day when I lost a tire on the turnpike I changed the tire with my semi-useless spare. Then I limped into a small BP service station close to the off-ramp.

They had a pair of tires in stock at their warehouse ten minutes away and for a reasonable price had me up and running in a relatively short period of time.

I would have to recommend the place to others based on how they treated me and the service they provided.

Over the years I have done business with a lot of places and for the most part been treated fairly.

I recall very well one of the places that treated me like a king. After I was done doing business with them I was informed by several people that the place was the biggest rip-off in town. 

The business was an auto wrecking yard and the kids were angry that they were paying fair market value for the parts they needed to keep their clunkers running. They saw it as the owner getting wrecked autos for next to nothing and selling the parts for an outrageous profit. Of course, they were not having to pay bills and meet payrolls. 

Looking back on it, I was in a college town and the people I talked to were college kids. Likely that few of them understood the basics of running a business. It was a liberal arts college. They were probably upset that they were not getting something for nothing.

It would be interesting to talk to these same kids ten or fifteen years after they graduated and had been in the real world for a decade or so. 

Still, a business either often succeeds or fails based on its reputation. 

I don't know what kind of place I did business with. For all I know it could be a front for a mob guy or something. I don't know.

What I do know is that I came limping in on a spare and a front tire with a cut in it. I left with a pair of skins that matched the ones I had. I left with two new ones on the rear and paid a fair price for them.

There was no bait and switch and they didn't take advantage of the fact that I was in need.

I will speak well of them.

On the other hand, I suppose that if I hung around town and asked a bit I very well may find some people that have not had good experiences with the place.

Still, all I can do is report on how they treated me.



To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY