Too cold to work outside today so I paced and planned. As usual, the next uncharted phase of the construction of the greenhouse will involve a bit of thinking before work actually begins. I prefer to get it figured out in my head before I get my hands dirty. Got a load of laundry done and had a quiet (non-broadcast) night at the Starlight tonight. Highlight of the day was this longhorn cow and two calves that wondered by for a visit (and a snack). I like to think that she is one of Benita's sisters based on her bangs. I
really miss seeing the herd this time of year.
Laptop power pirates, beware: For a couple of months now I have heard a rumor that Louise Hayes, the General Manager of the Big Bend Motor Inn has been infuriated by patrons coming into the restaurant and plugging in their laptops while using the free internet service provided there. It was also rumored that she was going to have someone from the staff cover all the outlets to inhibit such behavior. Instead, she recently directed a staff member to install these signs at each table. What kind of petty "
B-S" is that? 38,58,25,0
Too cold to work outside today so I paced and planned. As usual, the next uncharted phase of the construction of the greenhouse will involve a bit of thinking before work actually begins. I prefer to get it figured out in my head before I get my hands dirty. Got a load of laundry done and had a quiet (non-broadcast) night at the Starlight tonight. Highlight of the day was this longhorn cow and two calves that wondered by for a visit (and a snack). I like to think that she is one of Benita's sisters based on her bangs. I really miss seeing the herd this time of year. 
16 comments:
Wow! I was just at BBMI/restaurant yesterday and didn't notice the signs. I guess I was too busy paying almost 9 bucks for a couple of bags of chips and a drink. (Not to mention settling for Fritos when I really wanted a bag of Baken-ets which they don't stock. Now I'm just being petty, but a girl wants her hot pork rinds.) This infuriates me that plugging a laptop into a power outlet is prohibited. I've always counted BBMI as a reliable resource when I need internet access and I've bought tons of fuel and food at the store. I guess I'll circumvent it during future visits to my Home Place on Terlingua Ranch and head on down to the Study Butte Store instead. Grrr!
I would inform her that the signs and outlet covers will probably cost her more than the 0.6 cents per hour that a typical 60w laptop charger draws from her 10 cent per kilowatt utility. Some people have no clue what makes their power meter rotate!
What is she off the grid and have a limited number of kilowatts? Hopefully she'll turn around and realize that being penny wise and pound foolish is just bad business.
Maybe YOU need to explain to Louise that 1.5 amps will NOT effect her bottom line, but those of you who don't go there any longer WILL!
I'm staying at the BBMI RV park now and can't wait to get moved to my land. I've had several dealings with Louise and can't say that I was too happy with those dealings. First off I told here I was wanting to setup a national for my classic car club which could mean a lot of business and $ for the area. She didn't seem to care. I asked if we would be able to use the open space behind the inn for a show and was told no by her that we could use the stable parking lot. Some of my members don't think twice about spending $10,000 or more just on paint jobs on their cars and I don't think they would appreciate having to park their fully restored cars in the stable parking lot especially considering there probably wouldn't be room to start with.
Second problem was that I went in to the cafe to use the internet and the connection was down. I was informed by her that they were about to have a luncheon in there and was more or less encouraged to leave. I pointed out to her that I am paying $450 a month for the RV space and probably spend the same or more on food, beer, cigarettes and so on. She told the store clerk to reboot the modem and when he did the internet came back up. I promptly left after that with another bad experience with this place.
The BBMI sounds like a place to skip if ever in the area. Hope there are
another restaurant in the area.
Good to see a longhorn again, do they leave because of the cold. We are having extreme unusual weather here in South GA USA. 44,at 8:30 PM/
23,Low/ 55,High/ 0.0' No rain. Brrrrrrrrrrrr!
Good luck on the Field Lab, You will get it figured out.
Sounds like she doesn't want the scruffy "computer" crowd hanging out in her place...
I agree with the above comments. I was in there in November, plugged in with no hassles, but, the anti plug-in vibe was unmistakeable. Waitress and cashier both left the impression that I was stealing from them. We had breakfast, paid, left a big tip, and left. I try not to shop there, opting instead for the far superior Study Butte Store. The coin-op showers at BBMI are the only option, though.
wow, that is something. I guess the desert just got a little bit colder. maybe nobody told her that she was in the "hospitality industry". many places are trying to find ways to bring customers in, not send them away. has she any idea the actual cost to charge a laptop? or the amount of signage, wifi, coupons, advertising etc it takes to bring in new customers.
It sounds like ol Louise ain't the sharpest tool in the shed.
It is BELOW ZERO here in the midwest, but I think Louise is going to feel the DEEP FREEZE when word gets around! Some people don't know the first thing about business.
Ha, after all the comments I read here I couldn't stop myself Googling the Big Bend Motor Inn. The entries on tripadvisor.com weren't very good. I liked this one:
“Sleeping in the vehicle would have been a better choice”
Rj's comment about how much it costs to run a laptop are pretty much spot on, with newer units using even less power. If you can't cover a 1 cent an hour in electricity from the profit of your services then WTF.
If you want a laugh then check out the rest of the reviews:
http://tinyurl.com/ygjwzy3
Jeeeez, Louise!
If we talk this up,won't have to worry about signs.We can help them not have ANY business.
Being in retail management over 40 years,it amazes me what some firms think is important.Don't you just love competition!
You can always walk in with one of these:
http://kmswoodworks.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/solar-laptop-station-up-and-running/
Just makes no sense.. it will be fun to watch her business spiral into decay for such poor management choices.
Posted this in the wrong place to start with so deleted that post and will post it in the right place.
Not likely to effect the business much. Its a massive complex and really the only game in town for people visiting in RVs or needing a motel. If it did hurt business then it would also hurt the employs (who in 99 % of the cases are good people, probably working for beans and just trying to make a living.)
Post a Comment