Because of a clever marketing ploy called the Triple Play (phone, cable TV, and high-speed Internet), Comcast and I have been going steady for years. Our relationship is based more on need than love. Comcast needs money from me each month and I’m hooked on the services she provides. While we didn’t get married this week, I committed to making us an item for at least a couple more years.
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Category Archives: Business Beat
Married to Comcast?
Posted in Business Beat, Economy
Wi-Fi in Allyn
I'll have one coffee to stay.
Allyn, Washington, (population 2400) has gone high-tech. Last week Sail On In, an espresso stand on SR 3 at the south end of town, added Wi-Fi to its menu of great coffee, delicious pastries, and tasty soup (see photo). For years Allyn, a burg on Case Inlet’s North Bay, was known mainly, at least from a business standpoint, as the location of Big Bubba’s Burgers, a 1960’s-style drive-in across the street from the waterfront park. Now there’s another good reason to visit Allyn especially if want to surf the net without a data plan. Perhaps other local businesses will follow suit.
Wi-Fi in Allyn makes it harder to justify paying $130 extra for an iPad with 3G. (As an aside, the buzz created by Amazon’s Kindle Fire prompted a look at tablet computers in general; my conclusion is that I wouldn’t be comfortable with the Fire’s 7-inch screen despite its attractive price.) Now I’m back to thinking the Wi-Fi-only iPad might solve my connectivity issues when I’m away from home. Our vacation place at Treasure Island (3 miles from Allyn) is not connected to the Internet, and previously the closest Wi-Fi connection was 9 miles away in Belfair. Now Wi-Fi is just a short drive (or easy bike ride) away over back roads. And Sail On In has a comfortable indoor seating area for when the weather is bad. Perhaps I can do a blog post from there.
Dining Out at 3:00 AM
News for late nighters
If you were wondering whether Kitsap Way has any restaurants besides Denny’s that are open all night, the answer is yes. Subway (see photo) just became the third eatery to be open 24 hours a day. The Kitsap Way Jack in the Box, located next door to the Best Western, also caters to night owls. The other 13 restaurants on the stretch of Kitsap Way between the SR 3 interchange and 11th Street all close by 2:00 AM at the latest.
My survey of local restaurant closing times wasn’t done in the wee hours. Instead I started it on an afternoon bike ride and checked it on the Internet for establishments that don’t post their hours at the entrance. Since I’m invariably asleep at 3:00 AM, it was news to me that there are enough insomniacs, night people, and workers on the graveyard shift to support three places being open on Kitsap Way in the middle of the night. Apparently there are.
Posted in Business Beat
More Dancing Men
That's me on the left.
What’s up with West Bremerton and dancing men? Along a 1.5-mile stretch of Kitsap Way/6th Street, there are four of the quirky inflatables. Statistically this is off the charts (I think). The local business district might be the state epicenter for deployed balloon advertising. In Great Minds Think Alike I showed a picture of the Jiffy Lube and Blockbuster Video entries. A better title might have been “Herd Instinct.” Did all four businesses hit on the dancing-man idea independently or is there a bit of copycat go-go going on here?
To correct the photo caption, that’s not really me on the roof of the Mid-Town Market. I do support free ATMs though. And free debit-card transactions (although Mid-Town probably doesn’t have them). Certainly both are worth dancing about. As for the Pep Boys figure, maybe he’s just happy because of his name.
Great Minds Think Alike
Cheaper than paying minimum wage
What do the Jiffy Lube and Blockbuster Video franchise stores on Kitsap Way have in common? One similarity is that both are using an inflatable dancing man (see photo) in an attempt to attract customers. I have no idea if this advertising technique boosts sales although it did make me take notice. Plus it’s cheaper than posting a sign-waving minimum-wage employee out front like some mattress stores do and a bargain when compared to investing in a top-shelf LED message center.
There’s more information about these so-called dancing balloons at web sites like ArizonaBalloon.com, which also refers to them as wind dancers. Despite the latter name, the web site advises that they work a lot better indoors where wind and sun aren’t factors. That’s because the balloons can spend more time on the ground than dancing on a breezy day and the light spinnaker material they are made of doesn’t last long in strong sunlight. There’s a tradeoff though. If you want motorists on Kitsap Way to notice your business, they have to dance outdoors.
Total Video Is Closing Soon
A total loss for the neighborhood
I don’t rent DVDs during the summer so I was probably one of the last people to notice that Total Video on Kitsap Way is closing soon (see photo). The store stopped renting movies and games a few weeks ago and is in the last stage of selling off its stock of DVDs and VHS tapes. Everything that’s left is on sale for $2. Yesterday I picked out a couple of DVDs to zero out the small balance in my rental account.
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Posted in Business Beat
Cows and Mattresses
Sleeping like a cow?
The Mattress Ranch, which has two stores in Kitsap County, has been around for years. Until today though I didn’t know that the company is doing mobile marketing. That’s when I spotted their mascot, complete with the chain’s domain name, loaded on a trailer (see photo) at the south end of Silverdale. Although I can’t resist giant animal statues, the big bovine didn’t make me want to buy a mattress.
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Posted in Business Beat
Must Be a Great Job
A sweet ride
I’m not sure of the exact duties assigned to the driver of a Hostess Twinkies van (see photo). Even so, I would consider coming out of retirement if offered the job. The vehicle doesn’t look big enough to keep up with regular deliveries of the delicious snack cakes. Perhaps the job is just to spread good will and respond quickly to random spot shortages. I wonder if anyone flags the van down for a roadside purchase like it’s a Good Humor truck.
I took a quick look at the Hostess Cakes web site before posting this photo. They recommend trying Twinkies deep fried.
Posted in Business Beat
Trader Joe’s Opens in Silverdale
A "grand" opening?
I don’t completely understand Trader Joe’s cult-like following, but this morning I observed it first hand. A couple of hours after the company’s newest store (see photo) opened at 8:00 AM in Silverdale, there was gridlock in the parking lot and inside.
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Posted in Business Beat
Are They Worth the Cost?
Memorable sign?
Arnold’s (see photo) has a Translux, Reid Realty a Watchfire, Walgreen’s a Daktronics Galaxy. That’s three outdoor LED signs (or electronic message centers as the sign industry calls them) in the quarter-mile stretch of Kitsap Way near Rocky Point. All three have been installed in the last couple of years.
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Posted in Business Beat
Mud Bay Blog 