MuskogeeUSA » Businesses

Shop small Saturday

admin — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 04:59:38 +0000

Back before there was Walmart and department stores, there was the downtown merchant who was the staple of business in every town. When you walked in the door, the clerk greeted you by name with a smile and “how’s the family?” You replied back and also asked about their family. It was a time where the store owner knew your particular likes and stocked something just for you. You could send you son or daughter to the store for an emergency requisition without any money and, because they knew you, would know they would be paid.

Of course, times have changed and the Super Walmarts, K-marts, and shopping malls have taken over quite a few small businesses and downtown shopping districts dried up. Nobody came downtown any more, but went to the ‘burbs to the big malls. Small business owners either moved out or closed shop.

In the recent years, though, towns and cities have been trying to re-vitalize their downtown shopping district by working hard to bring small businesses back. Cities are learning that small businesses are still key to economic development.

For every $100 spent in a local small business, $68 returns to the community. Small businesses employ half of all private sector employees. Small businesses represent 99.7% of all employer firms. For every year over the last decade, 60% – 80% of new jobs were generated by small businesses. source: http://smallbusinesssaturday.com

Saturday, November 27 is the first ever Small Business Saturday and I urge you to shop small local businesses in your town not only on this day, but throughout the year as well.

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Did you ask for the special?

admin — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 11:00:08 +0000

My car was a bit past due on it’s oil change, so when I drove by a local oil change place advertising a $26.95 oil change special, I thought it was a good deal and since I had a bit of time, I stopped in.

After giving all the normal information, the tech (they are called techs now, not oil changers) asked me what kind of oil. I told him whatever was recommended for my vehicle would be fine.

So, about 10 minutes later, my car was ready and the total was $35 something. “Whoa, what about the $26.95?” I asked.

“Oh, did you ask for the special?” she replied as though it was my stupidity that led us to this point.

“Uh, no, I didn’t know I had to. You were advertising an oil change special for $26.95 (up to 5 quarts). Nothing said I had to ask for the advertised price.”

“Did the tech ask you if you were getting the special?”

“Again, no, he asked what kind of oil I wanted. I told him whatever was recommended.”

“Well, I can’t even buy the type of oil he used for $26.95. We use brand-x oil for the special,” she informed me.

“Well, okay. You got me. I’ll know better the next time,” I said, surprisingly calm even for me. “I usually get my oil changed closer to where I work, but since I was passing by and thought you had a good price for an oil change, I stopped in. It won’t happen again.”

Actually, I wasn’t rude, snippy, snide or condescending. I just fell for the ole’ bait and switch, or at least that’s what it seemed. Instead of going in and asking if it was for real and what did I get with the special, I just assumed (yes, I know what that means) that special was a special for their basic oil change and filter, not something I had to ask special for.

But, it turned out okay. Without me asking, badgering, yelling, or crying, she offered to give me the price I stopped in for in the first place. So, customer service wise, it was a pleasant experience and she did what she should – took care of the customer.

But, next time I stop anywhere for an oil change, I will ask what exactly am I getting for the price.

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Muskogee: What’s so good about it anyway?

admin — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 22:30:03 +0000

A person I work with asked me today about the positive things Muskogee has to offer. So, I started thinking about this. I know Muskogee isn’t perfect, and, quite a bit of this is my opinion, but, that’s the way it is.

Education

Muskogee has 2 public school districts, Muskogee Public Schools and Hilldale Public Schools. Both schools have excellent teachers and are actively using new technology in the classroom. Indian Capital Technology Center is a public vocational and technical school situated in Muskogee. Northeastern State University (4 year) and Connors State College (2 year) both have campuses in Muskogee and are both public colleges. The oldest college in the state of Oklahoma is the private four-year Bacone College.

Crime

According to Wikipedia, the overall crime rate has fallen 45% since 1995 in Muskogee. The Muskogee Police Department keeps their officers well-trained and boasts a higher number of officers per-capita than most other cities and towns in Oklahoma.

Attractions / Points of Interest

Muskogee has a very unique history which is reflected in many of its points of interest. Muskogee hosts a total of 18 parks listed on its web site: Honor Heights Park, Spaulding Park, Beckman Park, Bill Pool Park, Civitan Park, Douglas-Maxey Park, Elliot Park, Grandview Park, Gulick Park, Love-Hatbox Sports Complex, King Park, Langston Park, Optimist Park, Palmer Park, Robison Park, Rooney Park, Rotary Park, and Turner Hill Park. Each park has its own unique attributes including play areas, trails, splash pads, pools, shelters, and more.

The River Country water park at Love-Hatbox Sports Complex allows people to float the Lazy River, fly down a water slide, or just soak up some rays. The water park has something for kids of all ages. The sports complex features 10 lighted baseball fields, 8 lighted softball fields, 2 lighted football fields and 13 soccer fields. There also is an outdoor skate park and the 3.1 mile Centennial Trail.

Museums include: Three Rivers Museum, Ataloa Lodge Museum, Five Civilized Tribes Museum, USS Batfish (WWII submarine) and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

The Farmer’s Market is held twice weekly in the parking lot of the Muskogee Civic Center.

Fort Gibson Lake is just 15 minutes away, so if fishing, boating, camping and swimming are your thing, Muskogee has what you need and want. Three Rivers Harbor is located just East of the Arkansas river and provides a state-of-the-art marina and boat launching right out to the river.

Shopping

Muskogee is a regional shopping hub with Arrowhead Mall, WalMart Super Center, Best Buy, K-Mart, and several shopping centers. Muskogee has several national chain restaurants such as Applebee’s, El Chico, Golden Corral, Western Sizzlin, as well as some more local flair such as Okies, Mahylon’s Barbecue, My Place Barbecue, Zollies Restaurant and nearby Martin’s Restaurant in Okay. You will never go hungry at El Charro, Gino’s, Beacon Drive-In, Little Italy, Hunan Chinese Restaurant, Napoli’s, and more.

If you can’t find it in Muskogee, Tulsa isn’t too far away.

Entertainment

Muskogee has 2 movie theaters with a total of 16 screens showing a wide variety of movies. The Muskogee Little Theater has several stage plays throughout the year featuring local talent – and boy does Muskogee have talent. Muskogee Skate Center is the perfect place for the young and young-at-heart to enjoy some indoor physical activity. If skating isn’t your thing, then come bowl a few lines at Green Country Lanes.

The Roxy Theater in downtown Muskogee hosts several variety shows a year. The Muskogee Civic Center features larger shows such as the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, Shrine Circus, Tough Man and various concerts. There is usually something going on every week at the Civic Center.

Newly re-opened Thunderbird speedway in Muskogee gives race fans a night of fun. Also close by is Outlaw Motor Speedway, just a few miles South of Muskogee, with a wide variety including NASCAR.

The Muskogee Fair has returned in recent years and gets better each year.

Economy

While the East and West coast were floundering in this current recession, Muskogee was holding its own. Muskogee saw only a small impact while the coasts saw huge downturns. The economy here is much more stable than other regions of the US. The cost of living is much more affordable here than most other places.

It’s just a great place to live, work and play

If I thought Muskogee wasn’t a great place to live, work and play, I would not have raised my family here, sent them to school here, or work here. A large part of my summer is spent at Lake Fort Gibson. I do most of my shopping locally, most of my eating out locally, and most of my entertainment locally. So, what’s so great about Muskogee? Almost everything.

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Sweet-n-Sassy Cafe & Baking – Update

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:52:36 +0000

Update 8/26/10: Follow Sweet-n-Sassy on Facebook and Twitter!

Sweet-n-Sassy Baking, which made its web debut a few months ago, now has a brick-and-mortar cafe on main street right across from the federal building. Janet has expanded her repertoire to serve soups, salads, sandwiches and more to her hungry visitors. The menu will be online at her website, http://www.sweetnsassybaking.com, very soon.

Meanwhile, this is what’s in the offering:

Sandwiches – served with chips & pickle

BLT, club, chicken salad on croissant, deli (turkey or ham), pimento cheese, and fried bologna.

Salads

Chef salad (turkey, ham, cheese, tomatoes, eggs, croutons), spinach salad (baby spinach, bacon, croutons, red onions, eggs), Caesar salad, anti-pasta salad (rotini pasta w/ garlic basil, parsley, dressing w/ black olives, smoked sausage, pepper jack cheese)

Sides

Potato salad, sweet-n-sour pasta salad, black eyed peas, anti-pasta, side salad

Miscellaneous

Loaded baked potato and soup of the day

Sweet Stuff

Cupcakes, cookies, brownies, cake, and pie

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Muskogee Lowes is tops in customer service

admin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:16:32 +0000

When a company delivers bad service, word quickly gets around. You tell this friend, and they tell others, etc. until many people know you’ve been treated badly. But, when a company like Lowes delivers outstanding customer service, people should hear about that, too. Hence, this post.

Sunday a week ago, my mother and I went to Lowes in Muskogee to purchase 3 outside utility buildings. We purchased two 10×14 buildings and one 10×12 to be delivered the next day. We were given free delivery to two different places, which would normally have been about $65 each. After we checked out, my mother realized she had a 10% off card she forgot to use. The folks at the customer service desk re-did her order so she could get the 10% off, which was a substantial amount. Great service #1 & #2.

The next day, the delivery guy called to say he was delivering two 10×12 and one 10×14 buildings. I corrected him and told him it should be the other way around: two of the larger buildings and one smaller one. He said he would check and call me back. Well, I did some checking, too. I found out from the receipt that they had rung it up wrong. When the delivery person called back, he said they had made the mistake and would honor the original order at no extra charge. Great service #3.

My mother decided, on the hottest day of the year, to not wait for me to help, but to begin building one of the buildings herself. I didn’t know this until she called Sunday (yesterday) to tell me that the building she had almost completed did not have a floor kit in it like it was supposed to. So, I got her to give me the item number and I searched online. It didn’t come up with anything valid on Lowe’s site, but the number of the other 10×14 building did. And, according to the website, that item number does have a floor kit included.

So, off to Lowes I go to try to figure this out. The manager who worked with us the first time is on vacation. Sure. So, I asked to speak to another manager. I explained to this manager what happened and, after searching, told me they don’t make the floor kits anymore since they now are included. Apparently, they are the same building, but one was the old one that needed a floor kit and one was the new one that had it included. He had an employee open a box and pull out the floor kit for me. He even allowed me to take the hardware bag and a few other parts that looked like they may be needed (or not) just in case. I promised to return what we don’t use, but told him it may be a week before I could do it. (With temps forecast over 100° for the next few days, I doubt I will want to mess with it much.) Great service #4.

Yes, we had some problems, but Lowes in Muskogee did their level best to fix them and make the customer happy. In fact, they went above and beyond. They didn’t even hassle me for the receipt. Most places would have wanted us to dismantle the wrong building and exchange it for the correct one and want the receipt.

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Sweet-n-Sassy Baking makes its web debut

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:40:47 +0000

We’ve been there. A special occasion and you need a cake, but don’t want to go with the supermarket cake. Sweet-n-Sassy has the answer. I’ve tasted Janet’s award-winning cakes and they are fantastic. Free delivery in the Muskogee area. Well, just go to her website and you’ll see.

*** UPDATE: The owner of Sweet-n-Sassy has decided to open her own restaurant. Watch for it on her website and on Main street across from the Federal Building. I for one can’t wait for it to open!

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Thunderbird Speedway to re-open

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:03:51 +0000

I remember when I was growing up, we lived in Oklahoma, Florida and Texas. When we lived out of state, we would still spend the summers in Muskogee. Then, later, I married and settled in Muskogee. I remember the warm summer Friday nights filled with the sounds from Thunderbird Speedway.

Depending on how the wind was blowing determined the volume, but you could hear the races all over Muskogee. I was very sad when it closed down. Even if you weren’t at the track, it was still exciting to listen to the cars accelerate and decelerate with a popping sound.

In the meantime, Outlaw Motor Speedway opened South of Town and has gained quite a following, so the question is: Can Muskogee support a track inside city limits again?

Stanley Slader is re-opening Thunderbird this month. Personally, I will welcome the Friday night sounds again, but I realize that some people will not, especially those living close to the fairgrounds. It will be interesting to see what happens that first race night as far as how many people complain about the noise.

I wish Mr. Slader the best of luck in re-opening this track and I plan to attend races there again.

For more information:

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BancFirst knows great customer service

admin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:23:19 +0000

Customer service is priority 1. Or, should I say, when the customer feels like he or she is priority 1, that is great customer service. More banks need to be like BancFirst.

I am choosy when it comes to banks. In fact, I left a bank with terrible customer service to move my accounts to BancFirst several years ago and have been quite pleased since. Over the years, I have consistently recommended BancFirst to anyone who would listen. A few years ago, my check card number was compromised and someone purchased a domain and web hosting with it. BancFirst worked with me to reverse the charges and put the money back into my account very quickly. I was in need of a small loan to cover an unexpected tax liability and BancFirst worked with me on a small second mortgage to cover that. Those at the main branch have been most helpful with all of my needs.

I had a situation last Sunday morning when I was awakened at about 2am and told that I needed to make an emergency trip out of town. I knew I would need toll money, so I stopped at the closest branch with an ATM on my way out of town. Unfortunately, it was down. Their next closest ATM was at a store that was closed, so I had no choice but to use another bank’s ATM. Of course, that bank charges a $2 fee for the privilege of getting their money, but I knew, based upon the one similar previous experience I had, that I could call BancFirst and they would reimburse the fee since their ATM was down.

So, first thing Monday, I called the bank to resolve this. I talked with the customer service representative who answered the phone and was able to get BancFirst’s foreign ATM fee removed, but he couldn’t refund the $2 the other bank charged. Since I was unable to get any satisfaction over the phone, I visited the main branch. I know, it’s only 2 bucks, but, to me, it was the principal of the thing. I’m not going to go broke over $2, but, then, neither is the bank. To me, it was a customer service issue.

While I was waiting on someone to help me (I didn’t want to talk to the rep or his supervisor since I had already been that route), branch president John Barton appeared to assist me. I explained the situation to him and he readily agreed to refund the $2. I don’t know if the bank has a fund they refund from (I was told they did, once), or if he pulled 2 singles out of his own pocket and put it in my account. Either way, he knows the value of a happy customer.

I know I wouldn’t have closed my accounts for a 2 dollar fee, but I would have been less happy (probably only for a bit, though, as I don’t hold grudges very long). But, for only 8 quarters, Mr. Barton bought my continued loyalty and he can rest assured I will continue to recommend BancFirst over any other. BancFirst will also be my first stop for all of my financial needs and, when I finally DO win the lottery, they will have my money.

I’m not saying businesses should give in to every little demand, but they should weigh the cost of customer service and customer retention with the cost of earning a new customer and make decisions based upon that. They should also empower their employees to make some decisions themselves and train them in customer service. I don’t have millions of dollars in the bank, so me closing my accounts probably would not make much difference to a bank the size of BancFirst and Mr. Barton knows this, or will when he accesses my accounts. However, he did not act based upon my pitiful net worth, but, he acted, I believe, based upon my worth as a customer. He made me feel like I was priority 1.

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Best car-buying experience yet

admin — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:53:25 +0000

2009 Chevy Silverado

My 22-year-old son needed a new car, so we went with him yesterday to help him out a bit. To tell you the truth, I was NOT looking forward to this. I’ve been in too many dealerships where the pressure is on and you feel like a slime if you even think about leaving without one of their cars. I mean, how dare you turn down their generous offer to help you out because, of course, that is their only interest. When you show the least bit of hesitation, the sales manager comes in to assault you. They never want to tell you the best price for the car, but what your payments will be, so they want to run your credit first. I don’t play that game any more.

Well, the first place we went was Speedway Chevrolet on 145th East Avenue in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Their inventory is low due to cash for clunkers, but they have a few vehicles on the lot. The salesperson greeted us and asked us what we are looking for. My son tells her he really wants a truck, but doesn’t know if he can afford one yet. So, she shows us 2009 Silverados, allows him to test drive them, and answers all of our questions. As we go back in to her cubicle to check prices, she excuses herself to get the numbers. When she returns, she also has prices on two used trucks for comparison. The sales manager is in-tow, also. I brace myself because I think I know what’s coming. He simply shakes our hands and thanks us for being there. I’m shocked and the salesperson can read it on my face as she comments about it.

She accompanies us to the used lot and does not hand us off, but works with one of the used salesmen. We test drive a 2006 Silverado, and my son decides he wants to try for the new one. Since the price really was not that much lower, I agreed with him, and we return to the new side with the same salesperson. She gave us the price on the truck, all rebates, and what she would give us on the trade, if we decide to trade. We tell her we would like to check at another dealership and to hold on to the paperwork. Of course, she remarks that she would rather us stay, but she understands and does not pressure us.

We did visit another dealership, one where we bought our Silverado from 2 years ago. They had a lot smaller selection, but we thought we’d check it out. They were a lot more high-pressure and did the whole sales manager thing to us. The salesperson said she needed to run my son’s credit so she could tell us the price. I told her that she did not, in fact, need to know his credit score to give us a price, only a payment number. That’s when the sales manager came in. He gave us the price, then they added on something called ‘Nitrogen’ for $599, and of course the dealer prep fee for $249 or so. When I asked what the Nitrogen was, they said that was their profit. Hmm. That sounded fishy. Plus, I had to push them to give me the same rebate and the same trade that Speedway gave us without us asking. Anyway, we did leave that dealership (actually, we sneaked out) and returned to Speedway.

We finished the deal with our original salesperson, she did the paperwork and I asked her about any add-on fees. She told me that the number she had on the paperwork was the out-the-door price, no fees. We agreed and then, and only then, did she ask for his credit information. All was approved and he drove home a new 2009 Chevy Silverado regular cab truck with only 89 miles on it.

My son and I had a wonderful car-buying experience at Speedway Chevrolet in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. I would hope anyone else who shops for a vehicle there has a similar experience.

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