On Tue, 1 Nov 2005 14:39:13 EST, Nhfloral@aol.com wrote:
> You find that two businesses charge an hourly fee of $150 per hour,
> with a $5 per mile service fee. One savvy business charges $119 per
> hour, plus $5 per mile service fee. Who are you going to call, being a
> reasonable consumer? (The Federal Trade Commission examines
> information from the viewpoint of a reasonable consumer, when
> determining if deception has occurred.) If you choose business #2 who
> charges the lowest hourly fee ... You just got screwed. LOL They
> fooled you, huh? Were you decieved?
Caveat Emptor. If you are going to pay mileage it would not be
unreasonable to ask how many miles from where you are to my place. At
$5 a mile, that $31 difference would be covered in only 6.2 miles.
Brad Houser
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You see, another thing which made
nhfloral's comparison to me (here in Independence) invalid in this
case was that although I do not personally drive a car, so would have
no need for mechanical services, I honestly have to wonder if I do not
live in the midst of a giant car garage here; I am forever seeing the
hillbillies who live across the alley and down a few doors out in
their own garage or backyard working on their own or someone else's
car; 'jumping' the battery to get it started or doing other
repairs. So while it is _not impossible_ that someone with car
troubles could wind up calling some distant auto mechanic to come
rescue them it is quite unlikely. Furthermore, there are a few young
guys here in town who are part of a 'Good Samaritan' group who, on
call from the Montgomery County Sheriff accompany the sheriff in their
own truck to pour a gallon of gas into a car which ran out anywhere in
our county (for intance Highway 77 or 169) with a cellphone and other
simple supplies (can of oil, etc). They also tow vehicles back into
town to one of the service stations. A nice bunch of young kids.
A summer ago, a friend and I were riding back into town from a small
village near Coffeyville, called Tyro, KS (population of Tyro is all
of 250 people). On the 'Tyro cutoff', a very dark, very narrow two
lane road which runs from Highway 77 south ten miles through Tyro and
on to the Oklahoma border, we passed a older lady with a young child
sitting on the side of the road. My friend and I decided to check it
out, the lady said her car had either overheated or had gasoline vapor
lock, I forget which. I offered her my cell phone but she had no one
to call; so I wound up calling the sheriff for her. We waited there
with her and her kid; about 20-25 minutes later here came a Sheriff
Deputy to talk to her. About the same time he pulled up, a truck came
up with two guys (both older teenagers, about 18-19) pulled up as well.
They get out of their truck, go and begin examining her engine,
etc. In the back of the litle truck they carry a few gallons of water,
some oil and gasoline (but very little! too dangerous to carry much of
it back there.) The sheriff talked to the lady, the guys got her car
restarted. I think -- not sure -- they are called 'Good Samaritans'
and are volunteers helping with radio calls from the Sheriff. Small,
rural areas are nice in that way. Coincidentally, my friend who had
always been opposed to cell phones until that time ("they are used
by people who want to think they are important") observed all this
closely. Next time I went out riding with him I notice he had
installed a cell phone in his car, something he _never_ would have
done even six months earlier. PAT]
Brad Houser (bradDOThouser@intel.com)