This morning, I stopped the Marathon station at 3087 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. to put a little gas in my car. A hand-written sign on all the pumps rubbed me the wrong way:
"PREPAY OR LEAVE," it said. As if paying $2.45 per gallon isn't bad enough, this stern warning put me in a slightly bad mood.
Of course, I always pre-pay, anyway, using my gas credit card. And I'm sure "drive-offs" are becoming an increasing problem at gas stations. But maybe a "You must pre-pay" sign, or a "Pre-pay only, please" placard would've done the trick. "PREPAY OR LEAVE" seems a little harsh, doesn't it?
I'm scratching my head to remember other indications that businesses are getting especially testy during this recession. The bank below our office now has a sign at its door directing customers to remove their hats, hooded sweatshirts and sunglasses before entering. I don't recall seeing such statements in writing before the economic downturn.
But surely there are other signs of the times, in which courtesy and customer service have given way to frank statements and bold requests. Any jump out at you? Let us know using the Talkback feature below.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
