Deep Thought Thursday

Yinzers,

Today's deep thought revolves around...gas prices? O.k. maybe not gas prices at the core, but using gas prices as an excuse. As with most of my deep thoughts, this one began earlier this week at Kelly Hardware, when our phones were ringing off the hook. I had customers on the phone making me run around pricing several different items in different sizes, colors, thread pitches-you name it. "Well do you have that in anything bigger? What about other brands? Ooh, and can I get a price on all that stuff I told you about 10 minutes ago?" Get in your car and drive down here. It is not that far...possibly 20 minutes MAXIMUM to get here. If we do not have it, chances are we can point you to somewhere in town that does.

Well I got ballsy and asked one of the fellows on the phone that was giving me a particularly difficult time why he does not "bring that 'thing' down here and we can find it." The response I got was "Well, with the economy the way it is and gas prices being so high, it's better to price first and then go get it." Here's my beef: yes, the economy is more sour than a Warheads candy (throwback 1995), but "gas prices?" Gas prices are at the lowest they have been in over three years. I remember the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college, so 2007, when gas was over $5.00 per gallon. Don't blame your own sheer laziness on gas. Even with BP spewing petroleum into the Gulf of Mexico, gas prices are holding steady around $2.65-$2.85 in western Pennsylvania. What he should have said was "I'm a lazy asshole and I don't want to get off my couch so I'm making sure you have it at the cheapest price and I'm sending my wife."

Don't be lazy and blame it on gas prices, people.

B Brog