Is new sound system a good thing?
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But one thing I was impressed with was the new, state-of-the-art speaker system that was installed over the summer at Nunley Stadium.
Gone are the days where you can’t hear the announcer because of static feedback or other audio difficulties.
With this new $40,000 speaker system, every word comes through clear as a bell. And I know people in the stands had to be thankful for the better sound quality.
Thanks to this new system, people in the crowd had no difficulty hearing the announcer say, “Touchdown Lincoln County.”
When the Pioneers had the ball, there was no problem understanding the announcer say, “Third down and 26.” When the Pioneers dropped back to throw, if you couldn’t see the action on the field, it was easy to hear, “The pass is intercepted by Lincoln County and returned for a touchdown.”
Come to think of it, this new sound system isn’t much of a treat after all. I kind of like the old days when there was some question about what was really said. Now there’s no doubt when it’s announced, “Lincoln County 42, Pioneers 0.”
And since we’re on the subject of speakers, I have to tell you about the latest technology being used at three McDonald’s restaurants in Missouri, Minnesota and Massachusetts. When placing an order at the drive-thru of these restaurants, your order doesn’t immediately go inside but instead halfway across the country to a call center in Colorado.
When the customer shouts into the microphone, “I want a quarter pounder with cheese, large fries, an apple pie, and a diet coke” that order gets typed into a computer in Colorado. It then gets sent back to the original restaurant’s kitchen.
It’s about this time I ask why in the world would McDonald’s do such a thing? The answer is customer service. McDonald’s has information which claims the new system gets customers their orders 30 seconds faster and with fewer mistakes. Amazing.
The sad part of the story is if this new system really is better, and more and more restaurants begin using call centers, they won’t be located in Colorado for very long. They will be shipped to China and India. Then those countries will be stealing our fast-food jobs too.
Before this thought makes me depressed, I better bring you this week’s Business Pulse.
High’s Funeral Home plans expansion
Believe it or not, it’s been almost 40 years since High’s Funeral Home has done any type of expansion or renovation work. For a building where hundreds and hundreds of people can be packed in at once, 40 years is a long time without improvements.
All that is on the verge of changing in the coming weeks when High’s will add on to the backside of its existing building and then renovate the rest of its facility.
“It’s all about providing more space inside for family visitation,” said High’s employee Woody Davenport. “We hope to get started in a couple weeks. The only thing we’re waiting on is the final permit from the state fire marshal.”
After the expansion is complete, High’s plans to move the casket selection area and the preparation room area to the new space. Those areas will then be renovated and made into two new family visitation rooms.
Through all the improvements, Woody stressed it would be business as usual at High’s, which performs over 300 funerals a year.
Among the rubble, new store opens on Main Street
Karen Parisi isn’t at all discouraged about opening a new store on Main Street in the midst of massive construction efforts.
“The construction hasn’t deterred me one bit,” said Karen, who recently put the finishing touches on her bath and body stored called The Lathers’ Lair. “I’m here and I’m a new business. Actually, I’ve been surprised by the number of people who have been in here today,” she said Friday.
The Lathers’ Lair is one of those neat stores that will give downtown its own unique flavor. I think once construction clears out, Karen’s store will do well since she has a popular product and really only one main competitor in Bath & Body Works.
Karen’s store carries soap, bubble bath, shower gel, lotion, shampoo, bath balm, incense, candles, lip balm, back brushes, and more. An interesting aspect is she makes about 85 percent of her products herself.
“If there wasn’t a gallon of something being made at a time, my kids would think something was wrong with me,” said Karen. “And for people with allergies, I custom make products with herbs and essential oils instead of chemicals.”
During construction, The Lathers’ Lair will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day except Sunday. She will expand to more normal business hours once construction is complete.
The Lathers’ Lair is located across from Magness Library on the corner of Chancery and Main streets. The phone number is 474-SOAP.
Wait almost over for new donut shop
Since Tas-T-O closed its doors, there is one thing I’ve discovered about Warren County folks – they are serious about their donuts.
There has been a great deal of interest concerning the new donut shop on Chancery Street called C&K Donut. The good news is C&K Donut is planning to open this Friday for your donut-eating pleasure. The bad news is donuts really aren’t good for our waistlines.
I talked with C&K Donut owner Kim Long Shimm last week and he told me all about his plans for McMinnville. He’s excited about opening a store here after operating successful donut shops in Murfreesboro and Lebanon.
Kim says all of the renovation work is just about finished except for some minor plumbing work which is scheduled to take place at the beginning of this week. When C&K opens, it will offer biscuits and lunch sandwiches in addition to donuts, donuts and more donuts. If C&K does open Friday, you can count on me being there.
Shelter Insurance office is closed for now
I had some folks calling and asking me why Shelter Insurance has closed its local office. I called the Shelter Insurance corporate office and was told that the former agent, John Dance, is no longer with the company.
What that means is until Shelter Insurance assigns another agent to this area, the office in McMinnville will remain closed. I asked if that might be for one month or for three months and was told that the office was closed indefinitely with no timetable for reopening.
When a new agent arrives, that person will send out letters introducing himself or herself and customers will be informed about when the local office will reopen.
More retail space coming to N. Chancery
There is construction work taking place next to the new Enterprise office on N. Chancery Street. I’ve talked about this work in the past, but now that it’s actually taking place more questions are surfacing from folks eager to know what’s happening.
Since that’s the case, I’ll provide this recap. Jewell Hale and Bobby Kirby are building three more stores exactly like the three that are currently in place. Essentially, the little shopping center with Enterprise will double itself, although there are no new tenants to report.
“We are going to build them and hope people come,” said Jewell. “In about eight weeks it should be done. We want to be ready to go for the shopping season.”
That’s all folks
Remember to keep that business news coming at 473-2191. And if you want to make sure I hear it loud and clear, just announce it during a Pioneer football game on that new sound system.