| Thrifty Car Sales Opens Eight Dealerships in Six States
TULSA, Okla., Nov. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Thrifty Car Sales, a subsidiary of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: DTG) , is turning up the heat on expansions, recently adding eight locations to its national network of franchised used car dealerships. New dealerships are opening in markets that include Baxley, Ga.; Louisville, Ky.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Bixby and Pryor, Okla.; East Providence, R.I.; and Spokane, Wash. In Baxley, Ga., dealer Keven Carter opened a Thrifty Car Sales dealership at 755 W. Parker St. Carter has been in the automotive business for more than 10 years, most recently as Sales Manager at Woody Folsom Chevrolet. Steve Sternberg, a Thrifty Car Rental and Truck Rental franchisee for more than 32 years, has opened a dealership at 6507 Preston Highway in Louisville, Ky.
New restaurant not really a Ludacris idea
In March 2007, Bridges paid $2.7 million for the 5,170-square-foot space at 793 Juniper St. (at Fifth Street) in Midtown that was formerly the restaurant Spice. Two months later at an event for his Ludacris Foundation, Bridges was introduced to San Francisco Bay Area restaurateur Chris Yeo by a mutual friend. Bridges considers Yeo's first name serendipitous and after he visited one of Yeo's restaurants and tasted his chicken lollipops and watermelon martinis, a business relationship was born. "That's my favorite," Bridges said of the chicken dish. He said he fell in love with the menu at Straits. (Three of Yeo's restaurants are in the Straits family; his fourth, Sino, has a completely different menu.) The pair expects to open three restaurants in metro Atlanta.
Central Florida: Land of lakes, lush gardens and lots of airplanes
Two pairs of sand hill cranes standing around in an open field, red heads on the males, convinced me that the middle of Florida is a great place to meet real life. No animatronics or robots in Lakeland, Lake Wales, Winter Haven and the smaller parts of Polk County, Fla. Real life happens here and it's easy to join in. Disney's next door so go if you like, but abundant fun in real communities and spectacular sights wrapped up with lots of lakes and gardens filled my attention span in this big central Florida county. I had no idea most of them existed and I live only a four-hour drive away. Others, like Cypress Gardens I've missed all these years to my dismay now that I've walked under the branches of the 72-year-old banyan tree, explored the lovely grounds and applauded the water ski show.
VA Police Officer Facing Charges
Richard Allan Martin, 45, of West Fargo was arrested early yesterday morning.
He originally was charged with drunken driving and terrorizing. Authorities accuse Martin of engaging in sexual conduct with a 28-year-old woman inside his car, which was parked behind a bar in north Fargo.
Police say a woman later told people in a convenience store that Martin threatened to kill her.
Martin is still in the Cass County Jail pending $500 bail for a municipal drunken driving charge, but has posted bail set for the district charges.
East Central Judicial District Judge Wade Webb set bail on those charges at $3,000 bond or $300 cash.
VA spokeswoman Peggy Wheelden says Martin is a federal police officer employed by the VA, whose jurisdiction covers the VA campus.
SPO Partners Withdraws From Australia Media Deal
The deal, if successful, would mark Lachlan Murdoch's return to the Australian media industry after he resigned his New York-based executive role at News Corp. in 2005. He remains on that company's board, although his move to acquire Consolidated Media is independent of News Corp., which owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Consolidated Media said in a statement that SPO's decision to withdraw related to changes in investment conditions and not to the bidding groups' assessment of the company's prospects and businesses. SPO wasn't available for comment. A person familiar with the situation said SPO pulled out Wednesday for reasons including the recent strength of the Australian dollar against the U.S. dollar and the global credit crunch. SPO's move surprised Messrs.
Insurance Company USAA Tops BusinessWeek's List of 'Customer Service ...
NEW YORK, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second consecutive year, insurance company USAA tops BusinessWeek's ranking of "Customer Service Champs." The BusinessWeek list ranks the best providers of customer service, and digs into the techniques, strategies, and tools they use to deliver great service. Good customer service would seem to be a simple matter. Make policies flexible. Customers don't like playing call-center tag; keep it to a minimum. Hire friendly people, train them well, and reward them with healthy pay and benefits. But delivering the right level of customer service turns out to be hard. Some companies struggle to find smiling teenagers who are willing to work for the minimum wage flipping burgers. Others have the difficult task of ensuring their customers get the same message whether they're online, on the phone, or in the store.
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