The Orange County Register, Calif., Business Question Column
Posted on: Monday, 8 May 2006, 12:04 CDT
By The Orange County Register, Calif.
May 8--Q. How do rising gasoline prices affect your business?
Because our customer base lives throughout Southern California, we have had to come up with more creative ways to deliver to them. We have just one large truck delivering to (a central point) in Los Angeles from Orange County, and local drivers transfer the meal orders to their vehicles. We also deliver in the early hours of the morning before rush hour so that our drivers aren't sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. We also implemented a $10 delivery fee to help cover the increased costs.
Even with conservation measures, we're paying probably 50 percent to 60 percent more than January 2005.
-- Susan Johnson, Susan's Healthy Gourmet (prepared meals for individuals), Irvine
We've had to focus on the amount of money that the drivers are making, by instituting a 15 percent mandatory tip, so that we could retain their services longer. They are self-employed so they pay for their own gasoline.
The longer we retain them, the better service that they deliver to the customer.
-- Michael Caito, Restaurants on the Run (delivers meals from variety of restaurants), Laguna Niguel
There has been a spike in business. Tune-up and fuel injection services have increased.
-- Jim Boyd, Mechanical Mann Auto Repair, Laguna Hills.
Next week's question: Do illegal immigrants help or hurt American businesses? E-mail responses to business@ocregister.com. Put "question" in the subject line.
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Source: The Orange County Register
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