Kum & Go Plays Bait & Switch

UPDATE: 2 hours after I Tweeted a link to this post, I got a Twitter response from a Kum & Go representative. Seems this person tweets practically 24/7, according to the profile log.... Wonder if the Twittering is the main duty in their job! At any rate - this person, who goes by ^MPT on the Kum&Go Twitter profile said he was emailing HQ(or someone, at any rate) about the issue. He wrote(via Twitter):
You sure will. I'm typing up an email now. We'll take care of you. Thanks for your patience. :) ^MPT

I replied to his Twitter post with:
Thanks for the reply, ^MPT. I'll be duly awaiting response from HQ. Let's HOPE they will desist on the pricing misrepresentation. and within MINUTES he wrote back as follows:
You should have a reply in your inbox. I sent it to the email on your Blogger profile. Let me know if you didn't get it. ^MPT

Unfortunately, the email was not there as mentioned, but it is likely because that contact is outdated. I will update the contact email and advise to him, but I am wondering why they can't simply respond to the letter I emailed them in the first place - which DID have the current contact email!

So I am back on the road, headed south to warmer weather(I hope!). I'll do another updating post soon, but need to vent. I HATE unethical business practices, and if you agree that this is the case upon reading this post, I hope you will help me go on a boycotting tirade against Kum & Go gas stations.

The title on this blog post links directly to Kum & Go's Contact Form(as does this link. Send them a note telling them how you feel about such tactics. And do please link this post up and down the internet highway! Twitter, Facebook, even MySpace if it still exists! If YOU have had a similar tactic employed by a gas station while on the road - please post about it in the comments section.

Here's the letter I wrote, after filling my damned 33 gallon tank, which had like 1/8 left in it at the time.


Hello -

I pulled in to buy gas, seeing the price of $2.71. MOST places have the lower octane gas as the cheapest. NOT this station.

The only prices listed on the sign were one for gasoline, and one for diesel.

When I got to the pump, I did notice two choices for gas, but naturally assumed the lower octane to have been the one advertised on the board.

Nope. While the board DOES say "super unleaded" is $2.71 9/10, I am sure that the station is WELL aware the consumer sees the price only.

When I looked at my receipt and noticed I had been charger $2.81 9/10 instead, I was QUITE pissed off. I bought 23.661 gallons off your gas, at a cost of $66.60, and was - in my opinion - ripped off out of $2.36.

While it might not *seem* a big deal, I am well aware of the factor when applied in quantity.

This behavior tells me that Kum & Go is an unethical business.

I am on a cross-country road trip; one which is being reported on on Facebook, Twitter, 3 international website discussion boards for adventure athletes(who travel extensively) and a blog with a good number of viewers. You can BET I will be posting this letter and details.

Would you like to comment(which will be included in follow up postings).

Thank you,

Terrie
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First 24 Hours On the Road

Well, first 19.5, actually. It's 10:30am and I am lolly-gagging at a rest stop on Hwy 17 near Bath, NY. Got a late start yesterday, leaving New Paltz between 2:30 and 3pm.

The van has been running smoothly and it makes me nervous to feel comfortable about that; so many people took one look at Swanky and shook their heads sadly, that I fear something catastrophic will occur along the way. Please universe, protect me from that!

After driving past the Mohonk Preserve one last time, and waving good-bye to my beloved Clove Road(See you next year, cabin! Hank says it is likely I can have it again.),I headed south on 209, and then west on 17.

A half tank of gas later, I stopped and filled up as was suggested by the security guy at the preserve Visitor Center(I forget his name!!!) who told me to go this route over the one I had chosen, which was 209 through the Delaware Water Gap and then crossing wide through Pennsylvania. He said, "After Corning, there's nothing for a loooong while! Get gas!"

And as I passed Corning, I had to listen, but instead pulled off the highway at the town just further, called Painted Post. The reason being that the Corning exits offered only one gas station choice, and I felt my wallet might be taken advantage of if there was only one choice. Painted Post had 3 choices, and it was just a quarter mile off the highway exit to the one I used.

I thought it would be an easy off/on to the highway, but as I went back, the exit was closed for roadwork. So I had to backtrack for the detour, which....I didn't follow. Instead I pulled off at the very next exit, but then it intersected with another big highway, and worried I would somehow get herded onto that unwanted route, I turned off to the smaller road instead. I figured I'd drive down that a while, turn around, and get a decent warning as to where the entrance back to17/86 was, instead of having to make the choice in the seconds I would have otherwise had. What can I say? I haven't been regularly behind the wheel of a car in a long time.

At any rate - as I drove down that side road, I saw a Walmart.... And it lured me right in! Ever before, when people said "You can camp overnight at Walmart," I would snub the idea. I thought I would want to do better than that. I had figured I would get back on the highway and continue on to the rest area near Bath, where I actually am now. But I had stopped at the previous rest station to feed and walk Teddy and you know....the people I noticed sort of had a really anonymous vibe. Plus, the parking is right there where every single car using the place drives within feet behind your vehicle. So - I figured WalMart couldn't be any worse.

And it wasn't. Probably better even, since I did notice a few condom wrappers on the ground as I made coffee here this morning. I don't think anyone was hooking up in the cars at the WM lot...but anyway....

So, I even went in to use the WM potty, but I will say it now - I pledge to do my best not to give WM any of my money on this trip. But that won't stop me from using their bathroom, and yes, I will sleep in their lots again I think.

Somewhere around midnight, a cleaning truck drove through the lot. I was awakened by the recurring droning sound it made, and finally after several passes I was like "WTF IS that?" and looked out the window, just in time to see the big yellow behemoth swipe right up alongside the passenger side of the van.!

"That's a little close," I thought, but figured it was probably just an open lane the truck would use, and who knows - maybe there was some trash sitting there to be scooped away.

But then the truck turned around and came for another pass - and repeated it three damned times! "Shit," I though. "They are going to have someone from security come rapping on my window and ask why I am here."

But, they didn't, and eventually I fell back asleep.

It was a far cry from the nights of peaceful bliss I've spent at the cabin the last half a year, where maybe 6 cars quietly pass down the road per night, but it wasn't so bad, I guess. The cel reception for my mobile broadband was 4 bars strong, and that was a plus, though I ended up not staying online for very long.

I woke up about5am, which I have been doing for the last month anyway, and lolled in half-sleep, and then opened my eyes again later and it was pretty light. 7am! oops!

I decided to just get on the road and make coffee at the rest station I had intended to go to the night before, and that is just what I have done. I also did a little more organizing in the van, and....well, I am going to stay online for just a little longer, and then walk Teddy again and head off.



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Swanky!

Well - the van has been bought and the modification to a road trip rig is in progress! Here are some photos of the "Before/After" work to get the sleep/storage platform in:

First, some pictures of Swanky, or Senor Swanky, as the van is more formally called, in general:






So, Ken, who worked as a trailhead assistant at the Mohonk Preserve this year, offered to help me out. He said he "had a few tools, and though he wasn't the greatest" carpenter.....hahaha. The guy did SUCH an awesome job! The platform has dado cuts, is sturdy as can be, and is shaped perfectly to contour to the van walls. He even did cutaways to allow me to more easily slide the curtains. It really is beautiful.

But what a lot of work! Two days of it!




One seat out, and more to go....


Here's Ken, having removed one captain's chair, and locating the bolts that hold the base to the van bed.


Teddy is wondering if he can keep this one. He found it most comfortable!


I would hold a vise grip pliers on the nut , while Ken cranked, and cranked, on the bolt heads. Those things were welded.

The captain's seats were bad enough, but the rear bench had 8 more bolts, and another 4 for the seat belts. Having already taken several hours, we elected to slice the belts, leaving the bolts/hanger in situ. The bench was held down by metal keepers, and so we loosened the bolts just enough to slide the keepers away from the seat base. Then we lifted the bench out. Sure, i bit of floor space is junked up with the left-in-place hardware, but all in all, well worth the effort spared.


And what swanky seats they were! I tried to sell them on Craigslist, but with little time to wait, had no bites, and instead gave them to a climber who offered to take them though he couldn't pay anything.


The van, emptied of the seats, and ready for the work to begin!


Ken manually cut each dado with his radial saw.


I would say I helped, but.....this was the only saw work I did; one dado. Fun!


Sidewalls are done, ready to have legs joined


Here's one sidewall, set into place


Teddy was the foreman


Both sidewalls in place, with cross bars in as well. Looking good!


Adding the center support


Ready for the plywood top


Lots of screws later, the top is secured. But NOT before many small adjustments were made to contour the shape EXACTLY to the van dimensions. This thing is a perfect fit.


The platform is done! It will hold a full-sized mattress, with room along one side for small bins. Underneath, has 19 inches clearance - room for large bins. Still, because the van has a high-top, there is enough headroom to sit on the bed comfortably.





The foreman takes a final walk-through....


Ken did such an awesome job - He even cut away sections to make it so the curtains are not compressed by the platform edges.


This cushion was part of the "before" set-up, where the bench folded flat into a bed-type of thing. The problem was that the clearance for storage below was was nowhere near enough to keep climbing and camping gear for a 5 month road trip. As well, the bed was about 3/4 sized. But the cushion I kept, and will place it atop the side storage bins. I can rest it upright as shown, place pillows in front, and it becomes a couch back!


This fabric panel was also part of "before." It was sewn to the top/back of the rear bench, as if it were a cape. It hid the seat brackets and also camouflaged anything that might be stored beneath the bench. I simply ran a length of thin, stiff, accessory cord through a turned seam already in place, and tied loops at each end in an overhand knot.

The high-top has some little front windows, and they have snap-in-place covers to cut unwanted sunlight out. I unsnap the top, outermost corners, slip the loops on the "cape" atop the male part, and resnap the cover. That holds the lightweight fabric panel in place, and allows me to have a privacy screen from anyone who might be walking in front of the van.

Swanky!!!

Kudos to Ken K! What a truly generous man. He spent tow full days doing this work, and said he would take no payment. When I offered him 4 $25 gift certificates for the Gilded Otter, he accepted only one, and insisted on buying the other three from me.

My friend Pauline also gave me some wood, which was used for the legs of the platform. I've also saved some more for use in a side storage unit.


The guy who took the seats had no money, but he did come bearing a bit of booty, and gave me this gear in exchange. The cam is an Empire Rock, a bit bigger than blue BD Camalot, 3 nuts, a big hex, all on an old Chouinard biner. Nice!


So - that's that.... The van does have some issues, and is spending today and tomorrow at the mechanics. I was not happy to learn of these issues, but as they say - Caveat Emptor. I can blame no one but myself.

I plan to leave my little cabin in the woods, and head towards the desert southwest on Monday. I'm hoping to hit Joshua Tree, red Rocks, the Buttermilks, Cochise Stronghold, and Hueco Tanks, and some other places too. Hopefully, I will be back here at the Gunks, in my little cabin, caretaking at the Coxing Kill, in mid April of 2011.

Wish me well, and keep an eye on this blog, where I will post updates and links to updates I post elsewhere.


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