Petaluma gas prices high compared to Santa Rosa

I knew it!  No wonder there's a campaign against Safeway putting in a gas station!
Local News from The Press Democrat Petaluma gas prices high compared to Santa Rosa

Petaluma gas prices high compared to Santa Rosa

<p>Do Petalumans pay higher gas prices than people in Santa Rosa?</p><p>It certainly looks that way.</p><p>If you were scanning gas prices on websites such as GasPriceWatch.com Tuesday, you could see the fairly logical cascade of prices along the Highway 101 corridor from San Rafael to Santa Rosa.</p><p>San Rafael averaged $3.99. Novato averaged $3.98. Petaluma came in at an average of $3.97. Rohnert Park averaged $3.89, and Santa Rosa averaged $3.84, or 13 cents less than Petaluma's average.</p><p>The farther you get from the bay, it seems, the lower the price.</p><p>If you spend some time monitoring websites such as GasBuddy.com or GasPriceWatch.com, you'll see a trend appear – Petaluma's daily gas prices, on average, are generally reported to be at least 10 cents higher than those in Santa Rosa.</p><p>In a larger context, both sets of prices are up 5 cents from last week due in part to the "summer bump" – a required switchover to an ethanol-blend gasoline. Refineries change to summer-blend production in March and April, and gas stations have until June 1 to start selling the summer-grade gas.</p><p>According to AAA, prices are following their typical yearly trend by moving up during the spring, peaking during the summer and decreasing through the fall.</p><p>When asked why Petaluma would price so much higher than Santa Rosa, Cynthia Harris, AAA Northern California spokesperson, speculated that location, distribution or the higher population and number of gas stations may have something to do with it.</p><p>"There's really no reason why Petaluma would be targeted with higher gas prices," Harris said.</p><p>At a local level, some speculation has been made as to why the cities of Petaluma and Santa Rosa price so differently. </p><p>One theory comes from Arash Salkhi, owner of 11 gas stations in the Bay Area and three in Petaluma. Salkhi said Santa Rosa's lower prices are partly a chain reaction to Safeway's new station there.</p><p>"You've got companies (in Santa Rosa) like Safeway selling below cost at $3.61, when I'm across the street at $3.99," Salkhi said. "If I bring my margin down to compete, the guy next to me is going to do the same thing."</p><p>In Petaluma, Safeway's proposal to build a fueling station near its South McDowell Boulevard store is continuing through the planning process after a moratorium failed that would have halted the project. Some councilmembers and residents expressed concerns that Safeway utilizes below market "predatory pricing" to drive other gas stations out of business.</p><p>Salkhi said Safeway's gas prices in cities where they've been established for some time – such as Novato, San Ramon and Pleasanton – are 20 cents higher than Santa Rosa because the company is trying to "shock the market." By this he means Safeway draws customers' attention with abnormally low prices and then slowly raise prices once a customer base is generated.</p><p>Dan Lutz, owner of the the Chevron station on East Washington, said another factor in pricing is that some smaller brands with a larger presence in Santa Rosa, such as AM/PM and ARCO, don't take credit cards – a tactic Lutz said can translate into big savings.</p><p>"We don't have an ARCO in Petaluma," Lutz said. "I think that would drive prices down."</p><p>Lutz thinks an ARCO in Petaluma could drive his cost down, too. If an ARCO were to pop up across the street from a Petaluma station owned directly by Chevron – of which there are two in town – he said Chevron would "definitely adjust their cost to try to compete."</p><p>But despite what drives the difference, one thing commuters at the pump can count on in the spring and summer is higher prices across the board. </p><p>Harris said this is due not only to the summer bump, but also a mild winter that encouraged travel. Harris added that crude oil has risen in price over the last several weeks due to geopolitical tension in Ukraine and Venezuela.</p><p>"We're kind of in a wait and see mode," she said.</p><p>(Contact Allison Jarrell at allison.jarrell@arguscourier.com)</p>

http://www.petaluma360.com/article/20140328/community/140329497

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Netflix CEO hates paying off Comcast, Verizon due to 'weak' net neutrality

TechRadar: All latest feeds Netflix CEO hates paying off Comcast, Verizon due to 'weak' net neutrality

Netflix is paying the fiber optic piper, but doesn't much like it according to the first comments from its CEO since the FCC's net neutrality rules were declared unenforceable.

"Some big ISPs are extracting a toll because they can -- they effectively control access to millions of consumers," said Netflix head Reed Hastings in a blog post today.

He calls out Comcast, Verizon and AT&T by name, saying that ISPs "are willing to sacrifice the interests of their own customers to press Netflix and others to pay."

Netflix customers have experienced poor video quality and long buffering times, which led the company to pay off certain ISPs to alleviate the network congestion.

So much for Netflix making good on its threat to incite a members' protest.

Comcast an 'industry leader'... of weak net neutrality

The problem is that net neutrality, even in its traditional form, is "weak," according to Hastings.

"The essence of net neutrality is that ISPs such as AT&T and Comcast don't restrict, influence or otherwise meddle with the choices consumers make," he wrote.

"This weak net neutrality isn't enough to protect an open, competitive Internet; a stronger form of net neutrality is required."

What does stronger net neutrality look like? In the eyes of the Netflix CEO, it's all about preventing ISPs from charging tolls for interconnection between services like Netflix and subscribers.

Big guy says it's all about the little guy

Toll-free interconnection matters to million of smaller websites too, as they use interconnection intermediaries such as Cogent, Akamai or Level 3 to deliver data to end-users.

"If this kind of [toll] leverage is effective against Netflix, which is pretty large, imagine the plight of smaller services today and in the future.

"Roughly the same arbitrary tax is demanded from the intermediaries such as Cogent and Level 3, who supply millions of websites with connectivity, leading to a poor consumer experience."

About Netflix's 30% internet usage claim

ISPs often defend their position by pointing to studies that show Netflix members streaming habits account for about 30% of peak residential internet traffic.

"ISPs want us to share in their costs," Netflix said, contesting that, "but they don't also offer for Netflix or similar services to share in the ISPs revenue, so cost-sharing makes no sense."

Reed pointed to more than bad actors among the nationwide ISPs for abiding by net neutrality in its strictest form.

"Some major ISPs, like Cablevision, already practice strong net neutrality and for their broadband subscribers, the quality of Netflix and other streaming services is outstanding."

Unfortunately, Cablevision is the exception to the rule in an environment where there's typically only one high-speed internet choice in most areas. At least until Google Fiber expands enough.

• It's about time you checked out Android Wear smartwatches

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How to use the power of reviews to manage your online reputation | News | TechRadar

http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/web/how-to-use-the-power-of-reviews-to-manage-your-online-reputation-1230141?src=rss&attr=all

How to use the power of reviews to manage your online reputation

Business owners should not underestimate the impact online reviews of service and products can have – whether positive or negative. The trick is to see the influence of online reviews as an opportunity rather than a threat.

By integrating third party review platforms from partners, such as Feefo, into eCommerce sites, businesses often achieve impressive improvements in conversion rates.

It seems that when reviews are not controlled by the retailer it has a significant impact and carries more weight than reviews that could be open to perceived manipulation.

Businesses need to encourage customers to leave unbiased and genuine feedback about the service they have received, which can be done by contacting customers who have purchased products from the eCommerce site after the transaction, or by offering an incentive to leave feedback.

This will show consumers the business is proud to receive customer reviews and will build confidence and increase conversions.

Social Media

Finally, it is important to use social media to stay on top of conversations happening about your brand online.

Today, consumers are very quick to post negative comments on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook if they have a bad experience, but if happy customers are encouraged to leave a review, it will instantly improve the business' reputation.

Whether the feedback is good or bad, the quicker and more helpful the response is, the greater the chance of building trust and gaining a customer!

• Aran Reeks is lead eCommerce developer of Evosite Ltd. and his main role within the Evosite team is developing the agency's eCommerce platform, from designing features to increasing conversion rates.

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I quit! 10 things that drove me out of IT

10 Things I quit! 10 things that drove me out of IT

After six years of working as a remote support tech for a managed service provider, Jack Wallen threw in the towel. If you've ever been tempted to quit IT, his reasons may sound familiar.

Image: iStockphoto.com/IvanBastien

Some people assume that the world of PC support is a glamorous, Sheila E sort of life. After all, it's technology, geeking out all day long. What's not to love?

Famous last words.

For what seemed like an eternity, I served as a support tech for a managed service provider (MSP). Starting the job, I had no idea what I was getting into. As the saying goes, "If I knew then what I know now…." Would I have stepped foot into the world of remote support? It's hard to say. What is not so hard to say is why I eventually gave up being a support technician. In fact, I can give you 10 reasons why.

1: Stress

This is the number one reason why I left. If you've never experienced the levels of stress associated with managed service providers, you're in for a real treat. You have (possibly) hundreds of clients calling in all day to report their computers "aren't working." The queue lines up with people who can't get their work done because "you haven't fixed their problems." It's disaster management and triage all day and it never lets up.

2: Pay

The pay for an MSP engineer is not what you'd think it would be. I nearly exploded with laughter every time I heard a client say, "That's why you get paid the big bucks." I wanted to say, "You probably get paid more than I." But I refrained. Every time. The truth is, the pay just wasn't enough to offset the high levels of stress and frustration. It made more sense to move on.

3: Printers

Nearly half of what I did all day was fix printers. That's how I came to the conclusion that the very foundation of printing is broken. I never signed up to be a printer technician and would feel my blood boil every time I saw a support request come through that said, "My printers stopped printing!"

4: Ignorance

I hate to be one of "those people," even momentarily. Still, the levels of ignorance I dealt with on a daily basis were staggering. I was always professional, and I tried to be patient and kind. But fielding the same questions over and over — things as basic as, "What's a web browser?" — eventually wore me down.

5: Micromanaging

As a contract company, MSPs need their engineers working at 150 percent all day, every day, and each second must be accounted for and billed. So it's not surprising that they tend to micromanage the staff. Some people can handle this management technique. But it drove me mad to have someone breathing down my neck all day. There was also an avalanche of paperwork we had to do to ensure that we'd be covered in case of a disaster.

6: The pace

The world of PC support (especially of the remote flavor) can be boiled down to this: You have way too much to do, not enough time to do it, and not enough help to get it done. And as that workload piles up, you have angry clients who can't get their own work done. To accommodate this, you have to work at a pace you can't maintain for any length of time (which leads us back to #1: stress).

7: Windows

I've always been upfront about my opinion that Microsoft Windows is the reason tech support is so busy. I mentioned that half of my job was fixing printers. The other half seemed to be malware and viruses. Every day I fought the urge to blurt out, "If you used Linux or Mac, you wouldn't have these problems and you'd save a ton of money!" But I refrained. Every time. If you've experienced the stability and reliability of "the other platforms," you get this. You don't want to spend your day supporting Windows. You'd rather spend a portion of your day training users on another platform and watching them work happily ever after.

8: Multitasking madness

I am a multitasker. I often have two to three major tasks running at once. I'll be writing a tech piece, a work of fiction, and getting intense on social media. But the problem with working directly in IT is that you get your head buried in something you've been told is critical... only to be yanked from that task to do something like fix a printer for a CEO. You come back to the original task(s) and find your flow completely ruined and you're back to square one. This happens more often than not, and you lose a lot of work as a result.

9: The love of technology

It can be tricky when your work intersects with something you're passionate about. For me, technology is one such passion. But having to deal with tech issues (often caused by user-error or platform inadequacies) day in and day out was starting to ruin it. I even began to hate it. That caused serious problems for me, as I had to go home and toil away in front of a computer to create works of fiction, which is something that usually brings me great joy. It wasn't until I left the support industry that I regained my love for technology.

10: Burnout

There is no avoiding this. You will burn out. The pace and stress tend to remain neck and neck in the race to subvert your sanity. Working support will eventually take you down. And (at least for me), you'll find yourself carrying that stress home with you. You'll go through periods where that stress doesn't seem to want to wash down the drain and it turns you inside out. For me, that was too big a price to pay.

The last straw

Not every company and not every person is cut from the same cloth. There are those out there who will gladly tolerate what, in the end, sent me packing. I am also not pointing any fingers at any one company. Ultimately, the killing blow was my own lack of resilience and my inability to keep up with the choking pace of the managed service provider industry.

Also read…

Your take

Do IT departments need to rethink how they provide desktop support? Or is it just a matter of hiring people who can withstand the pressure and pace of a high-stress industry?  Share your thoughts with fellow TechRepublic members.

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