New Shell Service Station

[Sheena]

@ Mike,
Some good news for you....
Shell will be building a new service station in Industrial road (accross from Pupkewitz) with a Shell shop and a food outlet - Steers.
Lots of ribbetjies for you to eat.
They will start building in March 2009 and should be ready for opening in June 2009.
Something to look forward to.

[Michael Alexander]

Yep! Yep! we heard that about 6 months back,,,,, but we are very sceptical about that..... The Steers will not work here, there is just not enough people to warrant it...... The shop is an good idea, we heard it was 24 hrs..... good..... but unfortunatley it is going to hit the smaller cafe's and more than likely put Riaan and John outta business...... In all honesty, us guys over here at Spar find this an encouraging story, but as with most of these "big" ideas...most do not matarialise!

[Sheena]

@ Mike,
I promise you this will happen.  Got the funding and the property manager is sitting here with me in the office.  It can only be good for bussiness if we have more shops/restaurants etc in town.  Competition is always good and I think all bussinesses need it in this town.

[Michael Alexander]

Yes! I agree, competition is good, we at SPar were upset when Woolworths did away with their fresh foods..... it was nice to give the consumer the choice.... however, what everyone forgets..... The Oranjemund pie is only so big...... the local economy is not growing, and will not be growing, only getting smaller..... so if you open new business's like the Steers. ....AFC will close (9 jobs), Savannah Cafe, will close ( 4 jobs) and Erica's will close ( 4 jobs)...... So in essence...if you are in a city/town where there is growth.... it will work..... We at Spar already looking at cutting our workforce back by at least 25 % in the new year.... as their is no growth....

But, what the heck..... we had the best years.....

[Michael Alexander]

Arthur and I are discussing this right now..... the other thing, is the location for the store and steers is way out....all business people know that before any business is established...the first thing you look at ..is ..Location, Location, Location..... now, a 24 hr shop and Steers do well on a drive through route.... between two main centres...Omund is not this...we are the end of the rail..... I also know that as things have gotten tighter on the mine, the turnover at AFc has dropped...people cannot afford it...... the majority of locals do not have their own transport and will not be taking Taxi's to the petrol station........

Where on industrial road will this be happening?

[Bertie Horak]

I agree with you Mike, there's only so much patrons to eat the slices of pie.  More pie = more leftovers = less profit = less jobs.

[Michael Alexander]

Thanks Bertie..... it seems as if only us lot at Spar seem to know this, or should I say , Want to know this.....  The powers that be are trying to encourage people to start up business's here, an arm of DeBeers in Namibia, Oshipe, is even trying to dish out money for locals to try and set themselves up in business in Omund.... at the same time, long standing business owners are either downscaling or pulling out...... as long as the Mine remains the "golden" cow... from whence all funding of the local economy is derived..... then you cannot move forward..... this is why I keep saying to people..... that the only way for the town to survive and to become less dependent on the mine, is to outsource portions of the town to a Private Retirement village..... we had this speech somewhere else on this forum a year ago... so I will not repeat all that was said then.....


The pie was 100% in 2004, in 2008 it is only 80% and we know by the end of 2009 and it will only be 70 % ... do the sums people..... do the sums........ it's called Negative growth!

[Bertie Horak]

You'll probably also get the ignoramus fools who would say you just don't want new businesses in Oranjemund to ensure Spar monopoly.  Usually driven by jealousy of others' success and realization of own incompetence.  Unfortunately they don't think it through like you do.  Let's hope one of those fools is currently staying in E10/11, so they decide to leave OMD, and I can move into the house I spent my first 12 years!
(Nothing against who-ever is staying in E10/11 - I'm just SO fond of the memories of that house!) 

[Andrew Darné]

Just wait and see how many or should I say few people are left in OMD after the VS people have left. Who knows how many more will be gone when NDB find they are still too far over compliment for their new strategy...?
Talking of filling stations... are there even enough customers in OMD to keep the current station on the map? Yes sure monopoly can distort figures but too many outlets can also destroy the market for all...
I recall an advert posted in the gazette a month or 3 ago indicating the area between the liquor warehouse and the old baseball field (veggie project - for the new folk) as the chosen area for another fuel station.

But hey... who cares how many stations there are, as long as there is fuel and it's affordable... Cape Town's far from here !!!

[Mike Stenson (RIP)]

I hear there 300 to 400 fixed term contractors finishing up at the end of the year.
Hope this puts a end to the queues at check point ( PCC ) 

[Andrew Darné]

Now there's something to think about... perhaps we could just pick-a-door every day instead of standing in the q's. You could make the pumps even at their old hours... Good point Mike.

[Sheena]

There will still only be one service station in Oranjemund.  We are closing the old one and giving the public and new upgraded service station.  Seems like we are wasting our time with all the negativity from you guys.

[Michael Alexander]

Will the diesel still taste the same?    

[Skinny]

 

Competiton is always good. Don't worry about the negativity Sheena all the rest of us will love it. Sorry you won't be here to see it up and running. Just hope that the attendants are better than the ones there already. They need serious training, HOWEVER not nearly as bad as the ones in Rosh Pinah. They allow cars to park in the forecourt to get out of the heat, serious indigents hanging around each pump looking into cars to see what they can appropriate from inocent drivers and G4S security guards lounging in their fast reaction car (nissen 1400 bakkie) talking on their cell phones next to the pumps.. 202
Thats ENGEN for you!

[Sheena]

@ Kaye, thanks for some support.  I will make sure I am here for the opening of the new service station and I promise you the new attendants will receive proper training.  Unfortunately you have guys here that have been in their jobs for many years and just don't want to conform to the new rules etc.
I also had a Namdeb employee here in the depot one day using his cellphone.  When the operator told him to please switch off he got snotty.  I walked out and told the guy to please leave the depot as he will not receive any fuel from me.  Called his boss and told him speak to his employees.  The guy has never used his cellphone in this depot again.
Some people just think they are so important that rules and regulations to not apply to them and that really gets me going!!!