Proposed Pay-Before-You-Pump Law is unnecessary

I am against instituting a pay-before-you-pump law. While I typically pay at the pump with a credit card because it is convenient, I think making it mandatory to pay for gas before you pump will bring Halifax one more step to becoming a "big" city, where gas station attendants sit in locked booths behind bullet-proof glass, and we lose a bit more of our humanity in Halifax.

There were apparently 720 gasoline thefts that were reported to HRM police in 2008. While I am sure there were more than 720 instances where people drove away without paying for their gas since probably not all thefts were reported to police, this seems like a minuscule number, versus the number of transactions at gas stations in HRM last year.

According to the Chronicle Herald online, there are 420 gas stations in Nova Scotia. Let's say half of those are in HRM. That means for 210 or so gas stations in HRM, there are an average of 3 drive-offs every year (720 drive-offs divided by 210 or so gas stations). In a Newfoundland government report, the annual average sales volume for Canadian gas stations is 2,200,000 litres. This is a figure from the 1990's but let's just say it's about the same, since low-volume stations have been closing over the past decade. Let's say the average drive-off is a 50 litre fill-up. For a gas station to lose 150 litres of gas per year on an average annual sales volume of 2,200,000 litres is inconsequential.

Even if we use the numbers that were quoted in a recent allnovascotia.com article about Wayne Pace losing $100/week from his two gas stations, that is $50/week per station. Or, about the 50 litre average drive-off figure that I used earlier. Based on the average 2,200,000 litres a year figure, this $50 loss results in about 50 litres out of over 42,000 litres sold every week. That is 0.0012% of sales volume. Granted, the 50 litres that were stolen represent about twenty times that amount in terms of sales the station has to make to pay for the stolen gas, at a 5% profit margin. That still makes this a 2.4% profit problem, which has been solved with provincial gas price regulation, which has been proven to increase gas prices about 2 cents per litre, or about 2.4% of today's $0.85/litre price.

All businesses have losses due to theft from retail customers, whether it is shoplifting, non-payment after receiving the good or service, or stopping payment on a cheque that was written in advance of receiving the good. If someone wants to steal from you, they will find a way. Punishing the literal 99.9% of gas customers who pay for their gas seems heavy-handed to reduce a problem that is common to all businesses, regardless of their industry.

If rural gas stations have less of a problem with gas theft, then the pressure for them to upgrade their pumps to take credit card payment is less than it would be for urban stations, who reportedly have a bigger gas theft problem. This reduces the argument for the legislation, since the station owners who cannot afford the pump upgrade are apparently not as significant victims of this crime.

In my opinion, there is already plenty of legislation for gas stations. Adding another law to control consumer behaviour is unnecessary. If gas stations provide the pay-at-the-pump option as a convenience to their customer and it also reduces their loss due to theft, then it is a win-win. If the station owner chooses to not provide that service, then they reap the results of that business decision.

This is not even mentioning the legislation that gasoline is sold by volume, based on 15 degrees Celsius. Check out my post on that issue from last February.

Ben & Jerry's new flavor

Apparently Ben & Jerry's has invented a new ice cream flavour in honour of the new American president, it's called "Yes Pecan", a play on words of Obama's slogan "Yes We Can".

According to Keith Olbermann on MSNBC's Countdown -- one of my favourite shows on TV -- they are not considering a new flavour named after George W. Bush's tenure in the White House. I would say W.'s presidency, but let's be real: he wasn't in charge, Cheney, Rove and Rumsfeld ran the show.

Here are Countdown's fictitious and hilarious Dubya-inspired ice cream flavours:

Abu Grape
Nut 'N' Accomplished
Iraqi Road
Wire Tap-ioca
Im-Peach Cobbler
Im-Peach Mint
Housing Crunch
Credit Crunch
Chunky Monkey-In-Chief (now a bit uncomfortable, given the recent New York Post cartoon and Countdown's response to the ensuing scandal)
W.M.D.-Licious
Heckuva Job Brownie
Grape Depression
I Broke the Law and Am Responsible For the Deaths of Thousands, WITH NUTS!

Thanks for a great show, Keith!

Rainmen lost a Heartbreaker to Vermont, 100-98

Strick was doing a passable impression of Rob Sanders, getting under the net and drawing fouls. Unfortunately, he was only 25% from the line.

Crook and Jeanty both had double-doubles, but Eric did not have a good night for free throws.

That is the story of the game: decent performances but not enough, especially from the line. Since Vermont was giving us lots of chances for charity points, maybe we should have sent AJ, Tony and Brian (who shot 14-18, including AJ's 5-5 from the line vs. Strick and Crook who were 3-18) to the hoop more to draw fouls. Just an amateur's opinion.

I am not sure why AJ only got 14 minutes, other than we are full of 4's and kinda 5's, so coach has to make a decision about who gets the minutes. Certainly, AJ was the best player on the Groove (which goes back to my thoughts about the best player on a poor team), but he should have a place here in Halifax. AJ was scoring 31 points a game while playing and average 37 minutes in Augusta, 10 more points average than Randy Gill, with the same playing time. AJ has talent, we need to fit him into the system.

Hammack must feel like the third person on a date, since Jimmy, Tony and Zach have been filling up the backcourt since Coach Berry's arrival. Once again, lots of talent at the 1 and 2, too many guys to fill the spots.

I wish our team was more balanced (so much for Lewis as a GM). I think the old way of recruiting for the Rainmen was, "He's good, let's sign him," with not a lot of thought about the existing make-up of the team. Look at the official website (which needs updating BTW. No mention of Berry and Sanders is still on the team): We are stacked with power forwards and what we really need are a centre who will mix it up and push his way around and a second shooter behind Silverhorn.

Either we need to work with the guys who are already on the roster at those positions (Tyronne and Glen) or we need to get replacements. At this point in the season, it is probably too late, but we need to address team balance next season.

Rainmen Ticket Prices

Interesting article in the March 2 issue of Canadian Business: “All Seats Must Go”. The subtitle is “Slashing ticket prices in the short term may attract more fans, but not in the long run.” The article by Andy Holloway is about the NHL, but I think it is relevant for all pro sports teams, especially in today’s economic climate. A lengthy excerpt:

“The NHL, unlike North America’s other three big sports leagues, doesn’t have a lucrative television deal. It’s still a ticket-driven business, with roughly 55% of revenue coming from getting paying bums in seats, so the temptation will be to cut prices if people stop going to the games. But while lowering prices midway through the season — or offering special deals, such as free concessions, parking or merchandise — might attract some, it could also adversely affect the team’s existing relationship with season ticket-holders or fans who bought tickets in advance. ‘You have to keep the integrity of season tickets’, says Doug MacLean, a former NHL general manager and currently an analyst on Sportsnet’s ‘Hockeycentral Tonight’.”

“Someone who has plunked down $25,000 for a pair of season tickets isn’t going to be happy when he starts to realize his seat neighbour is paying far less. The security of having tickets to the big games in advance only goes so far. Not only that, the number of annual paying customers is a key metric for improving other revenue streams. ‘The value of the ticket is very important in selling your franchise to corporate sponsors and radio and television,’ says MacLean.”

“Then again, if the number of empty seats continues to grow, concession sales suffer and corporate sponsors may start wondering why they’re spending any money at the arena at all.”

These are all points that have been brought up over the past season. Ticket price integrity is important to season ticket-holders. While the Rainmen front office has been responsive to some ideas, such as including season ticket-holders in BOGO, this article may give them some food for thought.

Goodbye Rob, Hello AJ!

The Rainmen defeated the Detroit Panthers last night, 100-89. If not for us losing one of the best players in the PBL and Detroit snagging one of the other best players in the league, this would have been a 20-30 point win, not an 11-point win. As for Randy Gill (ex of the Montreal Sasquatch), this was one time where the fans actually got into his head and he started blowing it, as did his teammates. I use that term loosely, because they were yelling at each other in almost every huddle at the bench. Gill does not seem to be a happy person, maybe his sunshine-y spirit is catching and the team will spiral even further down from here. I suspect Gill will regret signing with that team. If he becomes available, please please please DO NOT SIGN GILL!

Another player who was the whole team, ex-Augusta Groove forward AJ Milien is another Patriots-inspired signing. He took us to school in the pre-season, so when he became available, we signed him. Well done, Andre!

I just hope we don’t end up with an embarrassment of riches. We are almost at that point anyway. What I mean is we have so many talented players that not all of them get the minutes they deserve and they would get the minutes if they were on a weaker team. The result can be player frustration as well as losing their edge. Coach Berry has more to teach these guys than just X’s-and-O’s.

The best Rainmen players are probably used to being the best guy on the floor with any previous team they were on, now they are part of an ensemble cast, and egos may take a bit of a beating. Unless the players take on the New England Patriot mindset that it’s all about winning a championship but not necessarily being the guy with the most minutes, then we may see some defections to other teams where they can be the star, with the hope of being discovered.

IMO, a player has a better chance of being discovered by playing on a good team than being the standout on a poor team. It’s easy to be the best player on a crap team. Who do you have more respect for: Randy Moss or Chad Ocho Cinco? Randy is on a great team (Patriots) and plays well for them. Chad is on a perennial stinker of a team (Bengals) and doesn’t play well, despite his talent, because his teammates aren’t up to the task of matching his play. Sorry for the football references, but I follow the NFL more than I do the NBA.

Thoughts on the Rainmen's Schedule and Venue

Some other fans have brought up a couple ideas for the Rainmen, namely more games (3 a week) and a change of venue (Halifax Forum or Dartmouth Sportsplex). While I like the idea of more games in the same time frame, 3 games a week is too many for me as a fan. I have a life to live and a family to raise (not to mention the activities my kids are in), so there is no way I could commit to going 3 times a week, every week. Besides the time commitment, the cost of my 4 season ticket seats 3 times a week would get very expensive and I can’t see anyone buying season tickets for that intense a schedule, for this level of basketball. Not meaning the level of play is not worth the ticket price, but for our family, $300+ per week would add up pretty quick. I think you would have a lot more fan turnover, which increases the chances of fans not returning. That is why most sports franchises give discounts plus a lot of perks to their season ticket holders, because they are guaranteed sales.

Last season’s schedule was great: 18 home games over a few months gives fans a chance to schedule the Rainmen into their lives. 10 games, with breaks of a few weeks in between home stands, is too short. Just think how successful the Rainmen business could have been if we would have another 8 home games this year, with average attendance up like 50% from last season?

As for Metro Centre vs. another venue, we have already talked about this in Section 22/23. The Metro Centre has got to be the place. We are doing well attendance-wise and this will only increase, with a solid coach and more player talent than last season. If the Rainmen could handle the venue costs through the hardest part of establishing the team’s identity, it would be a mistake to now go to a smaller venue.

The Forum and Sportsplex are a big step down, as venues go, not just in size but in appearance, amenities, and overall feel. If we want the Rainmen to fail, send them to either of these places. A lot of people in Halifax will not go to Dartmouth — don’t get me started on that issue — and the Forum is so decrepit that a lot of people wouldn’t go there either, especially at current ticket prices. I know the team would save money, but at what cost? If we had started in the Forum and moved up to the Metro Centre this year, that would be one thing, but I honestly cannot see the long-term benefits of moving to a smaller location, especially if the D-League is a real goal for the Rainmen. For a city of 400,000, we should be able to put 4,000+ people in the stands every game. That is the difference between us and most other PBL teams: we have the population base to be very successful, once the public learns about the Rainmen. With Coach Berry and this year’s crop of players, we have the capability to really grow.

Rainmen Ticket Prices

Last Sunday's game features $5 tickets for children, resulting in an attendance of 4,012 -- the largest since our team's inaugural game. I think it is smart to have cheap seats for kids, say age 12 and under, because it gets them in the building. Once they are inside, they spend way more than the difference in the seat price in concessions and maybe even Rainmen gear. Plus, as cigarette advertisers know, get consumers’ loyalty while they are young and you have a better chance of keeping their loyalty for years.

One other thing, season ticket holders should not be paying 24% more than someone walking in off the street. I hope the front office looks into that for the coming season. I don’t mind paying as much as a single ticket buyer if there are benefits, but this is one area that the organization is a bit behind the curve. The meet & greet with the players before the season was a good start, but there needs to be more attention paid to this.

The Rainmen should offer cheaper season tickets and more meaningful benefits to faithful fans. The benefits don’t have to cost a lot.

A few ideas:
- Include season ticket holders in the 2-for-1 nights, or give them a free ticket near their season seats for one game to invite a friend and maybe get that new person to buy season tickets next year. I brought 2 friends last year who ended up buying 3 seats this year. It works.

- 1 free piece of Rainmen gear, either T-shirt or hat, or half-price hoodie, for every season ticket seat as well as discounts on additional purchases of Rainmen gear. This is probably the best way to increase the Rainmen’s visibility, especially among kids who would wear them to school, not to mention making the stands look Rainmen blue. Watch US college or major league sports and the stands that are full of fans wearing their team’s colours make a difference. It’s all about the fan’s sense of belonging to the team and building their loyalty, not to mention the psychological power it would have on the visiting teams.

- More season-ticket-holder-only events. These don’t have to be expensive, and if there was a cost to attend, keep it under $10/person and provide value for that money. Better options would be the “Season Ticket Holder Experience” events that don’t cost anything, like an afternoon with the Rainmen where kids would have some court time with the players. How cool would that be?

- A free program! I bought programs every game last year, despite having virtually no new information in each issue. This year, I can’t even find someone who sells them. I think a free program for season ticket holders is a cheap way to keep them informed during the games.

- Your seats guaranteed, available to buy for playoffs. This goes without saying.

- Ticket exchange privileges: if you can’t make a game, you can switch tickets for extras to a game you can attend.

- A ticket donation program to get unused tickets into the hands of deserving children and charities and give the season ticket holder a tax deduction. I have not used all of my tickets and it is a shame that the seats go unused.

- Discounts on purchases from team sponsors. This is a win-win situation, increasing visibility for companies as sponsors of the Rainmen and helping their corporate citizen image.

- How about free face painting for season ticket holders before the games? Let’s get creative here!

- A sit-in session with new Coach Les Berry, in a Chalk Talk event? I know a lot of people who post on here would love to get an “insider” appreciation for Coach Berry’s strategies.

- Honorary Ball Kid. Have a lottery to choose season ticket holding children to be able to rebound balls for the Rainmen during pre-game warmups.

Most of these are essentially free or very low cost to the team and would add significantly to the “Season Ticket Holder Experience.”