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News From The TravelCenters of America
Travel Matters
Maintence is the key to running an old rig
Are you in an older truck? I’m Ed Kuhn, president and CEO of TravelCenters of America. As I visit TAs around the country, I meet many of you who are driving equipment longer. In today's economy, that can make good business sense, but you have to protect your investment.
As Paul Abelson, Road King's senior technical editor said in an article last year, “Maintenance is like insurance: you shouldn't run without it, and won't run at all if you push it too far.” One or two roadside service calls, a few missed loads or a big repair bill can wipe out any savings from running an older vehicle.
At TA, we're trying to help you run smarter, so we've made it easy for you to stick to recommended maintenance schedules. Our locations have 24-hour shops staffed by ASE-certified technicians who use national brand parts and products to service your vehicle.
You can call ahead to schedule an appointment. Then leave your rig in the shop while you take care of personal maintenance – meals, laundry, a shower (free when you buy 50 gallons of diesel fuel or spend $50 in the shop), paperwork, or just kicking back in a Drivers' Lounge or video game room.
Our Web site, www.tatravelcenters.com, even provides an extensive list of prices for the most common services as well as labor costs on more complicated jobs. So you can get a good idea of your costs up front, to help you plan ahead.
We offer several levels of service depending on your needs and schedule. These range from a simple oil and filter change to complete PMs and special programs for those extending oil drain intervals. Our Freightliner ServicePointSM program is exclusively for owners and drivers of Freightliner trucks, and provides authorized express service and light-duty repair. At all times, we honor manufacturers' warranties and provide a 120-day nationwide guarantee on our work.
So, whether your truck is an oldie but goodie, or just due for its first PM, we can help you meet that service deadline while you're meeting pick-up and delivery guidelines. We're almost as close as the next exit.
I'd like to hear your thoughts on our maintenance and repair services – or any other aspect of our operations. Write me at Road King, 3322 West End Ave., Suite 700, Nashville, TN 37203, or e-mail edkuhn@roadking.com. Until next time, truck safe.
Stowers Carries On a Family Tradition
Janet stowers may have been fated to work at the Antioch Travel Center on I-24 south of Nashville, Tenn. Her husband, Anthony, works at the TA in downtown Nashville, and an uncle and a cousin work at the TA in Hurricane, W. Va. Stowers, who worked at the Hurricane restaurant until about a year ago, now maintains the fuel desk and keeps the Road King racks filled. Customers she met in West Virginia often come through, as do trucking family members. “The people are the best part of the job, definitely,” she says.
Southern Hospitality at the Lake Park, Ga., TA.
By Shannon Scully
Friendly smiles, perfect manners and easy-going attitudes. There's no doubt you're in the South when you pull in at the Lake Park, Ga., TA.
Located on I-75, just miles across the Georgia-Florida border, the Lake Park travel center, which has been a part of the TA network since 1997, has just finished a complete renovation.
“Everything has been totally remodeled to go along with the entire TA network's renovation,” says Tim Cahill, general manager. But what hasn't changed are Lake Park's friendly atmosphere and helpful staff.
“Employees enjoy working here because it's a very friendly place with a family-oriented atmosphere,” says Cahill.
“We are in a Southern town, and the people are just friendly,” he says. “Perfect strangers might wave when you're driving down the road for no reason at all.”
As a franchise location, the Lake Park TA is owned by Morris Holdings Inc. A family-owned business with two generations serving on its management team, Morris Holdings also owns two TAs in Jacksonville, Fla., and one in Slidell, La.
Herman Morris got his start in the truck stop business more than 30 years ago.
“I decided to follow my father in the truckstop business, because I couldn't stand the thought of sitting behind a desk in a high-rise building every day," says Bob Morris, who is now vice president of the company.
The renovation brought a new restaurant to the travel center that offers drivers sit-down service in a diner-style atmosphere. The Hub Café, which is decorated with custom-designed wallpaper showing a map of south Georgia, serves hamburgers, steaks and sandwiches, as well as homestyle daily specials like country fried steak and chicken and dumplings.
“We've had positive feedback from drivers on the new restaurant," says Cahill. “Most like it because it's something different." The Lake Park TA also offers a Larry's Giant Sub and an Arby's.
Pam Lane, the travel store's manager, says things are quite different today than when she first started at the old 76 more than 21 years ago. Though she now works to make sure the travel store is stocked with Georgia-Florida souvenirs, Lane has held many jobs during her time at the Lake Park TA.
“I've pumped gas, waited tables, and done just about everything you could imagine," Lane says. The laid-back atmosphere and the drivers are the reasons she has stayed for so long. “I don't think I could work with anyone but drivers," Lane says.
Lake Park's shop manager, Mike Southerland, has also been around long enough to see some major changes.
“When I first got here seven years ago, we kept track of jobs in the garage in an old three-ring binder," Southerland says. “Now we use computers and a lot of other technical equipment that helps us do our job even better."
Southerland, who came to the Lake Park TA after retiring from the U.S. Air Force, says he loves his job because he enjoys fixing things. "We do good work here," he says. "We have a low complaint rate and lots of repeat customers."
Working with drivers is also a plus, because they're "just good people," says Southerland.
The Lake Park location offers all the usual TA conveniences, including a drivers' lounge, laundry room, Pronto Pay pumps and emergency road service.
So the next time you're feeling like you need a dose of good Southern hospitality, pull in to the Lake Park TA. Cahill promises the staff will "make it a pleasure" to be there.
Where: I-75, Exit 2
Phone: (229) 559-5113
Road King Wins Pup Trailer Full of Awards
Road King recently won 16 awards for writing and graphics in two different competitions. Folio Magazine, the premier publication covering the publishing industry, declared Road King Magazine a winner in the Manufacturing category of Folio's annual Editorial Excellence competition. Road King also received Honorable Mention for Best Redesign of a custom-published magazine.
Also, the International Automotive Media Association gave Road King 14 awards in its 2001 competition. The IAMA honors included four golds, seven silvers and three bronzes. Award categories included feature writing, road tests, environmental/regulatory concerns, new model introduction, technical writing and columns to cover design and photography and article layout and design. The contest pitted Road King against magazines such as Car & Driver, AutoWeek and Motor Trend.
Join The Club Skip Shower Lines
TA Roadking club™ members don't have to stand in lines anymore to get showers. All they need is their membership card and enough showers in their accounts.
At select TA locations, Roadking Club™ members can reserve a shower at the TA RoadMile Marker™ kiosk just by swiping their card. The kiosk assigns you a number and, when your number is called, you swipe your card again through the new card locks on the shower doors.
TA customers take more than 4 million showers a year, and that makes for a darn long line! So why wait? Join the RoadKing Club™ today – it's free – and spend more time in the shower and less in line.
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