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Restaurants
Some of these restaurants have either been tested by myself,
recommended by friends or by magazine reviews.
The first thing I look for in a restaurant is cleanliness. It has to be clean. When I go
by a restaurant and see dirty windows, I don't want to go in. It
is not inviting and it makes me wonder about the food.
My favorite meal is breakfast and I used to stop at Essa's every
Saturday morning after an early walk with my dog, Nika. Essa's
was located at the corner of McDowell and Maria, in the Washington
Square Shopping Center. I think they had the best breakfast in
town at the time. Blueberry pancakes. Strawberry waffles
with whipped cream. They had great omelets and delicious country
potatoes and good coffee, too. Essa's moved when their lease came
up and they built a new business in the Adobe Creek Center on Lakeville
Hwy.
Read my review below for Cafe Bella
I am still looking for a new place to have my Saturday morning
breakfasts and I hear that Hallie's Diner is the place. So, this
is my next stop.
October 8, 2007
Positively, Hallie's Diner is the place to enjoy a good breakfast in
Petaluma. Their menu has something for everyone, from pancakes
with real maple syrup to a good variety of omelets. The
only drawback I found at Hallie's is the place is too small and patrons
waited outside for the next free table. But it is well worth the
wait as the food, the service, the atmosphere . . . and the coffee,
everything was perfect. Hallie's is at the top of my breakfast
list.
Hallie's Diner
125 Keller St., Downtown Petaluma.
707-773-1143
Lunch & Dinner
Once in a while I crave for Cantonese Cuisine and we have several
choices in Petaluma. Lily Kai is new to Petaluma and I enjoyed
several delicious dinners this past year from Lily Kai. Either
take out or
enjoy the elegant, friendly and clean atmosphere at this well-designed
restaurant.
Lily Kai
3100
Lakeville Hwy, Petaluma
707-782-1132
Cafe Bella
I tested Café Bella
when it first opened about a year ago and I was very
disappointed. First, the new restaurant owners are not new to
Petaluma as they owned Essa's restaurant for many years in Washington
Square Plaza off McDowell Boulevard. They were friendly and
greeted everyone
by their first name at Essa's, but that changed with Café
Bella. I found the food flavorless, the coffee too strong and the
atmosphere uncomfortable. At first, I blamed this experience on a
premature opening and
I went back a few months later to find an even lower rating.
I would have scratched Café
Bella off my personal list and forget about it, but friends who dined at Café Bella had
similar comments. They
told me that senior citizens were not welcomed at Café
Bella. After speaking to a former employees' friend, she alleged
that employees are discouraged to being friendly to senior citizens
as we are not the type of clientele they want to cater to. It is
alleged that an employee quit her position when she was told to stop
being friendly
to seniors.
I will try to verify this information, and meanwhile
I will not patronize or
recommend Café Bella.
Café Bella
3120 Lakeville Hwy, Petaluma
707-763-0535
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SHOPPING
FOR A CAR 
I drive a Toyota Camry. It is my third Toyota and I swear by it
and for good reasons. It
is a good and dependable car. It is the most popular car in
America. And Consumer Reports lists it as the best.
So there you are!
Where did I buy my last Toyota? Unfortunately, not in
Petaluma and I will
tell you why later. (OK! Go here and find out). I
bought my last car at Novato Toyota. The salesman, Ken Zaris, was
new on the job and I think it
was his first sale. He was not aggressive at all, but polite,
knowledgeable and
available. He was well educated about the new features on the car
and competently answered my questions. When the sale was over, he
remained available to answer any questions or concerns. It was
more than I expected from a salesperson. And he was genuinely
appreciative for the sale and warmly thank me for choosing Novato
Toyota. Not only did I feel good about my new car, but I felt
good about the transaction.
Where I
take my car for service :
What is most
important to
me when I get my car service is:
1. That the work is done right.
2. Honesty is very important.
3. Courtesy.
I get all that and more at Out West Garage. Owner, Maria do Ceu,
is always there to greet you with a smile. The waiting room is
clean and inviting. If I have to leave my car, I will get a ride
to my job across town. Out West Garage keeps my car in good
running condition and never once anyone tried to sell me a service I
did not need. I highly recommend Out West Garage.
OUT WEST GARAGE
321 Second Street
Petaluma, CA 94952
707-769-0162
A few dents on your
car?
Call Adam at
DENTPRO.
707-318-6255
He comes to your home, does a good job and is reasonable.
Body repair?
ANDERSON'S AUTO BODY
825 Petaluma
Boulevard North
Petaluma, CA 94952
707-762-4797
See Mark
Honest and excellent work.
Your car looks a
little dull?
Take it to Eric at:
AUTOMOBILE
APPEARANCE SPECIALISTS
22 Lakeville Street
Petaluma, CA 94952
707-763-2077
I was so impressed that I decided to keep my car another year.
Looks great. And the service is excellent!
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In the middle eighties, a
friend native of San Francisco and I, a native
québecoise, planned a
Petaluma newsletter that never got it off the ground. We talked
about it. We dreamed about it. And we drifted to other
projects as often goals end. We grew. Our
destinations
changed. My friend was killed when her private plane crashed at
the Oregon - California borders.
I never forgot my friend, nor our project. Now, a couple decades
later it is
finally getting off the ground as a paperless newsletter. I hope
to let my friend's insightful ideas shine through this
project.
My friend was the restaurant and food authority and I was the retail
evaluator. We kept notes of places we shopped and restaurants
where we ate and the idea was to promote our good experiences and we
discussed what businesses could do to improve customer
relations. I was in retail management and my department was
a successful business. I attributed the success to an excellent
staff and training. When I interviewed someone for a potential
position, I matched the person to the position she/he was best at and I
accommodated the employee's schedule. This way I had a happy
staff and happy staff meant good customer service.
Today, as we hear more and more consumer service complaints I want to
share my good and also bad experiences as a consumer, hoping that
managers and business owners will recognize the benefits of good
customer service.
I consider myself an honest and ethical person and I would not
give a bad rating for a one time bad experience. Normally I give
a person (or business) many chances before scratching it off my books
and most often I don't do so until I know the person's inward intention.
And that brings me to MY inward intentions for this web page. I
am looking to promote businesses that show integrity and respect for
consumers because I want to bring back good customer service. Do
you wonder whatever happened to thank you after a sale? And how
did "There you go" replaced thank you? Where did
leadership go? Well, I think that good business leadership exists
in Petaluma and I want to tell my visitors where to find the best of
Petaluma.
We all deserve good and honest service.
Nothing more,
nothing less.
Petaluma has been my home for the past
thirty-four
years. I lived twenty-eight years at the same address
before
moving into Sandalwood Estates in April
2001. Petaluma is my home and I prefer to shop Petaluma whenever
possible.
Contact:
Marcelle Guy
elle@svn.net
Your comments
always welcomed.
 Have
you ever shop around
for telephone service? Just a few years ago we had no choices
other than Pacific Bell and AT&T for long distance, then it went to
SBC and AT&T long distance and now it is AT&T and AT&T long
distance.
Today we have choices if you have high speed Internet. I
procrastinated for a long time before venturing into a new company
for my phone service and I am so glad I did. I kept the same
number and the transfer went unnoticed. Except for the
monthly bills, of course. I went with Vonage about 8 months
ago. For $25 per month, I get free local and long distance
nationwide, Canada, Mexico and part of Europe. It is great!
Free Voicemail, Caller ID, Caller ID Block, Call Transfer, etc.
. . I save lots $$$. Look up Vonage Here.
Use your back button to get back to
this page.
I
have had a cell phone since 1999, always the same company, same
number. I seldom use my cell phone, but I like the protection it
provides me specially when I travel. I shopped around when the
monthly fees kept going up and I could not find satisfaction with the
major companies, Cingular/ At&T, Verizon. In addition I
was told by Cingular/ At&T salesperson that I could not keep my
cell phone
number if I wanted to transfer to another company. Yet, they did
not offer a plan to accomodate my
needs. I paid the same for one minute of usage per month as the
person using 500 minutes per month. And the reception on my phone
was so bad, I had to go outside my home to get enough bars. I
shopped around and found
out they were wrong. I did transfer my number to
another company. I prepaid for wireless time and I am
probably saving over $250 per year. Done with the monthly
billings for my wireless phone. I found
Tracfone to be reliable, it is reasonable and that's all I need.
Look up Tracfone Here.
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this page.
Where are the days when you made a call to
your bank or government agency or whatever company, and you could speak
to a real person? Gone are those days, but with the help of Get
Human, you may get help much faster. Go check it out: GetHuman
Use your back button to get back to
this page.
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