I lived in Provo for a little more than 12 years. And over the course of that time, I collected quite a little menagerie of "people"... folks and companies that I relied upon to make my life easier or better or both. But now that I've moved to Salt Lake City, I'm people-less. So I need a little help... your help... who are your people?
Bank
I'm a firm believer in credit unions... I like that credit unions tend to reinvest in my community. So when I was in Provo, I used Utah Community Credit Union (UCCU). They were alright — sometimes even amazing. If there had been no credit union, or a bad one, I would have gone with Central Bank which is a Provo-born-and-bred bank of superlative quality, and a charm all its own. But now I'm in Salt Lake City... and I live right down town ( 300 W 300 S )... and I need a financial institution that has a presence there for deposits and withdrawals. Now, I'm guessing I could make deposits via the ATM network, but I've not tested that one yet. I want a bank that I can be proud of, that has an amazing web services portfolio, and is all-around good. Ideas?
Full-service Gas Station
Oh man I miss Gatenby's — that little green-and-white service station across Provo River from DI and across State Street from Macey's. Tony, Bret, and good old Bob. They washed my windows, filled-up the tank, topped-off the fluids, and saved my life once or twice with unsolicited (and free!) advice. They were so good, they got Boxing Day gifts... and though I've found Craig's service station (900 S 1300 E) — which is full-service — I'm not impressed by the staff, which seem largely apathetic. And they don't always remember to wash my windows. Please tell me there someone else...
Cobbler
I purchased both pairs of my Allen Edmund shoes from Village Shoemaker (Orem Center Street @ State), and had them shined and conditioned there every other week for almost 8 years... but now I need someone up here.
Tailor
I like to have my clothes tailored, and in Provo, I used Two Tiny Tailors (in University Mall — the only reason I ever went to that horrible place). They were so busy, good grief... but they did great work. Who do you use?
Barber
I know, I know... I have no hair. But that's not entirely true, I just keep it tightly shorn... and every Friday for years I've gone to Reid Francom at the BYU barber shop for a clipping... and when he started working in Draper on Fridays, I convinced him to drop by my home on his way up there. And even now I drive down to Draper each Friday (I'm heading there in an hour) to have a cut at the 9 to 9 barber shop on 123rd South, by the fire station. But I'd rather find someone downtown, as Reid is only there on Fridays, which means if I forget or get delayed, I'm stuck waiting a whole week.
Maid
So, for the last six years, I've had a maid... nothing fancy, just two hours a week to scrub the place down, vacuum, and do the windows... I mostly used friends who were short on cash, but didn't mind putting in a little work (I pay $12.50/hr). I think I'd like to do the same up here, but haven't found anyone yet.
Yeah... I think that's it.
Oh, wait: a mender.
In Provo, there's The Mending Shed — and they're absolutely amazing at fixing any small appliance! Any suggestions for a similar outfit up here?
ADDENDUM
Realized, re-reading this, that I missed a few important "people": dentist, personal physician, chiropractor, message therapist.
Dentist
I've been using Dr Corbin Matthews down in Provo, and he is wonderful — and his assistants are pain-free... but the two-hour commute is really making visits less and less likely. Who do you use? ... laser-assisted exams a must.
Personal Physician
Dr Berry of Cascade Family Medicine is amazing — he listens, he appreciates input, he's personable, and he's fairly priced (office visit is $30 without insurance)... but he's also way down in Orem. I prefer DOs to MDs, but I'm not hard-set against them. Berry's an MD, after all.
Chiropractor
I've had great chiropractors and scary ones... my last one was all herky-jerky, and I was certain he was going to rip my head from my spine one of these days. I don't want that... who pops your back?
Massage Therapist
I had a long-term message therapist about 10 years back... but when she left the industry, I didn't find anyone to replace her. And while it's a luxury, it's one I'm reconsidering — even if it's just a monthly visit. I think it would be nice... and relaxing.
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7 comments:
Deseret First Credit Union was created by the church. There's an office in the Triad center on the 7th floor, and I'm sure there are several others around downtown.
Personally, I like Zions. I know people have been done wrong by them, but they've been great the whole 7 years I've been using them. There online service is relatively good. Free bill-pay, and they have a nifty online money market account for your short-to-mid-range savings that gets higher rates then their traditional money makret accounts.
Here's a housekeeping tip from my friend Rebecca:
I have the very best housekeeper on the planet.
She is the nicest, sweetest and the just the all around best.
As it turns out, the company she's been working for
was totally exploiting her. You would be horrified to know what they paid her compared to what they charged me. She finally quit.
I am now paying her directly to clean my house once a week.
She needs work. She helps to support a very large
network of friends and family both here and in Mexico. I've met some of her family and they are all salt of the earth kind of people.
If you have any need for and type of cleaning around
your house, please get in contact with her and setup a time for her to come see what needs to be done and work out a price. It's hard to put together a price sheet, but I can guarantee she's less expensive and WAY better than any of the companies.
She could:
*help you get ready for a party at your house
*clean you whole house weekly or twice a week or once a month or whatever...
*come and help you with deep cleaning for a few days
*clean your mother's house or friend's house for a
great present
*do the stuff you never get around to
Also, her husband and relatives can:
*do any type of concrete work
*do any type of landscape work
Call 879-7017 and ask for Maria.
Thanks!
Rebecca
Barber:
Linda at Sharmin's Sheer Impressions in the Wells Fargo Building--only $15 for men on Tuesdays. I have a standing appointment now.
ddt
Cool! I'll have to give her a try, too.
: )
$15 is more than I'm currently paying ($12), But having someone just down the block would be wonderful.
Thanks!
Ahh.... massages, they are the best. But I may be baised since I am a therapist myself. I am also very picky about a good massage. The 2 people I know of down in your area that I would LOVE to see (if the commute wasn't a bother)would be Ivan Lach at Active Life Chiropractic, 2645 E Parleys Way
Salt Lake City, (801) 485-4455. He is awesome in every since of the word. As far as the chiropractic care offered there, I dont know if they are a yank and jerk kind of practice or not, but Ivan's massages are wonderful. The second person is Emily Green at Xscape Day Spa, 6151 S Highland Dr, (801) 272-7546. She is also fantastic. Both are people that I recommend all the time when I get SLC people wanting a good massage but not the commute to Ogden. I am not in my office today, so I hope the contact info I have provided is correct. Let me know if it isn't. I do know of a handfull more, but I will have to look for their info when I am in the office tomorrow. Enjoy! And hopefully you will be able to find the other resorces you are looking for.
Those are both great suggestions... if you're looking in your little black book, though, Kimberly, my druthers would be folks that are downtown... or a short TRAX ride away.
Therron Ricks has a practice not to far from you I believe (6.5 city blocks it looks like.) This is his website www.violet-touch.com. I know Therron from our local massage association. He is a nice guy, though I have never received body work from him.
This is also a great source to look therapist up. www.massagetherapy.org/findamassage/
locator.htm
I dont know what your Zip is or what the local Zip's around you are, but you can enter it into the search field and find therapists right next to you.
I looked at all my other SLC contacts though and Therron is the only one I could find that close to you.
Once again hope this helps and hopefully the links will show up.
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