Uber Kavgasındaki Gerçekler

Taksiler dünyanın her yerinde olduğu gibi Türkiye’de de uzunca bir süre rakipsizdiler. Bu işte şimdilerde çok etkin bir şekilde pay almaya başlayan Uber be benzeri teknoloji sirkenlerinin (Lyft, Via vs.), taksilerin rekabetsiz ortamda elde ettiği ticari kazanca darbe vurması gayet doğal.

Benim yaşadığım Washington D.C.'de taksilerin toplam kazancı gecen sene itibariyle Uber'in ilk ortaya çıktığı güne gore 5, 6 kat azalmıştı. Hızla azalmaya da devam ediyor. Gecen yıl bir önceki yıla göre neredeyse 3'te bir azalmıştı.

Buna yol açan temel neden taksilerin geçmişte vermiş olduğu hizmetin çok üstünde bir rakiple karşı karşıya olması, ve taksicilerin teknolojik düşünce ve donanıma sahip olmaması. Bir de bunun üstünde taksiler üzerinden para kazananların rant kaygısı var. Dolayısıyla, o kafanın aklına gelen ilk çözüm rekabet etmek yerine, yasaklatmak. Burada denendi. New York'ta denendi. Her yerde olduğu gibi ters tepki yarattı. Taksiciler yasaklatma düşüncesinden çok daha büyük zarar gördü.

Serbest piyasada bunlar cok normal şeylerdir. Bir meslek grubunun sonsuza kadar yaşaması diye bir şey yoktur. Taksiler de günü geldiğinde tarihe karışacaktır. Zamanı gelince Uber de ortadan kalkacaktır. Bu tüm serbest piyasanın hakim olduğu dünyada böyledir, ve önlenemez. Buna piyasanın kendi kendini düzenlemesi denir.

Şimdilerde taksi plakası sahiplerinin itirazı çalışmadan elde edilen rantın elden gitmesine yönelik olan itirazdır.

Ancak yiğidi öldür, hakkini yeme. Bu teknoloji şirketleri, taksilerin uymak zorunda olduğu yasal zorunlulukların 10’da birine bile tabi değildir. Ucuz olmasının altında yatan temel neden de budur.

Ama düşünecek olursanız, bunu önlemeye çalışmak 18. yüzyılda matbaanın ülkeye gelmesini önlemeye çalışmaya benzer. Ya da, bilgisayar kullanma seçeneği varken insanları daktilo ile dilekçe yazmaya zorlamak gibi bir şey. Bunu önlemeye çalışmak yerine, yenilikçi fikirlere açık olunmalıdır. Farkettiyseniz, geçmişimizdeki yaşanmışlıklardan örnek verdim. Bu örnekleri, Uber konusunda olacaklara ışık tutsun diye verdim.

Bu patentli bir teknoloji ya da iş modeli değildir. Uber ilk olduğundan ismi öndedir. Ancak bu işi yapan en az 8 kadar bilindik teknoloji şirketi vardır. Bu şirketler yabancı kaynaklı olduğundan, hizmeti veren kişinin kazancının yarısına yakını masraf ve komisyonlara giderken, bu teknoloji şirketleri, toplam kazancın yaklaşık %25’ini net olarak kazanç haznesine yazmaktadır.

Vergi sadece paranın kazanılmasında aracı olan şoförün kazancından kesilmektedir. Uber komisyon olarak elde ettiği geliri gösterdiği kadar vergi ödemekle mükelleftir. Bu, Türkiye'de ya da başka ülkelerde nasıl yapılıyor bilmiyorum, ama Amerika'da bunun çaresini şöyle bulmuşlar. Uber yıl sonunda vergi ödememek, ya da minimum düzeyde ödemek için kazancın tamamını (kendisinin aldığı komisyon dahil) şoför kazanmış gibi gösterip, şoförün bu komisyonu giderlerine dahil etmesini sağlamakta ve dolayısıyla çok büyük bir vergi yükünden kaçmaktadır. Hiç de öyle masum bir iş değildir Uber’in yaptigi.

Dolayısıyla teknoloji şirketlerinin bu komisyon kazancı Türkiye’de kalmayacak, dünya ekonomisinin bir parçası olacaktır. Buna karşın üretilebilecek yerli teknoloji, bu %25’lik komisyon kazancının ülke içerisinde kalmasını veya doğru vergilendirilmesini sağlayabilecek tek yoldur.

Bunun masraflı bir iş olduğunu, örnek olarak resmi kayıtlara gore, 2017 yılında Uber’in 4,5 milyar dolar zarar gösterdiğini unutmamak gerekir. Yeniliklere açık olmak, teknolojilerde yeni adımlar atmak kaçılamaz tek seçenektir.

Not: Yazarin kendisi Uber platformu uzerinden calismistir.

The Taxi Driver - A Decades-long Driving Story

The Taxi Driver

Considering the technological developments, any business that falls behind is struggling this age of innovations. The taxi industry in Washington D.C. is among those that is going through tough times. 

I had a candid conversation with Eartha Clark who has been a taxi driver in the District for over four decades about her life, and her approach to the new developments in her business. 

Clark:

“I am just an ordinary person. I like to have beach ready, fairly, have the opportunity to progress in life, to follow laws and obey them.”

“To be out here in this world… This is a business. You have to like people, and have good work ethics. If you don’t have that, you wont be out here. You wont be here.”

“It’s got discouraging a lot of times. But, that’s part of business. It has never been this bad. Because you’ve got all these people, like we were talking about Uber, Lyft, and all the shared riding. Nad, it has created problems for us, because they don’t have the same rules. So, we are paing the price for them.”

“I just feel that, Uber ha a right to, or Uber driver… But I want hem have the same playing field that I have. They don’t have any rules. They have like 17 rules. We have 87. And, the playing field is not eve. But, they are doing the same work I do. It makes a big difference.”

“This Uber thing has cost a lot of people; limousine drivers, every body. It has cost us. The life is life. There are things you can control, and there are a lot of thing you can’t control in life. So, you just have to learn how to deal with it. There is something going on all the time, everyday. But, you have to deal with life.”

“If you can’t, a lot of what you have to do is, I would say, suck it up.”

Supers:
Eartha Clark, Taxi Driver
Washington, D.C.

The direct fight with ride-hailing services is over, says taxis

The taxi drivers in Washington, D.C. fought the ride-hailing services for three years to delegitimize the business model, but they did not win. They now changed the tactic to make sure the way regulations apply to Uber and Lyft is similar to the cabs, so the competition is fair.

About 6,500 registered taxi drivers in D.C. have lost revenue every year, after the ride-hailing services started operating in the city. The number of the ride-hailing drivers in the metropolitan area has reached over 170,000. According to the data sets published on the Department of For Hire Vehicles website, taxis collected total fares of $216 million in the 2016 fiscal year, which is about $13 million less than the previous year. As of the first six months of the 2017 fiscal year, in comparison to the first six months of 2016 fiscal year, taxis have already collected $15 million less in total fares.

There is a clear decline in the revenues of taxis, as the ride-hailing companies’ total share of the pie increases.

The questions is, “what have they done wrong?”

The success of the ride-hailing services in the city pushed cab drivers to come together for the first time and they formed the Washington D.C. Taxi Operators Association in 2013. In October of 2013, drivers came together to protest the way the city allowed the ride-hailing businesses operate. This reaction was perceived as strike by the public which eventually backfired on taxis. The cars blocked Pennsylvania Avenue, and there were not many cabs for rides. The District’s residents said if there wasn’t an available taxi, the ride-hailing services were still there.

The general manager at the Yellow Cab Company of D.C., Roy Spooner said although the foundation of the taxicab association was a positive step, the path it followed was not appropriate.

“We overreacted,” he said. “We started screaming and yelling at everybody.”

As the battles against the ride-hailing companies failed to produce positive results, taxi drivers realized they are fighting a ghost they cannot even catch.

The taxicab association’s lawyer, Jeremy Peter Green said it became clear that a new approach was needed.

“It’s just a much more attainable goal to get the city to loosen its regulations on the taxi drivers than to make it harder for Uber [and Lyft] to operate,” he said.

Background

When Uber launched the UberTAXI and UberBLACK services in the District in late 2011, it was not a threat to the taxi industry. UberTAXI was a dispatching service for taxi drivers, providing additional business. UberBLACK was competing for a different segment of the transportation industry.

It wasn’t until the summer of 2013 that it became clear ride-hailing might be a real threat as Uber launched its cheapest service, UberX, and Lyft started in the city. Uber launched this service under limousine registration to operate legally. The city government initially passed legislation redefining a limousine, thus temporarily pushing the ride-hailing services out of business.

But, Uber fought that legislation claiming it targeted the company directly. In response, the city unanimously passed “Public Vehicle-For-Hire Innovation Amendment Act” before the end of the year, clearing the path for ride-hailing apps to legally operate vehicles carrying passengers without being commercially registered.

With that, Uber and Lyft became the main competitor to the taxi industry, while also picking up customers who didn’t use taxis for transportation before. The cheaper service and convenience of a mobile app led to the success for the digital dispatching services, while causing business loss for the taxi industry which heavily relied on street hailing.

After the ride-hailing services became the main competitor, the taxi operators’ decision to fight them directly did not really work. Spooner of Yellow Cab Company, said that the industry didn’t have a real competitor before ride-hailing emerged. So, the industry failed to initiate a good strategy. The goal was delegitimizing Uber and Lyft, and not having a competitor at all.

Taxi drivers now accept the legitimacy of these services. They will not fight to push those services out of the city. But, they think the city is more tolerant to the ride-hailing companies than the taxis, and it is not providing a fair competition space.

Eartha Clark, a decades long taxi driver expressed her frustration on how the rules applied differently on both sides.

“You are saying, you have competition, and compete,” she said. “Well, how can you compete? [Uber] doesn't have any of the regulations we all have.”

A taxi driver can be fined up to $1,000 at one stop because of the commercial regulations. Uber and Lyft drivers are treated as ordinary vehicles. Mr. Green, the union’s lawyer stated that the rules do not apply the same way to taxis and ride-hailing services.

“If they believe they are being scrutinized the way taxi drivers know they are being scrutinized, I think Uber will have a lot fewer drivers,” Green said.

One of the most significant issues that taxi drivers point to is that taxis stand out more than any of the ride-hailing vehicles, with their color scheme and signs. A ride-hailing driver only has to post a small sign. The city does not even collect statistics on the citations for the ride-hailing drivers. But, the taxi drivers claim they are frequently targeted by the police and the hack inspectors because they are more visible and easier to catch.

Despite all these battles, neither the regulations, nor the way it applies to either side has any effect on a rider’s choice. At the end of the day, none of this is a rider’s problem.

Angela Peper, while visiting the city for a conference in April said as a non-resident what she needs is some type of familiarity of the city.

“We use Uber wherever we go, and the biggest reason why is with the app, we get to pick where we are on the map,” she said.

District resident Luis Quirarte agrees that the mobile application is one of the biggest advantages of the ride-hailing services.

“They need an app,” he said about the cabs.

Many riders say the way ride-hailing got into their lives was via a discount.

Sam Rosen, who was visiting the town on a business trip said, “If I receive a promo code that says ‘a taxi will be 50 percent off for my first ride, yes, I will take it.”

Although some of the taxi companies have their own smartphone apps, they are not universal. The other issue is that having the app still does not provide the same kind of freedom ride-hailing services have, to the cab companies.

The Yellow Cab Company of D.C. is one of those companies that has the dispatching app. The company’s general manager Spooner says, if he was allowed to use the app just like any other ride-hailing app, reducing all the regulatory and financial burdens, he could operate unmarked vehicles exactly the same way ride-hailing does. But, he cannot, because the app is owned by a taxi company. It only can be used under a regulated framework.

“Free me up,” he said. “So, I can do this.”

Taxis and ride-hailing drivers provide the same service; taking a person from a place to another place. The difference is how they are regulated by the city they operate in. In the District, any ride-hailing driver can pick up and drop off passengers using their phone, with no additional insurance cost, no FBI background check, no credit card machines installed or no distinguishing signs required.

Compared to public transportation, riding in a taxi has never been a cheap option. Until 2008, District taxis had used a zone system to calculate its fares for decades. That system would make fares unpredictable since the price would change depending on a number of factors, such as the location, time of the day, number of the riders, and size of the luggage. The only person who could determine the price was the driver.

When the city government decided to change the system in 2008, drivers opposed it. The opposition arose from the cost of installing a new meter, and the fact that rides would become cheaper because of the standardized meter system.

The city government put the new regulations in place in response to the complaints from the customers that the prices could be manipulated by the drivers. It aimed to make the fares more transparent, and customer friendly.

But, the rules did not stop there. While ride-hailing operations were growing as a threat to the taxi industry, new regulations forced taxi drivers to accept credit card payments, have a dome light, and change the taxi color scheme.

Ernest Chrappah, DFHV director said all these regulations helped taxis stay in business although most operators’ initial reaction was negative. He thinks a competitive environment helps build better options for everyone.

“It is great for competition to have minimal set of rules that address basic safety, and consumer protection,” he said. “Some of the taxi companies are now embracing competition.”

Yet, he agrees that not all the regulations help the taxi industry.

“The city must also revisit some of the laws on the books,” he said.

Taxis have always been regulated, and it will continue to be so. The failure to win against ride-hailing pushed the taxis to find a new target: regulations and the regulators. They hope to survive the tough competition in this era by reducing the burden of regulations on taxis while loading some of those regulations on Uber and Lyft.

“It’s better for the public that we are competing,” said Yellow Cab’s Spooner. “You make me better.”

WATCH: Taxi Driver Eartha - A Decades-Long Driving Story

Post Election Analysis - Money In Politics

We always hear the rhetoric about money in politics. But, do we ever look into where the money is coming from or where it is going into. Here I work with NBC News' editor Michael Judge producing this news spot. 

Video: NBC News
Edit: Michael Judge
Story: Elvan Katmer

The Man Behind The Catering at Tempo Pizza

Tempo Pizza, located in Bethesda Maryland, serves Montgomery County, in store and with deliveries. The business owner Ugur Altintas has expanded the business into catering, and novadays the catering side of the business almost beats the store sales. In this video Ugur goes over some of the elements of his business.

 

Ugur has been in food and bevarage business for years, turning his dream of owning his own, into a succesful pizza and catering branch for more than 15 years now. 

How is Door made; Shown in Two Minutes

You open some doors everyday. Have you ever thought about the work put to make one? In this video, master furniture maker for specalized orders, Faruk Balikci goes through the process on camera.

It takes hours to make a door for your specialized needs, and here is how. Faruk is specializing this door, because the house he has been working does not have standard measures. So, the doors from furniture stores don't fit. Faruk works for about six hours to prepare a double door for indoor use.

President Trump's Travel Ban Protested at White House

On February 4, 2017, Saturday, hundreds gathered in front of the White House to protest President Trump's executive order banning travel from seven countries.

Protesters marched to the Capitol after two hours of protest at the White House.

Uber is Great, Isn't it? Listen from a Driver

by Elvan Katmer

Since Uber Has become a part of our lives, it eased transportation, made it cheaper to move from one place to another. Most of us enjoy the service, sometimes bashing the taxicab industry. 

Uber has also created a lot of jobs, giving oppotunity to many people. It even helps you lease a car if you want to drive for Uber. But, have you ever thought how it changes a driver's life?

In this story, I have talked to an Uber driver. 

Women in Sports - Podcast

Women around the world, not only in the U.S., are facing inquality from the many aspects of life. Women overall, get paid less, disrespected often, are not given same position when compared to men.

In this podcast we are looking into women in sports from various fields, and we are investigating how being a woman affected their careers in sports.
Audio, edit, production: Elvan Katmer, Selena Alexander, Emily Judd
Music: Creative Commons
Professor: Rolando Arrieta Audio Reporting Class, Georgetown University, MPS Journalism

Pay Inequality in Tennis

Elvan Katmer, Georgetown University, 2015

Some of the world's top paid athletes are tennis players. Still many of the professional tennis players do not make money, and yet have many expenses to complete a pro tour.

In this piece I am digging into a tennis player's pro tour journey.

Election 2016 - Donald Trump is the Presumptive Nominee

Elvan Katmer
May 5, 2016

Donald Trump won the Indiana Republican Primary on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, taking all 57 delegate for candidates to claim. Ted Cruz and John Kasich dropped out of the presidential race, making Trump the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party follwing Trumps win.

Democrats contiue their battle though Hillary Clinton secured more the 90 percent of the delegates needed for the party's nomination. Bernie Sanders wowed to stay in the race until the convention after winning Indiana Democratic Primary, acknowledging that the path to victory is narrow.

You and I

I published the original story on 10/20/2013 in Both Turkish and English as one post. Here it is in English only.

You and I

I am an unhappy one. I am lonely despite all the people around me. I am a grumpy one. Despite all those smiles I serve around, I am a grumpy one against myself. I am a hopeless one. Even if my dreams are beyond my horizons; I am the one who cannot think about tomorrow, cannot live in today never forgetting yesterday.

I cannot sleep. I get myself too tired; so I bury myself into the depth of darkness. I am insomniac; even when I close my eyes, my mind does not sleep, keeps thinking about about all necessaries and unnecessaries. I do not take rest at nights; contrarily, I sleep my eyes open my mind with you. When you look at me from outside, I am twenty-five; if you can see my inside, I am fifty.

I am amnesiac. I forget a lot; I forget what I am saying in my speech. Sometimes, I forget what i am doing; there has been times that I forgot who I was. I forgot my identity. Really, who am I? Who is my family, whom I love, whom I am in love with? For who would I die; for who would I live? Do I die? Did I die, am I alive??

I am sorrowful. To most, I have everything; some even considers me rich. I don't have anything; I don't have anyone, I am solitary. Am I anyone? I am no-one; like she says, I am the one unlike anyone. My soul is sad, my heart is filled with sorrow. My eyes are teary, they drop in my soul for the whole time.

I am sick. My body is sick, my soul is sick, my heart is sick. If my body decided to collapse, probably it has a good reason for it. My mind should have a reason; maybe it is a traveller like me, but likes to travel without me. I have a heart; it is tired, it is hardly beating lub-dub lub-dub lub-dub.. Dont stop my heart; keep working. Keep pumping that endless love; until my mind loses me, until my soul gets tired of my body, until my soul comes off your body..

Media Coverage of January 7, 2015

Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine came under a terrorist attack On January 7^th, 2015 in Paris leaving 12 people dead.

As the nature of the case was savage, and it was unexpected, the terrorist attack found exclusive space in every news outlet around the world. We are still watching, reading or hearing daily aftermath coverage from many news organizations.

World leaders condemned the attack, and they also marched against terrorism in Paris.

The protests against Charlie Hebdo attack reached a point where counter protests started as some found remarks offensive to their religious beliefs. People marched against the terrorist attack in Muslim countries, while some other people marched against the magazine’s coverage.

While some news outlets named the attack as Islamic terrorism and the attackers as Muslim terrorists, some reasonably separated Muslims from terrorism. Some journalists even held the Muslim world accountable for the attacks as the attackers were identified as Muslim French citizens.

On the same day, January 7, 2015, according to various news sources (AP, ABC News, NYT), a bomb attack in Iraq killed 12 people. A car bomb has killed more than 30 people and left more than 50 people wounded in Yemen. At least nine people some of them children were killed in Afghanistan when a bomb blasted. Same day, the US military officials have acknowledged that the air strikes against ISIS might have killed civilians too.

To find the initial information I wrote about Charlie Hebdo attack, I didn’t have to do much search as almost any news outlet I checked had some story on the case.

On the other side, to be able to find the information in the latter part, I had to go through several outlets, and compare data from different aspects. I certainly believe there are more, but it is so hard to find all as they are not covered as exclusively. Few news outlets actually covered the stories of people killed in the other parts of the world.

As well as news media, people strongly reacted Paris attack, while Middle East routine did not receive much coverage. What a shame, right? I said routine. Yes, terrorist attacks and killings in Middle East are routine. As they are not happening anywhere near us, or they are not directly affecting us, we do not even care. The deaths are such a routine that Jerusalem Post posted a story on January 8, 2015 about Syria with a headline “Zero killed in Syria combat for the first time in 3 years.”

One time, our news writing and reporting professor had said “If something is not interesting, it is not news.” We are at such a point that hundreds of people being killed is not newsy anymore. It is only newsy when they are unexpected or near us.

In that case, can we say the news coverage is fair, balanced and ethical?

Sports Plus Helps Prepare Children with Disabilities to Life - Reporting from Gaithersburg 7

Midway through the pool, Mark was uncertain. But with coaching from his swimming instructors, the 12-year-old kicked continuously and made it to the wall.




Mark Posing for Camera. Photo: Katmer

"One more! One more! One more!" he shouted, as his father proudly took a photo.

For Jim Lynch, it was a bittersweet reminder of his son's obsessive-compulsive disorder. Many kids enjoy repeating an activity they are learning, but with Mark it was always a question of when he would stop.

On this day, it was not a problem. Mark's instructors work with Sports Plus, a local nonprofit that works with children with developmental disabilities and they have been trained to deal with his issues, which includes Tourette's syndrome and hyperactivity.

Sports Plus initiated in fall of 2015 as a pilot program for soccer by Tom and Natalie Liniak. Montgomery County offered entertainment programs for children with disabilities. They wanted the program help kids learn how to set goals, not just to score them.

Liniaks worked collaboratively with sports coaches, education professionals, and therapists to create a curriculum in fall of 2004. The first pilot program ran successfully the following summer, so they decided to branch out into other sports. It also led the program run year-round starting from fall of 2005.

"Not everybody loved soccer," said Mr. Liniak. "We went into a gym program. We would have fitness training, basketball, volleyball. We even piloted a baseball program."

Their son John loved going to ocean. But they worried about his safety in the water.  Montgomery County offered programs where only volunteer instructors taught swimming. But they worried it wasn't effective for their son. So they piloted the swim program in the summer of 2007.


Liniak Family, Courtesy of Sports Plus.

The program now includes summer camps, soccer, basketball, volleyball, field and track and swimming dedicated to help children with developmental disabilities learn to stay on their feet while enjoying their time. One of the main purposes of the program is preparing these children for real life. Even though they have some challenges, they also are good at doing certain things, in some cases better than we are.

"What about a world where we could teach the base skill, so within the early years when they go to the water park, they can go down the slide just like everybody else? What about a world they can jump in or play tag or do whatever it is just like everybody else? But they don't need me. That's the key," said Liniak.

According to Mr. Liniak, Sports Plus reached its set goal in helping children. Jake, 15, who has been in the program since its establishment is in drum line in his high school band. He is an accomplished piano player. He is also in his swim team in the summers swimming B meets, which is the slower time swimmers and some A meets, which is faster swimmers' group.

When Tom Liniak learned his son had autism at the age of two, he was working as a lawyer frequently travelling around the country. At first, he thought he could handle it like so many other problems, by throwing money at it.

"People paid me a lot of money to fix things, solve problems, so I was going to do that for my son," he said.

But over the time he realized that wouldn't work. He quit his job and family sold their house so that he could start a consulting program and work on Sports Plus to help his son and other children.

Hundreds of children joined the program since it started. Once a child is in the program, Tom and Natalie review his or her activity log and advice parents what activities would best fit their needs to best help them gain abilities they can use in future.

Michael Hoffman, a financial advisor said his son Matthew get the chance to interact with other people, and will stay in the program as long as he enjoys it.

"The biggest thing for him is engaging with other people. That's really the big obstacle of the disorder," he said.

Local Bar vs. Nationwide Restaurant & Bar Chain - Reporting from Gaithersburg 6

By Elvan Katmer

Thursday, December 1, 2014

Local Bar vs. Nationwide Restaurant & Bar Chain

Quince Orchard Plaza has two sports bars, but they have very different customers.

Quincy's bar and Grill has been in business in Gaithersburg for 30 years, though it was named Ernie's Bar until Marty and Alexis Magill bought it six years ago.

The small restaurant is known for good food, cheap beer, a jukebox full of classic rock and live music several nights a week.

Quincy's bartender, Stephanie Ayton on the move.

Nearby is Buffalo Wild Wings, a national chain with over 840 locations.

When Buffalo Wild Wings moved  into the plaza, Magills felt threatened at first. The business could be affected by the competition, but it did not happen.

"We expected a 10 to 15 percent hit for the first couple of months. But I literally can tell you, it [Buffalo Wild Wings] actually increased our business," said Mrs. Magill.

The bar has a good regular customer base thanks to its years of reputation at Quince Orchard Plaza. Carlos De La Carrera, a regular customer at Quincy's said the environment is friendly, and you would always see an old friend when you come to Quincy's.

"It feels like you are at a friend's house," he said.

Buffalo Wild Wings has on the other side established its business successfully. According to restaurant's manager Matthew Halbrook who has been running the business since its opening at the shopping center May 19, 2013, the location is great for the sports bar chain, and it helped give a new face to the shopping center along with along with LA Fitness on the opposite side. That's where you go to burn the beer and wings.

"We are bright, we are colorful. We stand out. You can almost see us right off 270," he said. "People see that the shopping center exists."

Buffalo Wild Wings is a large three section bar and restaurant with over 75 HD TVs and a few projectors. Although it seems to have a larger variety of choice when compared to Quincy’s food, serving preconditioned food meant to be prepared, served and consumed quickly doesn’t get thumbs up from customers.

Quincy’s on the other side is almost half the size of Buffalo Wild Wings. Although it gets the highest draw through the football season, Quincy’s is not the best place to watch football according to Ryan Kwasnik, a server at Buffalo Wild Wings.

“I go there. I like Quincy’s, but I would never go there like on a Sunday or Saturday night to actually watch a game,” he said.

What draws people to Buffalo Wild Wings are sound quality, TVs and the stadium like atmosphere. Sound is adjusted to the sections. Lounge area by the bar is where people come together, watching the games drinking beers and yelling. Rise section is preferred by families for its surrounding, and low dine is the place where speakers are less loud.

“I could see the game in every direction,” said De La Carrera. “There are some TVs that are showing the same game, but at the same time you still see up to five or six games.”

A total of 67 people work at Buffalo Wild Wings, but some customers say they don't have the same skills as their counterparts at Quincy's.

Erik Mercilliot, shopper at Quince Orchard Place who has been to both bars complained about servers at Buffalo Wild Wings.

“The one time I went, the girl [server] was like ‘Sorry that the service is crappy,’ and then still continued to give us crappy service,” he said.

Consistent staff at Quincy’s also helps business. One of the bartenders, Paul Watson now in his early 70s, is still bartending now two days of the week at Quincy’s since its first day in Gaithersburg. It receives compliments about staff’s professionalism, friendly and swift service along with food quality.

A local real estate agent in her mid 50s, Laura Patterson recalls the days she came here as a teenager. She has been a regular at Quincy’s since the restaurant, then Ernie’s, moved to Gaithersburg from Rockville in late 1976.

“There is nothing fancy about it. It is the people that go there and the atmosphere,” she said.

Quince Orchard Plaza Survives Reconstruction - Reporting From Gaithersburg 5

By Elvan Katmer

Thursday, November 5, 2014

 

Quince Orchard Plaza Survives Reconstruction                                          

A reconstruction project at Quince Orchard Plaza has hurt business at several shops, but retailers say it should help in the long run.

“Stores Open” signs posted on the constructions

area fences.

Federal Realty Investment Trust has been partially reconstructing the Quince Orchard Plaza as a part of modernization project, bringing discount grocery store Aldi to the shopping center.

As a part of the project, an addition and a reconstruction was approved on November of 2013.

A pizza restaurant Cici's, a small grocery store Gourmet Grog, a fitness salon Studio X and two empty spots could not renew lease or were not leased to allow renovations. The space being built is already leased by Aldi grocery store.

According to Federal Realty development manager Nick Over, the renovations are projected to be completed by year 2015. The goal is to make shopping plaza less like a strip mall, with more lighting and fewer dark corners.

According to construction superintendent James Grose, nearly 19000 square feet retail space is being added by removing useless breezeways in between stores.

“It is going to be a fairly tall building,” he said.

Brandon Tolley, assistant Manager at Staples, which employs more than 20 people, said it was forced to downsize 50 percent for the additions.

“We were either going to move out of the shopping center or we were going to downsize,” he said.

Along with the added space to the building Staples partially gave up, three stores on a total of 8,155 square feet area will be settling in the plaza early in next year. The spaces are still in lease negotiation.

Because of the construction, some customers thought stores at the mall had closed, but business owners say they hope to get them back once it’s over.

“The day that they started clearing out the stores, people were coming in a lot less frequently,” said Tolley.

Still, they were not affected as badly as they had anticipated.

According to Alexis Magill, the owner of Quincy’s Bar and Grill that has been in the shopping center over 30 years with different names, her business gets affected slightly early evenings Thursday through Saturday because people can’t find a parking spot. Construction took away 50 parking spots.

Due to construction, businesses lost power several times up to six hours. There has been a gas leak that they had to evacuate the stores. some stores lost power a few times and the main road in the plaza has been closed time to time.

"We will be sitting down and discussing there issues with them [Federal Realty officials]," Magill said.

But overall, thanks to her regular customer base she is not much worried about the revenue her business lost so far. She said her numbers were very close to previous year, yet it is hard to gain new customers.

"We have actually been doing okay," she said. "We have a day bar business that virtually not many people in the area have."

She thinks their business will get better than it was after the project is completed as the bar will have a broader view from outside and the renovations they will have later will give more space to the restaurant.

Federal Realty development manager, Over said they will also renovate inside of some retailers' space after project is complete.

"The end result will be worth it," he said.

Jean Tagro, general manager for LA Fitness that has been in the shopping center for two years also thinks project is going to improve his business once it is complete. For the same reason he does not complain about parking hassle, noise or water being shut down occasionally because of the construction.

“It’s for a better place,” he said. He thinks parking will still be an issue after the construction though. “It is a hassle, and it is going to be more of a hassle.”

He sees the negatives effects but expects the good outcome afterwards.

“You’ve got to be positive my man. [My expectation is] a little bit of chaos. But at the end of the day it is going to work.”