Slippery slopes

Every winter you can’t help but to wonder about the people who totally have forgotten how snow and ice feel like and how they react with your car. People say that the winter comes as a surprise and that they could not know how it affects their driving. It is amazing because most of these people have more than few snowy winters on their track record and snow and ice are always snow and ice.


When the roads are really slippery some people won’t even bother to think how it affects their car or way of driving. These are the people that don’t drive that much and usually find themselves wrapped around the first light pole that they can come across. Driving on slippery roads is like dancing. You have to know all the time what the next step is going to be like because if you think at the current one, you are too late. Driving on ice at it’s best is like art. When you have the best tire (in Finnish: rengas) for ice on you and you have a great 4x4 car to make the car bend the curves, you feel like a king. Everything happens so fast but still you can manage it and keep the entire car in control.


Choosing the right tire for the winter isn’t that easy, though. You have to first think whether you drive more on the snow or on the ice. For the snowy roads you have many options but one of the best ones is the friction tire that doesn’t have any spikes on it. When there is snow there is friction. If you drive more on the icy surfaces you should consider the spikes as an option. The spikes keep you on the road no matter what. The sizes of the spikes vary as well but to keep it roadworthy and safe, you should take the regular ones.


When you have the ability to see the situations and you find the perfect tire for the weather, you should not have any problems during the winter times and you should be all right on the slippery slopes.

Thing called service

Which are the best experiences you have had regarding service?I find it very hard to find proper service these days from basically anywhere. Wherever you go, you will not be able to find one person that is responsible for the service you get. When you find the person, usually the first reaction is that you have done something wrong and you should be the one apologizing. What happened to the “customer always being always right” mentality?

When you look for the service from the places where you spend quite a few bucks, you should be able to get some service. Then when you actually get some service you praise it and think of it as something that is out of the question on a regular basis. One of the best spots for service no doubt has been the local Vianor. Every time I go there to get a new set of tire (in Finnish: rengas) changed, I get superb service from the guys. They can even tell the time they will spend with my car with accuracy of minutes. They also have everything a man needs: magazines, coffee and a place to sit.

Other place that gets points for its service is a department store in the city center. There I’m always happy to pay a little extra for the service they provide. I can always rely on the fact that if the product is bad or does not meet the standards, I can return it without any further questions being asked. They also have a good loyalty program.

So, changing tire and doing grocery shopping are the corner stones for my search for service. Other places that I have tried have been taxi services, banks, restaurants etc. They all seem to have such a twisted image of service. I agree that everyone should be treated as equal but if you are working and your work is to serve people I would think that leaves no doubt to the matter. We should start bringing the old service culture back a bit by bit. It comes by demanding more from the businesses and putting your money into where the best service is.

The season of deals

It seems like there are many seasons for different items to be on sale. I love the seasons when you basically get at least -20% off everything. This happens usually after the New Year when the new collections start coming to stores and stores want to get rid of their old stock. There are different seasons for different items, though. If you really want a new set of skiing gear, why not buy it when the season is over. You will definitely get the best price when you buy them after the season and, in addition, they will most likely be just as good as the ones that will be on the shelves next year.

Cars basically never come into sale but it is true that you can get a better price for a 4x4 during heavy wintertime than during the summer time when there is no real effect on the four wheel drive. You can also sell your convertible easier when it’s summer time, buyers might be quite difficult to find during winter.

Tire is one item that I always long for sale. When you have to get a new tire (in Finnish: rengas) set, you wouldn’t want to wait a year till they are cheaper and seasonal according to your needs. If you’re smart, you will buy your winter tires when the season is over and the summer tires when the winter is knocking on your door. Choosing the right tire from sale is also quite easy. You usually have a big selection of tires that go on sale because of the new tire models that are coming to the markets. People don’t want their tire sets to be out dated and that’s why there are seasonal sales on the tire market as well.

At best I manage to get my once per year far east travels at least half the price they used to be, I get my tires for -30% and all the clothes I need for the next year for at least -20% of the original price. This way I have saved enough money to take another trip far east or even possibly upgrade the car by season.

When the spring is close by

There are many reasons why to be happy about the spring being as close as a month or two away. For a lot of people this means the closing for another year at work. Summer seems to be the milestone for the year at work because of the summer holidays. The speedsters wait that the speed limits are going back to the regularities and that they could get from point A to point B 20km/h faster. For some people spring means a bit of suffering because of the dust of the pollution that goes into the air. This is always quite a short phase of the spring but for those who suffer of, it might actually take some time to recover. Spike tire (in Finnish: rengas) is one of the reasons why there is so much of this small dust in the air: when cars are still using spikes even though the roads are dry, the tarmac starts to wear and turn into small dust. Speedsters also go on about choosing the right tire for the summer. Some people who have the friction tires might actually go with them for the whole summer and then just change a new set for the winter.

Choosing the right tire for the summer isn’t that easy either. One might think that there is nothing to consider when choosing the tire for the summer but in fact there are quite many things to take into consideration. One is naturally the power of your car. You can’t have bad tire with a powerful car. You will need the maximum grip and durability. Another thing to take into consideration is that how it reacts with water. Water slide is just as dangerous as black ice and is not easy to control.

Spring is always full of surprises but for the people with petrol in their vanes, it is the time of excitement. Many people have their summer rides parked close by for the winter and when the summer starts to knock on the door the cars are being brought out. The feeling when you take your ride out for a spin on a spring day is just unbelievable . The summer is almost here, enjoy.