Service signs: Brand logos or no?

[kphoger]

^^^

In my case, it is not an issue of being detail oriented or not.

When I travel, I don't have a set plan beyond stopping at certain points of interest.  Therefore, I cannot know where I'll be when lunch, dinner, etc. rolls around.  And it's impractical to look up everything along a 100-200 mile stretch.

That's why I need information on the road.

I understand.  For me, I know within an hour when I'm leaving, and I want the fastest way there.  So I do know where I'll be at lunch time etc.  I fully understand that not everyone travels that way.  As for looking up everything along a 100-200-mile stretch:  it only takes a few minutes (at least in this part of the country) to go to Google Maps and type "restaurants near Anytown, USA".

[D-Dey65]

I have no problems with billboards. I believe in the concept of capitalism and the right of property owners to be able to do as they wish with their land. So if Arby's wants to lease space in some farmer's field on I-75 to put up a big ol' honkin' billboard announcing Good Mood Food at the next exit, I say more power to 'em.

But on the logo signs, yes I want the brand of the establishment on there. Gas is gas, and I usually know where I'm going to be spending the night, so fuel and lodging signs aren't that important, but I want to know what restaurants are there. During the day I usually just want to drive through and get my food, so I tend to stick to familiar brands like Taco Bell, McDonald's, for a familiar meal.

I'm 100% with you on this. I don't even mind when the gas stations along I-95 have signs taller than the trees.

[realjd]

I use the internet to plan my stops before I leave home, thereby also allowing me to know ahead of time which side of the road the establishments are on, what the exit number is, etc.  Admittedly, most people are not as detail-oriented when they plan their drives.

I usually plan out where I'm stopping each night (the places I tend to prefer staying are cheaper booking ahead of time, and not necessarily easy to find from an interstate exit), but I usually don't plan out gas/lunch stops ahead of time. Gas stops depend more on the bathroom, snack, and drink needs of me and my wife. As for lunch, it's hard to get on the road at a specific time because of my wife (usually a +/- 45 min window) and I'd rather have the flexibility to stop when we're hungry regardless of time and location. I will admit though to planning a stop at a Chipotle if I'm driving near one at some time even remotely close to lunch.

I do seem to be in the minority on the board for prebooking hotels, but I've also become a hotel snob who is probably pickier than most of the folks here.

[jwolfer]

some are fine with the Motel 6 (and having your choice of hookers and drugs LOL)

I've never had a problem with Motel 6. 

then again, the primary consideration for me is not the brand, but the general character of the neighborhood.  so maybe there are some shitty Motel 6es in some shitty areas, but I don't know about them.

Yeah it is probably true.. Motel 6 allows pets as well so if you have your dog its nice to know you will be OK.  We stopped at a Motel 6 in Ft Pierce FL and it was an interesting night to say the least.  But Ft Pierce can be a bit unsavory.  i have stayed indecent Motel 6s as well.  The room was clean at least

  I know here in Jacksonville the cheaper Motels get some we will say "independent business people"   We used to go cheap on motels when travleing... or sleep in the car.. but that was before kids... and going into a motel room with dirty socks on the floor and an odd smell.  I plan on a minimum of $85... and that just pisses me off to pay that much to sleep for a few hours... we have found some cheap hotels for vacation on hotels.com but i dont like preplanning stops cuz sometimes you want to drive a bit more or you just feel like stopping an hour before the reservation

[thenetwork]

I am probably one of a few who got the pleasure of staying at Hotel 6 in Palm Springs, CA.  There used to be an ordinance in that town (this goes back to the days when Sonny Bono was Mayor) that no lodging facility could call themselves a "Motel" on any of their outside signs (didn't want to cheapen the community's image).  So from the street, the signs all said Hotel 6, but once in your room, it was back to Motel 6 swag. 

Sometime during or after Sonny's reign, that requirement was scrapped.  The Hotel 6 that I stayed ad back in the 80s was now just Motel 6 when last I was there 9 years ago.

[brownpelican]

I miss the old fashioned greasy-spoon restaurants with a big sign that simply read "FOOD". Logos? Who needs them.

A lot of that stuff can be found on-line now.

And who wants to spend time online looking up what's available in the place you're going to? Before you hit the road? Really? C'mon man!
That's where phone books at the hotel come in handy.

[bugo]

I think these signs are great.  Generally I'm anti-corporate, but these signs are very useful.  If you're in an unfamiliar area and you are running out of gas or want to get a burger or a motel, they're very handy.  Much better than the generic "GAS-LODGING" signs that they still use in places.

[txstateends]

I miss the old fashioned greasy-spoon restaurants with a big sign that simply read "FOOD". Logos? Who needs them.

A lot of that stuff can be found on-line now.

And who wants to spend time online looking up what's available in the place you're going to? Before you hit the road? Really? C'mon man!
That's where phone books at the hotel come in handy.

If you can still find one at a hotel.... They've quit delivering books to where I work unless you beg them for some.  There are some guests that get ticked with me about it but we can't even keep one at the desk without it getting away from us.

[The High Plains Traveler]

I am probably one of a few who got the pleasure of staying at Hotel 6 in Palm Springs, CA.  There used to be an ordinance in that town (this goes back to the days when Sonny Bono was Mayor) that no lodging facility could call themselves a "Motel" on any of their outside signs (didn't want to cheapen the community's image).  So from the street, the signs all said Hotel 6, but once in your room, it was back to Motel 6 swag. 

Including the ash tray with the no smoking logo on the bottom?

[Scott5114]

I am probably one of a few who got the pleasure of staying at Hotel 6 in Palm Springs, CA.  There used to be an ordinance in that town (this goes back to the days when Sonny Bono was Mayor) that no lodging facility could call themselves a "Motel" on any of their outside signs (didn't want to cheapen the community's image).  So from the street, the signs all said Hotel 6, but once in your room, it was back to Motel 6 swag. 

Including the ash tray with the no smoking logo on the bottom?

I seem to recall you telling me the story about that at one point, but I recall it was so ridiculous I'd love to hear it again.

[realjd]

I miss the old fashioned greasy-spoon restaurants with a big sign that simply read "FOOD". Logos? Who needs them.

A lot of that stuff can be found on-line now.

And who wants to spend time online looking up what's available in the place you're going to? Before you hit the road? Really? C'mon man!
That's where phone books at the hotel come in handy.

Last I checked, phone books don't have reviews the way Yelp and Urbanspoon do. Plus, I don't ever remember seeing a category in the phone book for "microbreweries"!

I look up restaurants ahead of time only if I'm planning a hotel stop ahead of time. I take proximity to interesting restaurants into account when choosing a hotel. I don't want to get stuck at an exit with only a Cracker Barrel and McDonalds as the only choices within 25 miles if I can help it. Usually I end up at downtown hotels or business-grade hotels in upscale suburban areas. And interestingly, a night at a city center Hyatt or Embassy Suites can often cost the same or less than nearby motels on freeway exits, particularly on a Friday or Saturday night when they have few business travelers and high vacancy.

[roadman65]

The problem is some places do not update the establishments on the logo signs like in MO and FL.

One time I was traveling along US 71 through Grandview, MO and saw a White Castle sign on the blue assembly.  Being the fact I live in Florida, we do not have them down here, so I was in awe when I saw it.  I got off the freeway imediately, and saw it was less than a half a mile to the right.  I ended up traveling the local street and seeing nothing of the sort.  I ended up making a u turn back to US 71 only to find it then, but it was obvious why I did not see it the other way.  It was closed and boarded up and if I did not remember what a White Castle building looked like I would have never figured it out.

Florida had the same issue with Quincy's Steakhouse that closed on Orange Blossom Trail three miles south of I-4's Exit 80.  Quincy's closed all of their Florida Stores in the late 90's and for years  afterward it was on the I-4 logo sign going eastbound until the nearby Exit 79 was reconfigured a few years ago when FDOT removed the entire assembly and never put it back.

.

Then you have a Racetrac Gas Station stated on FL 528's sign at Exit 3.  Here the business is open still, but miles away from the interchange on another road.  Not even follow up signs are used here or elsewhere in the Orlando area once off the ramps.

New Jersey has a logo for White Castle on I-287 at Exit 1A, but it's for US 1, a road with jughandles and the restaurant being on the opposing side of traffic one mile away.  No follow ups either and if you are not familiar with how the jughandle system works you will pass the place and not able to figure out how to return to it with the sealed medians and no u turns at signalized intersections.

[mcdonaat]

I think these signs are great.  Generally I'm anti-corporate, but these signs are very useful.  If you're in an unfamiliar area and you are running out of gas or want to get a burger or a motel, they're very handy.  Much better than the generic "GAS-LODGING" signs that they still use in places.

GAS-LODGING is the most boring sign I can think of, so I'm glad someone else agrees!

Imagine if you're a trucker and you have three or four gallons of diesel left, do you really wanna keep exiting at every one that says GAS, if you have a fleet card that is only usable at Chevron? Fleet cards in themselves, and the wide use of restaurant-specific gift cards, make the logos necessary.

[blawp]

You would exit at the one that says DIESEL not GAS, at least in California.

[doorknob60]

They have them along the interstates here in Oregon (and most other places I've been, though not as often inside urban areas), and I find them quite helpful. If I'm on a long trip somewhere and I need food, there's usually one particular restaurant I have in mind that sounds good, whether it be McDonalds, Taco Bell, Subway, or anything else. I just drive until I see the sign (if it's a major chain like that, it's just a matter of time), and I know right where to go, extremely handy. When a sign just says "Food", I won't exit there, because I don't know what I'll find. That's when my Garmin comes in handy though, because I can just search for the place I'm looking for, and I can find it that way, but these signs are quite convenient. Just seeing "Food" is meaningless to me. "Gas" I have less of a problem, it makes no difference to me if it's Chevron or 76 or whatever, but I wouldn't call this advertising, I call it convenience.

[US71]

As far as phone books go, I've stayed at a number of motels where the phone books are out of date. I once went looking for a pizza reataurant in a city only to find it no longer existed.

Of course, now that I have a smartphone, I can look for a lot of places on it. 

[Compulov]

Logos or not, I'd be happy if the PA Turnpike would put Food and Gas signs up for their exits. I was travelling down the NE Extension once, with the intent of stopping at the Allentown rest area for fuel.... only to discover that Allentown was closed. Of course there's no signs for any gas stations along the Turnpike, so I drove up an exit or two to see if I saw any of the high-rise signs some gas stations put up. After making it past the next two exits with no clue if there was gas or not, I finally bit the bullet, pulled over to the shoulder, and Google'd for the nearest gas station.
So yeah, I, for one, really like having the signs for each exit. I also prefer the logos, since it makes brand recognition instantaneous. Typically, if I'm travelling, I either know in advance where I plan to stop for food (from Yelp/Tripadvisor/Zagat reviews) or I'm travelling through unknown territory and I want to stick with the chains I'm familiar with. You won't believe what a sight it was to see Applebees in Gallup, NM when my girlfriend and I were travelling in the area several months ago.

[thenetwork]

Logos or not, I'd be happy if the PA Turnpike would put Food and Gas signs up for their exits. I was travelling down the NE Extension once, with the intent of stopping at the Allentown rest area for fuel.... only to discover that Allentown was closed. Of course there's no signs for any gas stations along the Turnpike, so I drove up an exit or two to see if I saw any of the high-rise signs some gas stations put up. After making it past the next two exits with no clue if there was gas or not, I finally bit the bullet, pulled over to the shoulder, and Google'd for the nearest gas station.
So yeah, I, for one, really like having the signs for each exit. I also prefer the logos, since it makes brand recognition instantaneous.

I can't vouch for ALL turnpikes/toll roads, but you're lucky to see big blue service signs for Lodging only on the PA & OH pikes.  The turnpike authorities want you to spend your gas & food money with them!!

Imagine the crowds coming & going off the NY Thruway Exit 58 if there were big blue signs toting  the "tax-free" gas stations on the Indian Reservation just off the Irving exit!!!

[vdeane]

The Thruway posts Attractions/Camping/Lodging brand logo signs and generics for food and fuel.  No signs marking Indian Reservations though, so you'd have to know it was there in the first place.

[roadman]

I would be satisfied with leaving the logos off the mainline signs, and only putting them (and distance!) on the wayfinders along the exit ramp.  Seeing Food|Gas|Lodging would be good enough to signal me to exit there; if however, none of the restaurants are appealing to me, I haven't really lost much time by exiting and then getting back on right away.  However, if I had to drive 1.5 miles to find out I don't like any of the restaurants, find a place to turn around, and then drive 1.5 miles back again, then that's another story.

This is exactly how New Hampshire handles service signs on their freeways - no logos on the mainline, but they post them on the ramps.  The only thing I don't like is that NH posts the services as graphic panels mounted below the 1 mile advance sign for the interchange.  A separate GAS-FOOD-LODGING sign mounted midway between the 1 mile and 1/2 mile advance signs would be much better.

[vdeane]

Exiting and getting back on is extremely annoying at best (plus you waste gas), and can be tricky or impossible depending on ramp configuration.  It's trivial at a diamond, you'll have to turn around somewhere for a folded diamond, and you're just plain out of luck if it's a half diamond.

[kphoger]

* * * and you're just plain out of luck if it's a half diamond.

Of course, logos on the sign wouldn't help that one bit...

[vdeane]

* * * and you're just plain out of luck if it's a half diamond.

Of course, logos on the sign wouldn't help that one bit...

They would if you were just exiting to see what food choices there are and find out the brand you want isn't at that exit.

[kphoger]

* * * and you're just plain out of luck if it's a half diamond.

Of course, logos on the sign wouldn't help that one bit...

They would if you were just exiting to see what food choices there are and find out the brand you want isn't at that exit.

No, what I meant was that, if the sign said Wendy's and you wanted Wendy's, you still wouldn't be able to get back on the highway after eating if the junction were a half diamond.

[roadfro]

^ I'm reasonably certain that the logo signs aren't supposed to be put up if one can't easily re-enter the highway in the same direction at the interchange.