Hundreds Swarm N.C. Station Mistakenly Offering 35-Cent Gas

[austin552]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,350949,00.html

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Traffic was backed up and police were called to control the crowd after a Wilmington gas station accidentally set the pump price at 35 cents a gallon.

The Wilmington Star-News reported Friday that hundreds of drivers flooded a BP station for the cheap gas after the price dropped around 9 a.m. Thursday.

Station employee Shane Weller said the price for premium gasoline was supposed to be $3.35 a gallon. He complained that customers paid the cheaper price all day without saying a word.

It was all the extra traffic that led station employees to the mistake around 6 p.m. They found it after calling their district manager, looking for permission to changing the price as a way of stemming the flow of customers.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Good lord. I'd have gone to Home Depot and bought two large bathtubs, filled them up, then probably filled my trunk.

[fintstone]

I would have told them there was a mistake. This might well put a small business out of business.

[Dueller]

I recently went to fill up at a station near my home. I didn't pay attention, just stuck my debit card in and let it pump. Took the receipt and didn't really notice but something felt disconsonant. Got about 2 miles down the road and looked at my receipt. They had put the decimal in the wrong place when setting the pump and my fill up cost me $5.25 instead of $52.50.

I immediately turned around and told the clerk. She thought I was complaining and couldn't understand what I was trying to explain. Finally the owner came out and realized what I was saying.

He was very thankful.

My integrity is worth more than $47.25.

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by fintstone

I would have told them there was a mistake. This might well put a small business out of business.

+1.

Very sad to hear so many people are that dishonest and willing to screw a small business owner. I would hope it doesn't say something about what we have become as Americans, but I fear it does......

[Porsche-O-Phile]

A lot of the stations are corporate-owned these days. Some are still franchises, but a lot are corporate stations. I used to work for a Mobil station years ago that was one of these.

You think the oil companies would refund you if they accidentally put the decimal point in the other place and charged you $35.00 a gallon? Doubt it. You'd probably waste 20 hours of your time getting bounced around through voice mail hell and then have to pursue a legal fight to fix it.

Sad, but that's where we are today.

And yes, if it was clearly just a small station owned by an independent operator, my take on it would be different.

[87coupe]

Originally Posted by austin552

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,350949,00.html
They found it after calling their district manager, looking for permission to changing the price as a way of stemming the flow of customers.

Clearly this is not some Mom & Pop owned station if they have district managers.

[peppy]

I saw this on the local news, and could not believe that no one said a word all day.

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

A lot of the stations are corporate-owned these days. Some are still franchises, but a lot are corporate stations. I used to work for a Mobil station years ago that was one of these.

You think the oil companies would refund you if they accidentally put the decimal point in the other place and charged you $35.00 a gallon? Doubt it. You'd probably waste 20 hours of your time getting bounced around through voice mail hell and then have to pursue a legal fight to fix it.

Sad, but that's where we are today.

And yes, if it was clearly just a small station owned by an independent operator, my take on it would be different.

Does it really matter whom you are stealing from?

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by 87coupe

Clearly this is not some Mom & Pop owned station if they have district managers.

Does it matter if it is a corporation...or Mom and Pop? Who owns stock in corporations? Probably most of us in our mutual funds and retirement funds. It seems like an integrity issue to me.

[9dreizig]

Originally Posted by fintstone

Does it matter if it is a corporation...or Mom and Pop? Who owns stock in corporations? Probably most of us in our mutual funds and retirement funds. It seems like an integrity issue to me.

Actually if it were Citco ( Venezualan gov. owned). I'd have filled up then bought rounds of gas for my buddies as well..!!!

[Moses]

Originally Posted by Dueller

My integrity is worth more than $47.25.

That's really the entire point. I wish more people felt the same way.

[DavidB911]

Well, I've been on the being screwed side, I think. The gas was 2.85 for 89, 2.95 for 91 and 3.50 for 93. I figured it was a typo and just put in 2 gal of the 93 and went on. I think that if these companies weren't billion dollar plus businesses that people wouldn't be so quick to screw them.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

So paying marked asking price for fuel is wrong and invading a sovereign country to take it for our convenience is okay.

Right.

Got it.

I think.

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

So paying marked asking price for fuel is wrong and invading a sovereign country to take it for our convenience is okay.

Right.

Got it.

I think.

So your rationale for taking advantage of a clear mistake...is that you thought they really intended to sell the gas at 35 cents a gallon?
That also seems a bit dishonest to me.

If you put a acidentally listed a swb 911 on PP for $35 instead of $35K...would you feel a person is justified to demand you to sell it to them for that?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

The way I see it, Iraq is a pretty clear mistake too, yet you seem to be defending the oil companies taking advantage of it.

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

The way I see it, Iraq is a pretty clear mistake too, yet you seem to be defending the oil companies taking advantage of it.

And how exactly are oil companies taking advantage of Iraq...and how would that excuse stealing gas?