One c-store and gas station decided to deter customers from stopping – but why?
Gas retailers across the Midwest are suffering from reduced gas supplies as a result of Hurricane Ike, and many are running out of fuel completely. Those stations that are not dry have increased prices to account for inflated wholesale costs. The Kaghann's Korner Marathon station in Waterloo, Ind., is one such c-store that ran out of fuel, and decided to scare its customers away by posting gas prices of $5.99 per gallon, the Associated Press reported.
"We actually don't have any gas or fuel right now and we were hoping to deter people from coming in and wasting their time, but I guess it's causing more excitement then we anticipated," Piper Withey, a Kaghann's employee, told the AP. The restaurant and c-store at the site are still open.
In an environment where c-stores rely on in-store purchases to make up for low fuel margins, why on earth would a store want to deter customers from stopping there, even if it has no fuel? It is risking the loss of all purchases -- inside and out -- by driving customers elsewhere. Not to mention generating accusations of price-gouging from passers-by.
A better idea may be to inform and apologize to customers about the lack of fuel via a sign at the pumps, which could also state that the c-store is still open inside to provide customers’ convenience needs.
What do you think -- was posting $5.99 for fuel an unwise choice?
Sounds like these people were concerned more about how they appear than appealing to customers. That would even scare off loyal customers, or worse, make them angry. How silly..or was it an excuse not to get into trouble for price gouging?
Posted by: K. Johnson | October 20, 2008 at 10:04 AM