Recently, EasyAutoSales was able to speak with a gas station manager in the area. With the current state of gas being in very high demand and the depleted supply due to damage from Hurricane Gustav and Ike, EasyAutoSales hoped to get some special insight into fuel crisis, first hand. We would love to share this interview with you in hopes to educate the public. Without further adieu, an interview with Mr. Fuel:

EAS: Do you all get gas from the same supplier?

Mr. Fuel: All gas comes through a network of pipelines that is tapped into at various terminals, in the case of Atlanta most of it comes from terminals in Doraville, the terminals are owned by various companies.

EAS: When you foresee the shortage to end?

Mr. Fuel: I wonder the same thing, without gas our inside sales are falling drastically and that’s where we profit.

EAS: When are the pumps in the gulf expected to come back up?

Mr. Fuel: From my understand they were authorized to come back on as soon as they had electricity.

EAS: Why is communication so bad that no one knows when they will be getting more gas?

Mr. Fuel: It really depends on the station. Franchised stations such as B.P.s, Chevrons, and Citgo, there owners probably do know considering they would have to order there own fuel. In the case of corporate owned stations such as mine, we don’t know because that is controlled by a division in corporate. On top of that< the delivery drivers sometimes have to drive to several different terminals to get each of the octanes and ethanol which can take hours of waiting.

EAS: Do you sell until you’re empty or do you coordinate with your neighbors to limit how many hours a day you’ll be open so each of you can get some business?

Mr. Fuel: Honestly gas stations don’t profit from gas, which is why there is so much advertisement at the pumps. So we don’t care when we sell it. We sell to a certain level of gallons then we will have to cut off due to the risk of burning out the motors that pull gas from our tanks.

EAS: Can you explain the process of deciding how much to raise the price for you station?

Mr. Fuel: We decide by surveys at the beginning of both day shifts. The manager coming in will survey the surrounding stations prices. There prices will then be reported back to corporate who compare it to how much they can buy gas wholesale for and the price is sent to the store and changed promptly.

EAS: How are gas prices at your station regulated?

Mr. Fuel: By the surveys, honestly, we could lie and raise/lower the prices a couple cents, but it’s not worth risking the job so someone can save 30 cents on a 15 gallon fill up.

EAS: Why do we sometimes see such a difference in gas prices with in the same 10 mile radius?

Mr. Fuel: Because of stations surveying each other and thus trying to complete with the best price. As managers survey throughout a given area at differet times of day, prices may rise and lower throughout the day and end up with a spread from the earliest to latest to survey.

EAS: What is your biggest challenge as a gas station manager?

Mr. Fuel: Nothing to do with gas, it’s basically speed of service and store appearance. All we try to do is increase inside sales and therefore, profit margin.

EAS: Can you describe your experience with the Atlanta gas shortage?

Mr. Fuel: I’m having to hunt for gas just like everyone else i live 25 miles from my work. On a store level though, people calling all the time asking us if have gas then getting angry because we don’t. A lot of ignorant people thinking we are just saving gas till the price goes up.

EAS: Lastly, can you recount one or two stories about various incidents since the gas shortage has started?

Mr. Fuel: We had all the 87 octane pumps bagged one morning and during a mild rush this man comes in with a strong southern accent and says, “Well, I just went and pulled the damn bag off and it pumped just fine. Ya’ll just trying to make extra money.” My response after seeing if he really did and how much he pumped was, ” Sir, you probably just pumped about 5 gallons of water in your tank.” His car was towed away about an hour later because the water sized the engine.

Another one is I was working overnight one night during this shortage and about 12:30 I notice about 5 cars sitting outside just waiting and about ten minutes later a guy walks in and says, “You guys have a delivery scheduled at 12:40 right?” Obviously, since I don’t even know when we are getting deliveries I said no. I ended up getting several calls and people coming in saying that some gas prices website said my store (same address and everything) was getting a delivery at 12:40 a.m.

This is some great insight from someone “working in the trenches”. EasyAutoSales hopes to have more interviews like this in the future with people who can give first hand experiance and information.