Complaint Review: North County Car Union 76 - Escondido California

I well understand about how you could believe you were treated in a rude manner. All you did was call to inquire about the price of his gas. As a business person I get called many times a day by people calling to inquire about the price of my watch batteries. In my business, it's expected. In the gas business it's not the norm. What the others were trying to point out was the fact that if a gallon of gas is 4 cents lower at one station and you put in 10 gallons, you've saved yourself a whole 40 cents. Do you really think by taking the time to sit down and call a half dozen stations in your area, it's worth the 40 cents? If you spend a half hour calling those stations and save 40 cents, your time is worth 80 cents an hour. When I look on the computer for the gas prices, it states what time the prices were posted, sometimes an hour or two before. My aunt and uncle use to drive 35 miles, one way, to fill up their escort. They'd spend a couple of dollars to save 4 cents a gallon in their 12 gallon tank, a whopping 48 cents. Don't ask me why.

I well understand about how you could believe you were treated in a rude manner. All you did was call to inquire about the price of his gas. As a business person I get called many times a day by people calling to inquire about the price of my watch batteries. In my business, it's expected. In the gas business it's not the norm. What the others were trying to point out was the fact that if a gallon of gas is 4 cents lower at one station and you put in 10 gallons, you've saved yourself a whole 40 cents. Do you really think by taking the time to sit down and call a half dozen stations in your area, it's worth the 40 cents? If you spend a half hour calling those stations and save 40 cents, your time is worth 80 cents an hour. When I look on the computer for the gas prices, it states what time the prices were posted, sometimes an hour or two before. My aunt and uncle use to drive 35 miles, one way, to fill up their escort. They'd spend a couple of dollars to save 4 cents a gallon in their 12 gallon tank, a whopping 48 cents. Don't ask me why.

I well understand about how you could believe you were treated in a rude manner. All you did was call to inquire about the price of his gas. As a business person I get called many times a day by people calling to inquire about the price of my watch batteries. In my business, it's expected. In the gas business it's not the norm. What the others were trying to point out was the fact that if a gallon of gas is 4 cents lower at one station and you put in 10 gallons, you've saved yourself a whole 40 cents. Do you really think by taking the time to sit down and call a half dozen stations in your area, it's worth the 40 cents? If you spend a half hour calling those stations and save 40 cents, your time is worth 80 cents an hour. When I look on the computer for the gas prices, it states what time the prices were posted, sometimes an hour or two before. My aunt and uncle use to drive 35 miles, one way, to fill up their escort. They'd spend a couple of dollars to save 4 cents a gallon in their 12 gallon tank, a whopping 48 cents. Don't ask me why.

I well understand about how you could believe you were treated in a rude manner. All you did was call to inquire about the price of his gas. As a business person I get called many times a day by people calling to inquire about the price of my watch batteries. In my business, it's expected. In the gas business it's not the norm. What the others were trying to point out was the fact that if a gallon of gas is 4 cents lower at one station and you put in 10 gallons, you've saved yourself a whole 40 cents. Do you really think by taking the time to sit down and call a half dozen stations in your area, it's worth the 40 cents? If you spend a half hour calling those stations and save 40 cents, your time is worth 80 cents an hour. When I look on the computer for the gas prices, it states what time the prices were posted, sometimes an hour or two before. My aunt and uncle use to drive 35 miles, one way, to fill up their escort. They'd spend a couple of dollars to save 4 cents a gallon in their 12 gallon tank, a whopping 48 cents. Don't ask me why.

Can you explain the ripoff to me? I used to manage two gas stations. Every morning (sometimes twice a day) we had to do surveys of the surrounding gas stations and if need be, adjust our own prices. The owners absolutely did not want us giving prices over the phone to a possible competitor. I'm not seeing the point of calling stations for the cheapest price, but if that's what you need to do then I suppose you should go for it so long as stations are cooperating. Out of curiosity, what if the station with the best price is far enough away to nullify any money that you saved?

The Rude Behavior is the issue, not fuel prices! It's the people who accept this type of behavior/treatment that make retailers think it is acceptable behavior. I will not accept it! My little bit of money goes where my money is appreciated!

The average fillup at a gas station is 10 gallons. The only difference between one station and another is about a penny or two. We're talking about a whopping 10-20 cent savings. Is that going to really determine your purchase? Here's a thought. Pick one name brand station and buy from there. Do not waste money on higher octane fuel than your car requires.

We all know that Gas prices are high. But it is interesting to see the extent that some people go to in order to get the "cheapest" gas. It may be more common that I know but you are the first person I have ever heard that will take the time to call gas stations directly. Most gas stations in a given area(few square miles) will vary by no more than about 10 cents per gallon, in several cases it is in the 3-4 cent range. If you calculate out the cost and time it takes you to save the pennies per gallon it is often costing you more in other ways. If your filling up a Class A motorhome then yea that adds up to a lot of money, and going a bit out of your way is going to be worth it. But if you are filling up your average car, or even a good size SUV that has a 20 gallon tank. That penny a gallon is going to save you a whopping $0.20. Even at 10 cents a gallon that is only $2 and is not even the cost of a single gallon of gas. I have a certain areas I travel and know the gas stations in those areas. If you do this for a while you will actually find that 1-2 of these stations are consistantly lower than the rest. So I do not have any need to out of my way to get gas. Even if there was one cheaper farther away, it is just not worth the extra 10-15(or more) minutes and probably about 1/2 gallon of gas to save what basically amounts to nothing after you take these costs into account. My point here is not that he was right for hanging up on you. But that you may be putting yourself through more grief, that if you look at the overall costs, may not actually be worth it.

Cory, Thank you for your comment and suggestion. Before calling, I checked the fuel price reporting website. They are only as good as their last posting. On this date, prices were more than 24 hours old. Also, I did not say that I was or would be a life long customer to this station. I said they lost me as a customer for life. I will never purchase from this station in the future and I WILL continue to tell people to avoid this station also.

"A customer for life"? Give us a break. You're calling around looking for the cheapest gas you can find. The next time you need to fill up, you'll be calling around AGAIN and if another station has gas a penny less, you'll be their "customer for life". Kind of like calling every supermarket in the area and asking them what they're selling hamburger for. With the price of gas, I can't fault you, but you can get on the computer and look up what stations are selling gas for in your area, without having to waste everyone's time. Before I leave the office, I pull the prices up on the computer and hit the cheapest station on my way home. Oh and I wouldn't tell 10 people this story. It'll confirm what the think.

"A customer for life"? Give us a break. You're calling around looking for the cheapest gas you can find. The next time you need to fill up, you'll be calling around AGAIN and if another station has gas a penny less, you'll be their "customer for life". Kind of like calling every supermarket in the area and asking them what they're selling hamburger for. With the price of gas, I can't fault you, but you can get on the computer and look up what stations are selling gas for in your area, without having to waste everyone's time. Before I leave the office, I pull the prices up on the computer and hit the cheapest station on my way home. Oh and I wouldn't tell 10 people this story. It'll confirm what the think.