Saturday, July 30, 2011

Hey Tony Clement! I'm still wondering!

The day after my previous posting I saw a response of sorts from the gang in Ottawa.

They intend to crack down on the gasoline sellers.  Not the oil barons, but the guys trying to make a living selling you gas at the station.  They claim these retailers are ripping you off by not giving all the gas you’re being charged for.

Right idea, Wrong people.  Gasoline pumps have seals placed on them to prevent tampering.  The oil companies, not so much.

Not that long ago, a person was severely overcharged for his gas.  The station’s defence?  The price was indicated on the pump.  Caveat Emptor.  Look before you leap.  Apparently, someone accidently punched in the wrong price at the main office.  So they tell us the local seller sets the price, but it has to be entered from the main office?

I was in the variety store, the owner’s wife was working and the agent from the oil company was grilling her about lowering the price without permission.  I often shop at this store, the lady in question is very nice but has limited English.  She asked the agent to come back when her husband was there to deal with this.  The agent was so intent on berating this woman he ignored me.  So I waited patiently and wondered about his oil company.  Apparently some pumps can have the price set locally, but only with permission of the supplier.

They no longer have gas pumps.  Must be tough to sell gas when the guy across the street sells it about 2¢ cheaper than you all of the time.  I think the final straw was the dramatic increase in “gas and goes” occurring due to higher prices.  Even with the video security they put in place, they were still losing out because of this. (I asked after the pumps were removed.  The owner looked happier though.)

So the problem lies further up the food chain. 

The only way to find out what the devil is going on is to get these oil barons in front of committees and grill them.  If nothing else, at least they would realize that people are watching.  Nothing makes a thief more honest than to realize they are being watched.

How about it Tony?

Is it just here?  I’ve noticed that the Service Stations are disappearing at a rapid pace and being replaced by gas bars at a slower rate.  I honestly don’t know if there is a service station with a garage left in this town.

By the way, If you really are serious about checking to see the pumps are accurate, why not start sending inspectors out like they did in the good old days.  If the pump is wrong, lock it off until it is repaired and reinspected at the retailer’s cost.  This isn’t rocket science guys.  On their off days they could check the scales at the stores too.  Make sure when I buy a kilo of ground beef that there is really a kilo there.

~~~If this doesn't make a lot of sense, you may want to look at the previous two posts... this is part 3 of (I hope) a 3 part series~~~


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