Shell Gas Station on 16th Avenue.....

[ZacFields]

Is anyone familiar with the Shell gas station on 16th avenue? I feel bad having to make a topic like this since the owner is a friend-of-a-friend of mine, but this has aggravated me so much over the past couple months that it needs to be made public.

This gas station consistently has gas prices of 2-5 cents higher than literally every other gas station in town. For instance, for the last week, they've been sitting at 2.49 while everyone else has been at 2.47. Then yesterday, everyone else went down to 2.45... and this place is still sitting at 2.49.

They also tend to raise the price with no regard to where everyone else is at. For about 2 weeks last month, they had their gas price set at 2.55 when everyone else was at 2.47.

It amazes me that people still buy gas there. They are the most convenient place for me and Ashley to purchase gas since we live nearby, but I refuse to give them any of my business until they start acknowledging where the competition (2 gas stations less than 2 miles from their location) is pricing their gas.

I know it doesn't make a huge difference with each fill-up, but that's not the point. I drive past at least a dozen gas stations on my way to work each day and this is the only one that seems to ignore competition.

[Domestic Disturbance]

The one in Marion was pumping water into tanks I guess after all that rain.

[85XR7Project]

There was one by me mixing ethanol into the gas and selling it as only gasoline (87 octane) That would be no good too.

There is also rumors that Music Station in Cedar Falls is able to have such low prices because they put water in it. I wouldnt be suprised if they too put ethanol in their gas.

[Xboosted23X]

yeah i have noticed that shell station. i also live near it, and dont think i have ever seen it the same price as other stations. it doesnt make much sense to me but people still fill up there so im guessing until they loose a decent amount of business they will continue to have higher prices

[ZacFields]

Well, if they keep on the same path they're going, they're going to see a slow erosion of business. Not enough to really notice on a month-to-month basis, but when they start comparing July this year to July of last year (etc), they'll see some declines in business.

I figure that's why you drive past that place and still see lots of people filling up. For whatever reason, they haven't noticed that they're getting screwed over yet. Every day, one or two more customers will see what is going on and they'll find somewhere else to fill up. Like I said, over a year or two it'll do serious damage.

That's why the Quik-Trip gas stations in town (when they were here) were always the busiest gas stations. The one at the corner of Wilson Ave and 6th street was literally the busiest gas station in the entire city. We were always one of the first to lower the price and always one of the last to raise it. I can remember one day they sent me over to the 16th ave Quik-Trip because they were selling gas at a 5 cent loss, which meant that everyone else in town was about 10 cents higher per gallon. They did that for an entire day just to make a point (I don't think I ever understood what that point was, but that was the story we were told to give to customers if they asked what was going on).

Blah that Shell station just irritates me right now! I really like Shell as a company. We had those back in Mississippi when I grew up there, and this is the first one I've seen in our area.

[DragonUSMC]

i wish my gas out here was $2.47 =(

[NewSpeedSteed]

i wish my gas out here was $2.47 =(

+1
I'm paying about $2.65 a gal down in GA.

[DragonUSMC]

i cant wait for it to hit $6 this winter.

[Clinical]

2.36 here

[SaNdMaNsSi]

I am not a fan of that station either. The only good thing is its under new ownership. I was tired of that old lady that always acted like she was pissed off you were giving her business. The next irritating thing they did was go to only pumping fuel once you went inside and prepaid. We have been filling up our company trucks there since the station was opened, and then one day all of a sudden we're potential thieves?
I actually tried to push the "pay inside" button a couple of times just to screw with them, and both times some pissed off girl would come out, not even come to the truck, she would just scream from the door "YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO PREPAY!" Like I was some kind of scrub. That just about did me in....
The last straw was when they started limiting the pump to 75.00 even when I used my credit card outside. I got mad about that and went in and complained. They "explained" it had something to do with my credit card company, not their pumps. So I called my credit card company, they said it was the station. No other station limits my CC. It takes 150.00 to fill up my trucks, which meants I had to restart the pumps for each tank. Then they started limiting the use of the same credit card. You could only use the same credit card once a day. I got pissed off. Now I drive an extra 10 miles all the way out to the Just Diesel station by the airport to fill up just to make a point. That station lost 1,000+ dollars a week in business and they could care less. So I will continue to take my business elsewhere.

Also, you're right about the prices. Even when fuel for our diesels was up around 4.50 a gallon, it was around 4.25-4.35 at Just Diesel and 4.55-475 at that Shell station.

[69gt4speed]

I go to roadranger, I was concerned the 10% alcohol in the 93 oct might screw w the car but so far all is ok.. Besides I live on other side of town now, I go to crack roadranger. They hire security now.

[IS300_DJ]

I always wondered about this Shell. Everyones always raving about that V-power when in all reality I think its the same as Road Rangers gas. All 3 octanes have the ethonal sticker on them just like Road Ranger and same 87, 89, and 93 octanes. I honestly bet its the same distributor, and V-power is no different than Road Rangers 93. Iowa gas sucks either way...

[Domestic Disturbance]

I think shell's meets req.s that road rangers doesnt have to. I know we don't have laws on gas like other states do which lets some bad gas through, but idk who road rangers supplier is.

[krustindumm]

Some privately owned stations only change the gas prices when they refill the tanks, and base the price at the pump off of that. They only mark up the price of gas a few cents, so when gas prices drop, even just a little, they would be selling it at a loss if they adjusted the pump price.

I would doubt that a station would mix water in the gas, for one thing the water is heavier, so the gas would just float on top. There is already water in the in ground tanks, usually, so the pumps are designed to pull the gas, not the water. They would have to install a mixing system to constantly keep them mixed up. Plus as soon as you parked your car it would settle in the tank and you would have trouble getting it started again.

[Stro]

^ I was just going to post that. Back when gas prices went way up a couple years ago, there was one privately owned gas station in the boondocks that was selling his gas for about .60 cents lower than any other station in town. It was pretty cool, but he was just selling it at the right price for what he paid for it. His next delivery was jacked back up.