To The BP Boycotters....

In article >,
says...


> I *never* have to wait in line at a gas station. I can always cruise
> up to a pump, fill my tank, pay, and drive away. On those RARE
> occasions when *every* pump is in use, I simply go across the street
> to the other gas station and fill up there.
>
> Thus, even if we had BP stations here (which we don't) I would still
> boycott them. Painlessly.


BP purchased Atlantic Richfield in 2000. At every company-owned ARCO
station, there are a bunch of stickers and signage containing the BP
sunburst logo.

Of course, this is the last straw for me. This was just a very
convenient excuse to tell my boss I wanted to give my company ARCO card
back... see, I've had trouble with their equipment not working at almost
every location I use in SoCal, I've been complaining about it for three
years, and they've not done anything.

The irony is that I used to be a cashier at a BP in Ohio, in the early
90's... and we were empowered to *make minor repairs ourselves* - I was
able to change nozzles and fuel filters on all of the pumps, and put a
fresh roll of paper in the credit card machine when necessary.

They don't do that at ARCO. And having to go in to get a receipt, which
I need, can double the amount of time I spend at the gas station.

I'd rather go to Shell, pay 10c/gallon more, and be reimbursed... it's
worth the inconvenience to not have to deal with BP anymore.


--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, California, USA

In article >,
says...
>
> Last time on rec.autos.driving, Steve Sobol >
> said:
>
> >> Hmmm... I can't remember the last time I had to wait in line at _any_ gas
> >> station.
> >
> >The BP-owned ARCO stations out here are always busy because they're
> >cheaper than almost everyone else.
>
> I guess there is a large demographic who a) can barely afford
> gasoline, and b) can't get a credit card, so Arco has carved out a
> great market niche for themselves.

Well, that's a rather snarky comment, huh?

I have zero problems with the quality of the product - my problems with
BP are strictly related to customer service. The gas works as well as
anyone else's, so why would I want to pay 10c or, in the case of
Chevron, 20c/gallon more? That's just stupid.

--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, California, USA

"Steve Sobol" > wrote in message
.. .
> In article >,
> says...
>
>
>> I *never* have to wait in line at a gas station. I can always cruise
>> up to a pump, fill my tank, pay, and drive away. On those RARE
>> occasions when *every* pump is in use, I simply go across the street
>> to the other gas station and fill up there.
>>
>> Thus, even if we had BP stations here (which we don't) I would still
>> boycott them. Painlessly.
>
>
> BP purchased Atlantic Richfield in 2000. At every company-owned ARCO
> station, there are a bunch of stickers and signage containing the BP
> sunburst logo.
>
The oil spill apparently hasn't made that much of an impact since many
people still are filling up at the ARCO stations.

> Of course, this is the last straw for me. This was just a very
> convenient excuse to tell my boss I wanted to give my company ARCO card
> back... see, I've had trouble with their equipment not working at almost
> every location I use in SoCal, I've been complaining about it for three
> years, and they've not done anything.
>
I'd also rather not purchase gas from an ARCO station due to the severity of
the recent oil spill. Oh, and does that still include Thrifty gasoline
stations too? I did find a 1997 press release about ARCO being involved with
Thrify Oil Company gasoline stations, but I'm not sure if that is still
valid today or if the Thifty stations are independent once again.

http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?...ntId=200 0937

> The irony is that I used to be a cashier at a BP in Ohio, in the early
> 90's... and we were empowered to *make minor repairs ourselves* - I was
> able to change nozzles and fuel filters on all of the pumps, and put a
> fresh roll of paper in the credit card machine when necessary.
>
> They don't do that at ARCO. And having to go in to get a receipt, which
> I need, can double the amount of time I spend at the gas station.
>
You didn't need to go in to get a receipt at an ARCO station unless the pay
terminal was broken. The usual process was to press the Receipt button on a
pay terminal, enter the pump number, and the pay terminal printed the
receipt. The other obvious exception would be if a particular station had no
pay terminals.

> I'd rather go to Shell, pay 10c/gallon more, and be reimbursed... it's
> worth the inconvenience to not have to deal with BP anymore.
>
Even if the ARCO gas may be cheaper, it's also worth noting that using a
debit card adds a 45 cents transaction fee, at least that was true the last
time I used an ARCO station (before the oil spill). That extra fee seems to
offset the savings by at least that much (i.e., that adds 5 cents per gallon
when 9 gallons of gasoline have been added to the vehicle's gasoline tank),
so in the end the savings only start to occur when paying cash (can also be
done at the pay terminals), or when filling up with enough gas to offset the
transaction fee.

I actually prefer to use Shell gasoline over ARCO (and even over Chevron,
Mobil and 76 branded gasolines). Something about the Shell midgrade 89
octane gasoline just seems to keep the vehicle running smoothly, giving the
best MPG over the other brands.

I just want to say that I have no plans to boycott BP. The most convenient gas
station where I work is a BP, their prices are right in line with everyone
else's, and I see no need for anyone to boycott them because of an accident that
they're trying their best to fix. I'd prefer to boycott the federal government
that seems to be standing in the way of all efforts to help solve the problem.
(Like not allowing a burnoff, only giving Gov. Jindal permission to use 1/3 of
the booms he wanted, making all the fixes go through Corps of Engineers red
tape, etc.).


--
To reply by e-mail, remove the "restrictor plate"

In article >,
says...
>
> Last time on rec.autos.driving, Steve Sobol >
> said:
>
> >I have zero problems with the quality of the product - my problems with
> >BP are strictly related to customer service. The gas works as well as
> >anyone else's, so why would I want to pay 10c or, in the case of
> >Chevron, 20c/gallon more? That's just stupid.
>
> The difference isn't anywhere near that much - more like 3c/gallon
> IME. I can afford to pay a few extra pennies for the convenience of
> paying at the pump and not having to stand in lines or carry a bunch
> of cash around. Plus, my credit cards all pay me cash rebates, which
> offsets the extra cost.


The difference *is* that big here. If you live in the OC, chances are
you live in an affluent area where the oil companies can get away
charging more for gas. The pricing may very well

Here's an example of pricing in the Victor Valley.

ARCO - Roy Rogers and I-15 - cheapest
Shell - I-15 and La Paz, just over the bridge on the other side of the
interchange - 10c more
Chevron at the intersection of La Paz and Roy Rogers, at the end of the
15 Northbound onramp - 20c more

these gas stations are less than 2 minutes from each other.

> I'm not one of those people who will drive around all over town
> looking for which gas station has gas a few cents cheaper. My time is
> more valuable than that, and it's more valuable than waiting in line
> at a crowded gas station full of penny-pinchers.

Well, gee whiz, I don't have a bloody choice, do I?

I have asked my boss if I can just buy gas where I want to buy it, and
get reimbursed. But if my boss says "sorry, we won't do that", my
choices are either "use the ARCO card" or "do a ton of driving to San
Diego and don't get reimbursed." Given those choices, I'm going to have
to bite the bullet and keep buying gas from ARCO.

Sorry if I sound irritated. I'd appreciate if you try understanding that
my situation is different from yours, instead of trying to make me out
to be some kind of idiot.

And, I live in Victorville and there are a number of gas stations I
frequent. I know where the cheapest prices are, they're generally more
than 3c/gallon cheaper (remember, your particular location may vary),
and it's not really a question of searching for the lowest prices.


--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, California, USA

In article >,
OSPAM says...


> I'd also rather not purchase gas from an ARCO station due to the severity of
> the recent oil spill. Oh, and does that still include Thrifty gasoline
> stations too? I did find a 1997 press release about ARCO being involved with
> Thrify Oil Company gasoline stations, but I'm not sure if that is still
> valid today or if the Thifty stations are independent once again.

The Thrifty station at 15445 Palmdale Road @ I-15 carries an ARCO logo
now, but it's not a company station, it's a dealer...


> > They don't do that at ARCO. And having to go in to get a receipt,
which
> > I need, can double the amount of time I spend at the gas station.
> >
> You didn't need to go in to get a receipt at an ARCO station unless the pay
> terminal was broken. The usual process was to press the Receipt button on a
> pay terminal, enter the pump number, and the pay terminal printed the
> receipt. The other obvious exception would be if a particular station had no
> pay terminals.

Ummm.. that's the point. Their printers are often out of paper, not
working, etc., and there have been too many situations where I've almost
gotten screwed because their connection to the ATM network is down, and
the only way I can pay is on the ARCO fleet card. (I finally learned to
not wait till the last second to fill up.)


--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, California, USA

In article >,
rictorplate says...
>
> I just want to say that I have no plans to boycott BP. The most convenient gas
> station where I work is a BP, their prices are right in line with everyone
> else's, and I see no need for anyone to boycott them because of an accident that
> they're trying their best to fix.


That's your choice and you're entitled to it, of course. But if the news
reports are to be believed, it's BP's greed that caused the problem in
the first place (and enough different media outlets are reporting that
that I am willing to believe it might be true).

I mean, even if you don't believe BP was intentionally dragging their
feet during the initial cleanup, if they really did fail to implement
appropriate safeguards for whatever reason, that's *not* a good thing.


--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, California, USA

On Sat, 5 Jun 2010 22:00:53 -0700, Steve Sobol wrote:

>That's your choice and you're entitled to it, of course. But if the news
>reports are to be believed, it's BP's greed that caused the problem in
>the first place (and enough different media outlets are reporting that
>that I am willing to believe it might be true).

You failed to address my points about the federal government's woefully
inadequate response which, in my view, is far worse than anything BP has or has
not done.


--
To reply by e-mail, remove the "restrictor plate"

On Jun 6, 6:29*am, H.B. Elkins >
wrote:
> On Sat, 5 Jun 2010 22:00:53 -0700, Steve Sobol wrote:
> >That's your choice and you're entitled to it, of course. But if the news
> >reports are to be believed, it's BP's greed that caused the problem in
> >the first place (and enough different media outlets are reporting that
> >that I am willing to believe it might be true).
>
> You failed to address my points about the federal government's woefully
> inadequate response which, in my view, is far worse than anything BP has or has
> not done.
>
> --
> To reply by e-mail, remove the "restrictor plate"

contrary to what dum dum has spewed

the whole disaster was caused because BP was desperate to get this
deep drilled well into production

so in their haste they cut corners and in doing so they killed 11 men,
not that dum dum cares

he belongs to the drill baby drill idiocy

thinking that we can keep burning millions of barrels of oil every day
forever

and build roads to nowhere in states like WV that are rapidly
depopulating

In article >,
rictorplate says...
>
> On Sat, 5 Jun 2010 22:00:53 -0700, Steve Sobol wrote:
>
> >That's your choice and you're entitled to it, of course. But if the news
> >reports are to be believed, it's BP's greed that caused the problem in
> >the first place (and enough different media outlets are reporting that
> >that I am willing to believe it might be true).
>
> You failed to address my points about the federal government's woefully
> inadequate response which, in my view, is far worse than anything BP has or has
> not done.

You can't boycott the government.

But I don't think they did a good job, either.

--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, California, USA