to
aOK. This post is short enough and helps me make my point. Can you say ugly American? I knew you could. The issue is maybe 70 years old. American companies ASSume that they deal only 'muricans, and that they do not travel internationally. (quite contrary to fact) Nor do megacorporate management accept the idea that foreigners travel here, without wads of cash. Discompetent management.
?-)
I like that many US banks charge 3% "currency conversion" even if the charge is in US dollars.
Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
-- "it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
But interestingly enough, in Bellingham, WA, there's no problems paying at the pump because probably half of their gasoline sales are to Canadians. Somebody figured it out...
Ya reckon? On one trip to your territory we got 0.92USD for $1A when we loaded the card. A month later and the AUD had dropped to 0.61USD. Right then the CC's became an "emergency only" device.
Not all of them do. Try to pay cash at a Sam's club station. Murphy charges a surcharge if you pay cash. Fleet stations only accept the trucking company's card for that truck.
-- Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.
Not to mention that it's just as inconvenient with cash (if not more) when you're forced to pay first and you want a fillup. Give them $100 or whatever, go out and fill, then go in and get a refund? What a PITA compared to just shoving a plastic card in a slot.
Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
-- "it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
I have never had to pay in advance for fuel here, cash or plastic.
I did get a friendly call from the police recently. While driving my car, my (business) partner drove away without paying. (Due to cashier not entering it, and him never looking at the transaction).
-- John Devereux
On Monday, March 3, 2014 4:35:57 AM UTC-8, Michael Terrell wrote: ...
A surcharge! For cash? Amazing. I' more familiar with the reverse though .
Yup, Sam's Club and Costco accept cards only; forgot about that. Then agai n one must be a member to buy from Sam's Club or Costco. I saw a Costco in Toronto once; the cashier seemed a bit confused by my membership card. Ma nager said "He's an American" to the cashier, and just to confuse the cashi er further I said "Merci beaucoup!" after the transaction.
Michael (Darrett)
I belong to Sam's club, but have no credit cards.
I generally buy gasoline from a locally owned station, run by the owner who speaks english. He is happy to take cash, and give me a receipt. I put $50 in yesterday, and that will normally last me a month or more.
-- Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.
He did say "cards", not "credit cards". If you don't buy gas there, true, you don't need a card for gas.
I doubt that the "owner" actually owns the gas concession. The chances are better than 99% that he leases that operation out. They pay him to sell gas for their business (and tell him what to charge). The day of the mom-n-pop gas station went away when they required them to replace all of their tanks, a couple of decades ago. Few could afford the quarter-million it cost to re-tank a station and clean up any spills.
Most stations will take cash. The point was that Costco and Sams are two that do not. However, most also require you to "pay before pumping".
BP/Arco has been trying to get its franchisees to buy the land and building and saying that if the franchisee doesn't want to buy it then they'll sell it to someone else. This has not been successful because the franchisees know the costs involved in tank replacement and pump replacement and potential buyers are also aware of the costs. Almost no one wants that liability.
Legally an oil company can't tell its franchisees what to charge but they have found ways to control the prices indirectly. Since there is so much profit at the refinery level the oil company wants to maximize volume and doesn't really care about the margins that the franchisee makes.
The Costco gas station near my relative's Arco station sets its prices based on what he is charging since he has the least expensive fuel in the area. He told the guy to just call him and he'll tell him the price instead of the Costco manager driving by his station every day.
BP/Arco has been trying to get its franchisees to buy the land and building and saying that if the franchisee doesn't want to buy it then they'll sell it to someone else. This has not been successful because the franchisees know the costs involved in tank replacement and pump replacement and potential buyers are also aware of the costs. Almost no one wants that liability.
Legally an oil company can't tell its franchisees what to charge but they have found ways to control the prices indirectly. Since there is so much profit at the refinery level the oil company wants to maximize volume and doesn't really care about the margins that the franchisee makes.
The Costco gas station near my relative's Arco station sets its prices based on what he is charging since he has the least expensive fuel in the area. He told the guy to just call him and he'll tell him the price instead of the Costco manager driving by his station every day.
Rather than waste time driving or calling, why doesn't the manager just visit gasbuddy.com?
That data is often hours old. If no one updates the web site right after the station owner finds out the next days price then it can be more than
12 hours old. If you're selling 30,000 gallons per day then a couple of cents too low and you're losing money and a couple of cents too high and you're losing volume.
Certainly they can if they own the gas, lock stock, and barrel. The franchisee usually (don't know how they do it in CA) only owns the Coke and Fritos (and lottery) concession. The Franchisee is told a couple of times a day where to set the prices. He gets a cut of a few cents to pay his costs.
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