Hopefully, we have a few Dopers who have worked, or do work, as a gas station clerk that can answer this one…
How do gas station ATTENDANTS know what price to set on fuel on the signs and pumps?
This doesn’t answer my question, despite it’s thoroughness.
Gas prices can, and do, often change from one day to the next, or even change in the same day. My main query is concerning how does the attendant know what to set the price on the sign/pumps at?
For example, say I am driving to work early in the morning, and as I go past the station, the sign says $1.27. But on the way home from work, passing the same station, on the same day, the price is now $1.49! How is “Apu” at the local “Kwik-E-Mart” informed/instructed to make said change?
Does the “boss” fuel company call up the clerk on phone and say, “This is Mr. Big Shot from Amoco calling. Hike the price up to $1.49 @ gallon.”… or does the register / pumps have some sort of “always online” connection which automatically/constantly updates the MFRSRP to the clerk?
A gas station is one place I have not worked, so someone may be along to correct me, BUT, given that the plastic signs out front still have to be changed by hand, I’m fairly sure that there is a direct communication to the humans at the station to reset the pumps and signs. (Such communications could come from phone calls, e-mails, or a garish flashing screen on their sales register monitor, but someone, somewhere, is still instructing the humans at the station to change the settings.)
At USA Gas, we get a phone call from the office to alert us what price
we sell the fuel. We are also told that if we notice a significant change in prices, (up or down) we are to call them.
At another fuel station, the tanker comes by, fills our tanks
and we sign off on a receipt. The owner checks this, makes some
calculations and adjusts the price.
Locally we did have an owner set his fuel prices below costs to
protest a state bill.
The gas station I used to work at was owned by a company, not privately owned. It was the company’s decision what the price should be, not Mobil or Citgo or whatever. They usually base the prices on what neighboring stations are selling it for, and how much their wholesale prices were for the fuel. After that it’s just a quick phone call to the station to rely the new prices.
At what time of day do these price changes usually occur? I would imagine that they occur overnight when there are likely to be fewer customers. I have never once seen an employee change the price on the outside signs, no matter what time of day or night it is. I imagine it couldn’t be done while a customer is present pumping gas, especially if the price were to be raised. Also, the signs would have to be changed quickly so that the customer doesn’t see one price upon pulling in and then getting a different price once at the pump (again, a bigger issue when the price goes up than when it goes down). The station down on the corner from where I live has two signs (one for each street) which are at least a couple hundred feet apart from each other, so I imagine that this has to be coordinated very quickly.
I’ve seen a few sign changings in the daytime as I was driving by different stations,but was never curious enough to stop and check the pump to the new/old price.
And there were people pumping gas at the same time.
Just remembered about a month ago I pulled into a gas station and got 1.37.9 when the outside signs read 1.39.9,and nobody was changing the signs.I felt like I hit a little jackpot
Still don’t know what those other people were paying at the others I’ve seen.
All of these connected to a convenience store,and with the prices they get for their groceries isn’t any wonder the seeming casual sign changing practices.
The station that I usually get my gas at seems to change its prices in the late morning or early afternoon, based on my observations. Overnight changes there are quite rare (can’t say I’ve ever noticed one there, actually).
I’ve supposed that the most customer-friendly way to effect price changes would be to ensure that the lowest showing price is the one in effect. IOW, if you’re raising prices, don’t have the computer do it until all signs are changed. If you’re lowering them, change it in the computer before messing with the signs. That’s what I, a tower of fairness and magnanimity, would do.
I don’t know if they actually do that or not. Given the surly nature of “service” I see at many such places, I’d be surprised if the practice was universal.
I once filled up just at midnight on a Sunday at a station that had “Wild Sundays” with all gas 6 cents lower that normal. As I pulled in, the attendent was changing the sign. The pumps still had the lower price, and it was a few minutes after midnight. Maybe they listen to you, brad_d.
What’s weird is how the same gas can cost different prices. The tanks under the place can hold thousands of gallons. Yet the price can/will fluctuate a lot before it’s used up. Sometimes you make out, and get old gas for cheaper than what the place originally paid for it, but sometimes market conditions will jack up the price and the store wins.
The gas stations around here have a sticker that says something to the effect of: “In the event of a price discrepancy at the till, the price at the pump will be considered correct.” That way, no matter what the signs say or the guy behind the counter, the price you get is the one you saw on the pump.
Also, my housemate and I used to commute regularly and always filled up on Wednesday evenings because the prices always went up around 11 a.m. on Thursdays to gouge folks for the weekend (and I do mean 11 a.m. – you could set your watch by it!)
