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Costco "out" of gas?!!

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by dwdean, Sep 15, 2008.

  1. dwdean

    dwdean Member

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    When I went shopping up at Costco yesterday, the gas station was shut down with a sign posted that basically said, "Due to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, and TS Fay, we can't buy enough gas to keep the station open. Sorry any inconvenience, but we’re closed until further notice."

    To my mind, that doesn't bode well for the near-future supply.

    I really hope that we, finally, get serious about protecting our existing energy infrastructure (right, wrong, or other, we need it, and we need it working until we get something else.) However, that needs to be followed rapidly by a serious movement develop other sources. I was really heartened to see that Pickins is advertizing on TV now; it's short blurb about the guts of the plan and then a URL to the rest of it.
     
    #1 dwdean, Sep 15, 2008
  2. rigormortis

    rigormortis Active Member

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    once in a while our gas station runs out of gas all the time. #1 reason is that the employee forgot to phone in a delivery, and there is never any press about it! #2 reason employee looked at red flashing light LOW FUEL on the black box and ignored it
     
    #2 rigormortis, Sep 15, 2008
  3. dwdean

    dwdean Member

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    LOL....sometimes you gotta wonder how people like that keep jobs....

    I'd tend to agree with you if it weren't for the fact that, to my knowledge, this Costco has only closed one time before. That was right after Wilma. They had gas, they just didn't have any electricity to get it out of the storage tank with.
     
    #3 dwdean, Sep 15, 2008
  4. Devil's Advocate

    Devil's Advocate Member

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    What they really mean is that they can't buy gas cheap enough to make it worthwhile to put in their stations.
     
    #4 Devil's Advocate, Sep 15, 2008
  5. rigormortis

    rigormortis Active Member

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    i wish someone would explain to me how the gas station even gets charged for their gas in the first place. all i see are invoices with just the amount pumped with no indication of what your cost is. and gas prices flucate daily. and all the gas station owner does to actually set the price is just to go to other gas stations nearby and then change his signs to their formula and what the other nearby stations are currently selling thiers for.

    if the cost of the gasoline is based on the price you paid plus markup, then it must really make some complicated invoices and billing statements when you are purchasing 5-9000 gallons every two days
     
    #5 rigormortis, Sep 15, 2008
  6. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    It is troublesome hearing about a station that's closed due to lack of gas... Lets hope it's an anomaly (either that or we're going to be in a real tight spot the next few months!).

    I also just heard about the power outages in Ohio, PA, Kentucky, etc... My mom in Ohio says she was told she won't have power back for a full week! And not too far away, one of the local elementary schools had part of its roof ripped off...

    You really don't expect to have these sorts of problems from Hurricanes when you live so far inland!
     
    #6 eagle33199, Sep 15, 2008
  7. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

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    This is due to the locals getting smarter. The vast majority of Coastal residents have figured out that getting the vehicles filled up is one of the most important hurricane preps. Obviously this causes temporary closures. I'm totally guilty. I realize that after a hurricane that:
    1) Loss of electrical power after the hurricane closes gas stations
    2) The price surges will occur after the hurricane
    3) If I need to bolt, I need to have the car filled at bolt time.

    No surprise that there are many gas stations caught off guard....better them than me.
     
    #7 FL_Prius_Driver, Sep 15, 2008
  8. dwdean

    dwdean Member

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    I agree to some degree. I'm cerainly guilty of making sure that everying this gassed up before a storm; heck that's SOP around here for everyone.

    I did think about the "caught off guard" and the "what we mean is that we can't buy it cheap enough" theories. Maybe I'm assuming too much competence on the part of their employees, but something seems amiss.
     
    #8 dwdean, Sep 15, 2008
  9. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    I'm not hoarding, I'm just stocking up before the hoarders get here. :D

    Tom
     
    #9 qbee42, Sep 15, 2008
  10. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    They are willing to breathe noxious fumes and work for minimum wage.
     
    #10 JimN, Sep 15, 2008
  11. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

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    Ike is closer to you than me. Good that you planned ahead.
     
    #11 FL_Prius_Driver, Sep 15, 2008
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