I went to Seattle 2 weeks ago and was surprised to see that ARCO charges higher prices for customers using credit cards. Being a credit card user, this pissed me off. Not only do I have to pump my own gas (we Oregonians are spoiled, in Eugene we're used to Colt Lyerla pumping our gas) but I have to pay a fee to use my credit card? I decided ARCO could fuck off, they weren't getting my business, and I went out of my way to pay for gas at other stations. Upon returning to Oregon I stopped at an ARCO there only to find they don't accept credit cards at all. WTF? Now I refuse to give these fuckers my business at all until they change this policy not only in Oregon, but in Washington too.
Curious to find out what their reasoning was for the higher credit card prices, I went to their websites. Here's what they claim:
"We do not accept credit cards because in doing so, we would incur additional fees from the credit card companies on each gallon of fuel you buy. As most of our customers pay with cash, we do not accept credit cards as part of our strategy to sell good gas at a good price." Actually fuckers, you don't sell good gas. Your gas is shit. I get more miles from a full tank of Shell than a tank of ARCO. Also, most of us don't carry a fucking wad of cash around with us to pay for our gas. We use credit cards, dumb fucks. And what other companies out there charge their customers a fee for the convenience of using credit cards? None that I know of. Their attempt to pass the fee the credit card companies charge them along to the consumer will backfire in their faces as people who are already fed up with the oil and gas industry raping the economy, will refuse to put up with this latest insult.
The gas station owners will try to tell you that they struggle to make ends meet and their margins are razor thin, that they only get a few cents on the gallon, that they get by only on the profit from food and drink sales. Don't buy their bullshit. The current wholesale price of gas on the commodity exchanges is $2.68. The cheapest current price of gas in the Seattle area is $3.10. The highest is $4.09. Razor thin? I think not.
Don't pump your gas at ARCO if this pisses you off too.
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As to Arco... I'd never put that in my vehicle, but I did use an Arco in Palm Springs when returning a rental car... and they didn't accept credit cards at all... what a pain in the ass.