The Associated Press reports that in San Antonio, TX, premium unleaded sold for 38 cents a gallon. That's what I call a bargain -- particularly since I considered myself lucky to pay $3.87 a gallon for mid-grade earlier this afternoon.
It turns out that there is a little problem with this 38-cents-a-gallon gas. It was a mistake in the pump. AP interviewed Dill Food Market's Manager, Jim Duke, who said that the premium was supposed to be selling for $3.89 a gallon. AP also reports that WOAI-AM was the original source for this story and it said that "nobody reported the mistake, which apparently started Tuesday afternoon."
It took a while for Duke to figure out what was going on. AP reports that he noticed "a lot of vehicles were being filled with premium and people were paying at the pump." He went out to check Wednesday and noticed the price error. Maybe ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) can spare a little of its $41 billion in profit to reimburse Duke for his pump malfunction.
Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
8-14-2008 @ 5:08PM
L. said...
Or maybe they should keep the price at .38 cents a gallon throughout the US and be a little over their budget in profts. No company needs to profit 41 Billion dollars. When people are now working 2-3 jobs just to make ends meet. Instead of a household with one income and one job.
8-14-2008 @ 5:13PM
william lindblad said...
This is not the first time something of this sort happened. Human error. Good for the lucky consumer, bad for station owner. What is more common and hardly ever reported is getting water in the gas. Tip: Never fill up right after heavy rain and if traveling, carry a few bottles of dry gas. Product that is as old as cars themselves and still very cheap. Beats the hell out of a tow truck bill and the aggrevation.
8-14-2008 @ 8:56PM
keith said...
I know the prices are high, but this is still a case of stealing. If the store clerk gives you too much change, you should hand it back. If you know the price is wrong, you should let the attendant know. The big oil company is not going to replace the money that the station owner had stolen from him.
8-14-2008 @ 9:04PM
james e. hazen said...
i agree with both of the above statements ,i think its just terrible that people are just getting by and have to worry if they will still have a job, and be able to get to work,eat,pay bills and have money for fuel orhow ever they try to keep warm next winter. yet there always money to found to rebuild old barns wooden bridges, and beautifulcation of certain building and shopping areas. say nothing that our presadent and his rose colored glasses is spending in iran and other nations,him and governor douglas are a pair......
8-14-2008 @ 9:10PM
brittrena11 said...
In Beaumont, Texas, this also happened. I think it was about a week ago where a station had computer problems and the gas price read $.34/gallon. There were so many cars lined up to get gas. A policeman was directing traffic, but then it was fixed, and there were some unhappy customers.
8-14-2008 @ 9:40PM
bret said...
what about big pharma nobody complains about them people could die without meds put them in front of congressional commitee
8-14-2008 @ 9:50PM
Lisa said...
Most stations are owned by individual people so it's stealing from them. I can't say if I would take the gas or not because to be truthful it depends on if I like the owners or not. Sad but true.
8-14-2008 @ 9:53PM
melyndarene said...
Well, if everyone was paying at the pump then it is an easy fix for the gas station. They recharge the credit cards the proper amount that they should have paid. It would teach some people to try to cheat.
Not that I think the gas companies have the right to a 41 billion dollar profit by any means, but it ain't right for people to cheat other people either. It is probably the store owner, not the major oil companies that are suffering from a mistake like this.
8-14-2008 @ 9:55PM
CHARLENE CHIQUITA said...
IT'S A REAL SAD SITUATION WITH THE WHOLE GAS, FOOD, MINIMUM WAGES, ETC. HOW DO (WE) THE PEOPLE CAN SURVIVE, AND EVEN TRY TO GET AHEAD IN TRYING TO SAVE A LITTLE FOR OUR CHILDRENS EDUCATION, VACATION, OR EVEN TRYING TO THINK OF PURCHASING A HOME IN THE FUTURE, AN (AMERICAN DREAM) TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE...... NOW IN AMERICA, IT'S EITHER YOU'RE (RICH) OR (POOR) THERE IS NO IN BETWEEN......
8-14-2008 @ 10:27PM
Princess said...
bret... you're right... meds are a necessity (do or die in some cases) - why are they allowed to make such large profits? Personally it should be a non-profit business or low profit... it's ridiculous that people can go to Canada, Mexico or Europe and find their meds at a much lower cost. My heart goes to the Senior citizens living on Social Security and paying these ridiculous prices. I take thryoid meds and buy my 3month supply for 2 euros in europe (forgot to mention I live there-I'm just visiting home "US").
8-14-2008 @ 10:28PM
Princess said...
It's totally ridiculous that any oil company should make such a profil (41 billion?) when most of america is struggling to get by. Wages aren't going up, but taxes & everything else are. Time for our government to step in and put a cap on this! Then again how silly for us to expect that knowing our prez, vp & others are sharing in that profit!
8-14-2008 @ 10:37PM
dallas bruhn said...
I REMEMBER WHEN .38 CENTS A GALLON, WAS A HIGH PRICE. I BOYCOTTED INDIANA, BECAUSE THEIR GAS WAS .37 CENTS A GALLON
8-14-2008 @ 11:04PM
Patti said...
responding to Keith comment.
The article said that people were PAYING AT THE PUMP!!! A lot of us do it that way this day if it's the only thing we are there for. It would have been one thing if they were walking in the store and paying but they weren't. I know I pump whatever in and wait for the receipt to come out, get in and leave because I think the I'm being charged right. Will pay more attention now.
8-14-2008 @ 11:04PM
teltech54 said...
This isn't the first time this has happened in the nation. The guy must be an idiot. It was all over the national news. It should have been obvious to the most casual observer something was wrong.
8-14-2008 @ 11:06PM
confused said...
Saddest of all is the oil consumption is much much lower over the last month but the price is still high! Big oil will continue to raise prices regardless of how much oil they have to keep thier profits up! They just cited that they will not produce as much gasoline because storing it is a problem. The problem is if there is more oil and more gas production, the prices drop dramatically!
8-14-2008 @ 11:20PM
Camille said...
This is a case of theft. The 38c price was an obvious error. Did patrons inform the owner? NO! They told their unethical friends who flocked in, resulting in an even greater loss for the owner.
Shame on them!
8-14-2008 @ 11:44PM
Roland said...
Exxon-mobile makes 1,400 dollars per second.
Exxon- moblie pays 4,000 dollars per second to the federal government in taxes. Now who's the bigger rip-off? Thats what the gov makes just on one company.
8-15-2008 @ 12:00AM
Tammy said...
The people who knowingly filled up for .38 per gallon are thieves. The sad part is, they may not normally give in to such temptation, but people are having to choose between filling up and feeding their family.
8-15-2008 @ 12:00AM
petern64 said...
send it up here. I live in Bethel, Alaska and pay $6.98 a gallon for regular unleaded, 7.70 for premium, and 9 a gallon for heating oil. (waiting for the comment that says thats what i get for living here, but id pay 15 a gallon before id live in the lower 48 :) )
8-15-2008 @ 12:13AM
cali john said...
william lindblad - i'm only 63 yoa, so i guess i haven't been there, done that. but in close to 50 years of driving all over the world i have never experienced water in my gasoline. guess i'm just lucky.