Is there a reason why I have never seen a gas station carry more than one brand of fuel?
monkeyalien asked:
The two closest gas stations to my house both used to be Citgo, so my dad got a Citgo card. When both stations switched to Gulf, he got a Gulf card and gave me his Citgo card. When the nearest Citgo station for several miles was about to switch to Exxon, I ended up getting a Gulf card. I got to thinking about: people who are almost out of gas, are low on cash, have a gas card, but the only station for miles is of a different brand; and people with plenty of cash and a card for a brand who pull into a station of a different brand after it is closed, but still takes cards. Neither have credit or debit cards. These potential customers need fuel, but cannot purchase any because neither have a card that matches the brand of station they pulled into. I imagine that when stations want to receive fuel from one supplier they are strictly forbidden from selling any other brand, but wouldn’t that violate the spirit of free trade in this country and hinder trade in such a huge industry?
Coke may not sell Pepsi, but they are sold in the same stores.
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The two closest gas stations to my house both used to be Citgo, so my dad got a Citgo card. When both stations switched to Gulf, he got a Gulf card and gave me his Citgo card. When the nearest Citgo station for several miles was about to switch to Exxon, I ended up getting a Gulf card. I got to thinking about: people who are almost out of gas, are low on cash, have a gas card, but the only station for miles is of a different brand; and people with plenty of cash and a card for a brand who pull into a station of a different brand after it is closed, but still takes cards. Neither have credit or debit cards. These potential customers need fuel, but cannot purchase any because neither have a card that matches the brand of station they pulled into. I imagine that when stations want to receive fuel from one supplier they are strictly forbidden from selling any other brand, but wouldn’t that violate the spirit of free trade in this country and hinder trade in such a huge industry?
Coke may not sell Pepsi, but they are sold in the same stores.
Need a Gas Card? Win Your FREE Gas Card Now!
September 6th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
gas stations have complex and expensive setups, and suppliers often support small business that want to put up a gas station, but only if only their brand is sold
September 9th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Gee, what about the people who get stuck in a Wal-Mart parking lot with a JC Penny card? What about the people with Firestone cards that break down in front of a Cooper store? What about people with McDonalds gift cards who get hungry when they are by Burger King?
For one thing, stations have franchise fees. Even if 2 oil companies would tolerate a station affiliating with 2 companies, the fees alone would be crippling, and who wants the expense of duplicating every system from the tanks, and the pumps, to the card acceptance systems?
Edit Oct 30
Coke and Pepsi may be sold in the same stores, but they do not need franchise agreements for that. On the flip side, restaurants only have one or the other on tap.
September 9th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
It’s like a franchise and they have contracts, have you seen the coke company trying to sell pepsi?
September 10th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
When you ‘buy’ a dedicated credit card that is linked to a specific gas company you run into this problem. They pay the fees, & they limit the use. But anyone can drive in with a non-gas card credit card and use it to buy a tankfull at any station out there..
Food for thought….
Just sit outside the gas refinery tank depoit early some morning & count all the “name brand” trucks filling up with the same gas. Some additives are added when filling the tanker, but the gas is the same…
September 13th, 2009 at 3:27 am
Think about the question you are asking. Does Burger King sell Big Mac’s? Does McDonalds sell Whoppers? Does Pizza Hut sell Domino’s Pizza? Just like the burger joints and pizza places. Gas stations are franchises or company owned stores. You can bet if a store was soley owned or franchised by Coke it wouldn’t be selling Pepsi. Just as a grocery store sells it’s own brand of things, they do not sell the store brand from the store down the street. The gas stations that are owned or franchised by the same parent company do take each others credit cards. IE: Exxon Mobil