Pigsty333
I get censored all the time
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2001
- Messages
- 762
This guy really milks everyone for gas. He has been on the news down here all the time. There are plenty of gas stations near him - just drive up and down Semoran Boulevard (a block away for him the gas is cheaper) rather than fill up at his station. He is located on Semoran Boulevard ear TG Lee - he is right next door to Cracker Barrel and Wendys.
This was another article in the Orlando Sentinel regarding his gas prices:
Fill it up -- for $3.59 a gallon
Owner of a station near the airport says his price beats that of rental car firms.
Mark Chediak | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted November 15, 2006
ADVERTISEMENTS
On a recent business trip to Orlando, Rex Gruenwald pulled into a gas station near the airport to fill up his rental car. In a hurry to catch a flight, Gruenwald didn't even think to look at the price as he reached for the pump.
"I'd never seen anything like this," he recalled thinking. "Never. I travel all over the Caribbean and all over the South."
What Gruenwald, a 54-year-old project manager from North Carolina, saw was $3.59 a gallon for regular -- far more than what he expected and high enough to prompt a slew of complaints to the state. At a time when gas prices are near yearly lows, the station at the corner of Butler National Drive and South Semoran Boulevard stands out for its audacious highs.
What's behind the high prices? The owner says competition, the free market and the need to cover business expenses. Cal Letchworth, a co-owner of the station near Orlando International Airport, said he competes with the nearby rental car companies, which sometimes charge up to $6 for those customers who fail to bring back a full tank.
"We're going to charge what we feel like we have to down there," Letchworth said, adding that he and his business partner invested nearly $3 million in building the station and pay a "sporty price" for monthly rent.
Letchworth has heard the customer complaints. "I'm not foolish enough to think the price of gas isn't a touchy issue, especially in this political environment," he said.
However, he notes that no one is twisting the arms of those who ultimately decide to fill up at his station. He points out that there are competing stations nearby -- a 7-Eleven and another outlet a mile down the road -- that offer less expensive gas.
Indeed, this week, both of those stations -- located off South Semoran -- were selling regular for $2.19, the average price in Orlando, according to AAA, and $1.40 less than Letchworth's fueling spot.
"If we were at $2.25 and 7-Eleven was at $2.20, you would still have someone complaining," Letchworth said. "Frankly, I don't understand why a lot of people think a gas station owner doesn't have a right to make a living like everyone else does."
Pat Moricca, president of Gasoline Retailers Association of Florida, which represents independent station owners, said it was unusual to see a station selling gas for so much more than other outlets.
"Our association does not condone excessive pricing of that nature, unless his [the owner's] business expenses are justified," he said.
Letchworth compares his pricing strategy to those used in other industries. For example, he noted that room rates for hotels near the airport can vary widely. Or take the airline industry, where people can pay vastly different amounts for similar seats on the same flight.
Still, what irks visitors such as Gruenwald, a frequent business traveler who understands that gas prices tend to be higher near airports, is that the station charges rates that can catch a somewhat captive and hurried driver by surprise.
Letchworth's station is one of the last before drivers hit the airport entrance on South Semoran. It does not have a street sign advertising its prices and often snags visitors who don't have time to look around.
Letchworth said his station posts its prices at the pump as required by law, but he ran into trouble with building a sign.
Enough drivers have voiced their displeasure with the station that Chevron -- the former supplier -- took notice.
Stephanie Price, a Chevron spokeswoman, said in an e-mail that the oil company had received numerous complaints regarding the marketing practices of Letchworth's station. Price said Chevron has chosen to end its "branding relationship" with the station "for other reasons" and that the independent owner had been informed of the decision in a certified letter sent in August.
Letchworth said he has received the notice and is in the process of selling gas under a different brand, which would likely be Sunoco. The Chevron branding was removed over the weekend, he said.
The state Attorney General's Office said it has received numerous complaints about the station dating back to 2004. Several asked about price gouging.
The state looked into the complaints but did not open an investigation, said JoAnn Carrin, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office.
Florida's price-gouging statute protects consumers from predatory pricing on essential commodities such as gasoline during a state of emergency. For example, it prohibits businesses from jacking up prices substantially over their regular rates unless their wholesale costs also have risen.
Letchworth said he has kept his price steady for months, even when a state of emergency was declared this summer with the approach of Tropical Storm Ernesto.
Still, that's little comfort for drivers who end up paying more than they anticipated.
"It's highway robbery, but you're kind of stuck with it," said Don Wright of Jensen Beach, while fueling his rental last week at Letchworth's station. "Oh well, they must have a tremendous profit."
This was another article in the Orlando Sentinel regarding his gas prices:
Fill it up -- for $3.59 a gallon
Owner of a station near the airport says his price beats that of rental car firms.
Mark Chediak | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted November 15, 2006
ADVERTISEMENTS
On a recent business trip to Orlando, Rex Gruenwald pulled into a gas station near the airport to fill up his rental car. In a hurry to catch a flight, Gruenwald didn't even think to look at the price as he reached for the pump.
"I'd never seen anything like this," he recalled thinking. "Never. I travel all over the Caribbean and all over the South."
What Gruenwald, a 54-year-old project manager from North Carolina, saw was $3.59 a gallon for regular -- far more than what he expected and high enough to prompt a slew of complaints to the state. At a time when gas prices are near yearly lows, the station at the corner of Butler National Drive and South Semoran Boulevard stands out for its audacious highs.
What's behind the high prices? The owner says competition, the free market and the need to cover business expenses. Cal Letchworth, a co-owner of the station near Orlando International Airport, said he competes with the nearby rental car companies, which sometimes charge up to $6 for those customers who fail to bring back a full tank.
"We're going to charge what we feel like we have to down there," Letchworth said, adding that he and his business partner invested nearly $3 million in building the station and pay a "sporty price" for monthly rent.
Letchworth has heard the customer complaints. "I'm not foolish enough to think the price of gas isn't a touchy issue, especially in this political environment," he said.
However, he notes that no one is twisting the arms of those who ultimately decide to fill up at his station. He points out that there are competing stations nearby -- a 7-Eleven and another outlet a mile down the road -- that offer less expensive gas.
Indeed, this week, both of those stations -- located off South Semoran -- were selling regular for $2.19, the average price in Orlando, according to AAA, and $1.40 less than Letchworth's fueling spot.
"If we were at $2.25 and 7-Eleven was at $2.20, you would still have someone complaining," Letchworth said. "Frankly, I don't understand why a lot of people think a gas station owner doesn't have a right to make a living like everyone else does."
Pat Moricca, president of Gasoline Retailers Association of Florida, which represents independent station owners, said it was unusual to see a station selling gas for so much more than other outlets.
"Our association does not condone excessive pricing of that nature, unless his [the owner's] business expenses are justified," he said.
Letchworth compares his pricing strategy to those used in other industries. For example, he noted that room rates for hotels near the airport can vary widely. Or take the airline industry, where people can pay vastly different amounts for similar seats on the same flight.
Still, what irks visitors such as Gruenwald, a frequent business traveler who understands that gas prices tend to be higher near airports, is that the station charges rates that can catch a somewhat captive and hurried driver by surprise.
Letchworth's station is one of the last before drivers hit the airport entrance on South Semoran. It does not have a street sign advertising its prices and often snags visitors who don't have time to look around.
Letchworth said his station posts its prices at the pump as required by law, but he ran into trouble with building a sign.
Enough drivers have voiced their displeasure with the station that Chevron -- the former supplier -- took notice.
Stephanie Price, a Chevron spokeswoman, said in an e-mail that the oil company had received numerous complaints regarding the marketing practices of Letchworth's station. Price said Chevron has chosen to end its "branding relationship" with the station "for other reasons" and that the independent owner had been informed of the decision in a certified letter sent in August.
Letchworth said he has received the notice and is in the process of selling gas under a different brand, which would likely be Sunoco. The Chevron branding was removed over the weekend, he said.
The state Attorney General's Office said it has received numerous complaints about the station dating back to 2004. Several asked about price gouging.
The state looked into the complaints but did not open an investigation, said JoAnn Carrin, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office.
Florida's price-gouging statute protects consumers from predatory pricing on essential commodities such as gasoline during a state of emergency. For example, it prohibits businesses from jacking up prices substantially over their regular rates unless their wholesale costs also have risen.
Letchworth said he has kept his price steady for months, even when a state of emergency was declared this summer with the approach of Tropical Storm Ernesto.
Still, that's little comfort for drivers who end up paying more than they anticipated.
"It's highway robbery, but you're kind of stuck with it," said Don Wright of Jensen Beach, while fueling his rental last week at Letchworth's station. "Oh well, they must have a tremendous profit."
