Posted on 12/10/2007 10:08:19 AM PST by John Cena
(AP) Dozens of drivers made a mad rush for cheap gas after a station employee accidentally changed the price to 33 cents a gallon.
An employee closing Trig's Minocqua Shell for the night mistakenly entered the price of a gallon of gasoline as 32.9 cents instead of $3.299 on Monday night.
He left about 10 p.m., but drivers could still use their credit cards to buy gas.
Word of the bargain spread fast in the rural northern Wisconsin community, with 42 people buying 586 gallons of gas in an hour and 45 minutes. One person had pumped 27 gallons and two purchased 18 gallons.
Local police saw the horde at the station and called store manager Andrea Reuland, who went to the station and pushed the emergency stop.
"There were cars two deep at each of my pumps," said Reuland, who knew many of the drivers and told them they were being dishonest _ the main store sign had the correct price.
"I was very upset that there's that many dishonest people," she said. "They knew there was a problem, and they took advantage of an employee's mistake and I think that's terrible."
The employee, who has been there for about six months, had changed the gas prices 25 times in the past six months.
"It was an honest mistake," Reuland said. "I could have done it."
Area residents were still talking about it Friday morning.
"Was it you guys?" a woman in the station asked Reuland. "Why do I always miss the good stuff?"
Of course it is MORALLY wrong.....but the issues here were LEGAL !
It is NOT theft as some here are stating......
Thou shalt not steal.
Thieves will not be let into heaven, unless they apologize to God, and believe in Jesus Christ.
New Hampshire law is a little different than an ordinary opinion. If that happened here in NH, the local cops would have ~50 easy misdemeanor criminal charges to file, simply by pulling credit card records. Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s something similar on the books in Wisconsin.
“I was very upset that there’s that many dishonest people”
This is shocking to you? (The cynic in me.)
This also points out 1 of the gaping flaws in the impersonal magnetic “credit” do-it-yourself schemes.
NO ....I personally wouldn’t do it yet IT HAPPENS LEGALLY !!
But you will NOT go too jail for it .
LEGAL vs MORAL is the issue I make a point of.
That depends. Is the soup a lobster bisque?
It certainly IS theft under New Hampshire law - 33-cent gas, when the sign says $3.299, would be “delivered under a mistake as to the nature or amount of the property, without taking reasonable measures to return the same to the owner.”
Under $500 worth is a misdemeanor, $500 or more is a Class B felony.
Bible reading in public scchools ended in the 1960s.
We are about 40 years into the experiment.
Fasten your seatbelts.
I see from your profile that your an affecianado of the Lotus Dance .. where in it says Dance like nobody's watching
Steal like nobody's watching
seems to work for you.
Second to that I would drive away and avoid the situation. Again not because of the price or anything but because I'd take one look at the line and see the place across the street empty and go there instead.
I have somewhat tempered my previous tendency to turn in lost items at stores. This is because I am 99% certain an expensive diamond ring I found in the restroom and turned in was then stolen by a customer service employee. You should have seen the eyes light up when I turned it in. What I should have done was turned it in to the store manager directly. Had a similar situation at a fast food restaurant. Turned in a very nice girl’s sweater — probably went home with one of the employees.
The first guy who pulled up on his own to get gas and paid 32 cents per gallon was being unethical. I believe that anyone who found out about this second hand, was in fact stealing.
The error to the first guy is on the station owner, everyone else is stealing.
When I have taken items to the checkout at a store and the tag has a sale price still marked on it, by law they are obligated to sell it to me at the price as marked on the item, even if the sign on the bin has a higher price. In the few instances that I have seen this, the store will immediately pull the stock until it is correctly marked.
Same applies here.
I stated it as well. I even suggested the people be charged with petty theft. You raised a good point. It’s probably more valid than my own.
I would not take advantage of this business. I would notify the authorities.
This woman should be a respected member of the community. She has made a major investment to purchase the station and stock it with the products the community members need. She employs members of the community. She pays taxes.
I find it unconcionable that folks would abuse her in this mannor.
I think we should take up a collection for the oil companies. If they lower the prices anymore they will just miss reaping record profits for this quarter. Somebody post an address where we can send the money.
Oh please!
Don’t be a horses ass about this....
And DON’T MESS WITH MY WEB PAGE SAYING! ;)
Explain how it was stealing (and I’m serious here).....
I shop in a thrift store where things get mislabled and no one realizes it....
So they rush up to the counter with something they think is a buck. An honest belief, only to be told it was 10 bucks.
I’ve yet to see anyone buy it....
If you see a pump that says 33, I’d just think, “OK, it’s 33”. The vendor priced it.
No. but I have been ridiculed when informing the clerk a $3 item should have been $4 (or whatever). So I no longer do that; just take it for the price rung up.
PS
1. aficionado - a fan of bull fighting
rooter, sports fan, fan - an enthusiastic devotee of sports
Nope, not me...
OR
2. aficionado - a serious devotee of some particular music genre or musical performer
buff, devotee, lover, fan - an ardent follower and admirer.
Nope,
Lotus Dance is mine,
my dance company.....Named Lotus (because of the grace, purity of the Lotus, plus I have a pond eaten alive by the weed!)
AND Company because it’s spread out over 3 counties and 3 different studios.
So Lotus Dance is
Mine mine mine mine mine for going on 10 years now.
You establish a system that is unattended that charges me the incorrect price that was too much....YOU the provider are obligated to make said mistake right by refunding my account for YOUR mistake.
You establish a system that is unattended that charges me the incorrect price that was too little....YOU the provider are obligated to make said mistake right by fixing your system, counseling , training your employees and accepting the loss due lack of safeguards.
Anything less such as coming after me , charging me due your systems, be they an employee or electronic failure etc and I will OWN that business if they file criminal charges.
Don’t mean to be rude....... sorry if I came across as such.
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