"We've got a little bit of mayhem going on here," Estacada station manager Frank Tenbush told the newspaper earlier this month. "At 7:00 a.m., [a crew] showed up. By the end of the day, we were pumping 76."
The same increase in customers in search of lower gas prices was also felt at the Eagle Creek station following the change from Chevron to 76, said the report. "Since the price went down, it's getting more crazy, because 76 is cheaper than Chevron," Eagle Creek station manager Won Song told the paper. "We charged $4.27, but now we charge $4.15. People love it."
The stations' prices are set by Petrosun West, located in Kent, Wash. County records show that the private company owns the businesses and properties associated with the Estacada station, the Eagle Creek station and two others in Boring and Happy Valley. Petrosun representatives could not be reached for comment.
Along with lower prices and new logos came sudden changes in the stations' policies and procedures, a requirement of the 76 franchise, managers said. Both told the Estacada News that the changes are not for the better, and admitted that they and their employees have struggled to adapt. "They took all the store equipment and put in 76 registers," Song said. "We used to scan all the merchandise, but now we have to put everything in manually. We asked, 'Why do you change everything to manual? It's the 21st century, you know'."
Customers using cash must now pay for gasoline inside the station instead of at the pump. Both managers said the new policy is causing longer lines inside and outside the station.
"I want to do it the previous way we used to do it here," Song said. "Now we have six or seven cars lined up because customers have to prepay. It takes longer."
In-store payment policies may deter drivers from stealing gasoline, according to the report. From a merchandising standpoint, it may also encourage customers to make impulse purchases while inside the store.
For handicapped customers, for those with children or pets in their car and for just about anyone on stormy day, the in-store payment policy may prove to be too inconvenient and may therefore encourage them to use a credit or debit card or go to another station, the report speculated.
"People get mad and say this is ridiculous and drive away," Song confirmed. "I don't want to lose customers that way. This is not our decision. We have no choice."
Tenbush also felt the same frustrations as Song, trying to adapt to the new system and maintain the same level of customer service based on Chevron's model. "We may have to bring in another employee to handle the store," Tenbush said. "But I hope it goes back to the other way, where the gas attendants have more control out there."
Tenbush resigned two days after Chevron was converted to the 76 station. "Frank called in and quit Saturday because of the changeover," Estacada 76 supervisor Cheryl Petersen told the paper. "The stress was too overwhelming for him."
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