Customers initially fled from Cuneyit Erdal's Shell station and repair shop in Brooklyn, N.Y., months ago because nearby stations charge at least 10 cents less per gallon, according to a report in the New York Daily News.
But they stormed back last week to pump up a petition to rescue Erdal's garage when they learned he was caught in a deal with an expensive supplier, the newspaper [image-nocss] reported.
The petition was sparked by Erdal's reputation for reliable auto body work. "You can always trust them," Kai Lui, 41, of Midwood, who launched the drive, told the newspaper. "Everywhere you go, you have to be very leery of who's looking at your car, but they're honest."
Business plummeted in July when Shell officials required New York-area Shell stations to buy their branded gasoline from Wholesale Fuel Distributors, Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.
"My station is a ghost town," Erdal, 70, a Turkish immigrant who lives in Sheepshead Bay, told the newspaper. "I don't have any gas customers because I'm getting squeezed."
Gasoline sales fell by almost 50%, and his business is sinking deeper into the red.
Lui became a loyal customer 10 years ago when a mechanic at Erdal's Shell told him that a troubling noise was gravel lodged in a wheel well and didn't require repairs.
"He could have ripped me off and said I needed work, but he did it for free," said Lui.
Almost 200 customers signed the petition that will be sent to Shell officials in support of Erdal, the newspaper reported.
Many Shell station managers feel trapped, according to the report, but Long Island Gas Retailers Association Executive Director Kathryn Odessa said only Erdal has been backed by his customers.
"I'm getting inundated with phone calls from these dealers who believe they're getting overcharged by Wholesale," she said. "They unfortunately have to pass on these costs to their customers."
Wholesale officials didn't return the New York Daily News' calls for comment. A Shell spokesman said the company preferred using a distributor to doing direct gas sales with each station.
Because customers bypass Erdal's shop to fill up their tanks elsewhere, he's borrowed $30,000 from his bank to keep the business afloat.
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