CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. -- For about an hour Tuesday afternoon, some lucky motorists in Crystal Lake, Ill., won a brief skirmish in the battle over sky-high gas prices when a station dropped its price by a dollar—to $2.49 a gallon for regular, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. It was a mistake.
Employees of the Shell Oil station were supposed to have boosted the price to $3.49 a gallon. But after the sign and pumps were changed instead to $2.49 a gallon, alert motorists jammed the station.
Dozens filled their tanks at that price before a manager arrived about 4:15 p.[image-nocss] m. and changed the price to $3.49.
"It's a mistake; it's an accident," said the manager, who declined to give his name to the newspaper. "It was a communication problem over a cell phone. We fixed it fast."
The suddenly rock-bottom price delighted John Klowsky, 75, of Crystal Lake—the last driver to get the unintentional deal.
"I haven't seen this price in a long time," he said, filling up his sport-utility vehicle.
Klowsky, who bought only a little more than 8 gallons and spent $20.79, said he wished his tank had been emptier.
"I've got to go get my receipt to prove it," he said. "Nobody will believe me."
At a CITGO station across the street, an employee called his boss when he saw the commotion. But the boss assured him it was a mistake and told him to keep the price at $3.29 a gallon, which had been Shell's price before the plunge. Shortly after Shell raised its price to $3.49, CITGO did the same.
Judy Gertz, 49, works in Crystal Lake but was nearly home in McHenry when her sister rang her cell phone and told her about the $2.49 price. "I came back," she said. "For 80-cents-a-gallon savings? You bet I'll come back."
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