By Christian Jennings - bio | email
September 12, 2008
PELHAM, GA (WALB) - Gas prices everywhere are on a steady rise. But some stations just wish they had gas to sell. Especially small independently owned ones. Many of them are running low, some of them are running out.
Bill Frazier's convenience store was open Friday. He still sold food and drinks, but the pumps were idle, he ran out of gas at 6:30pm Thursday night.
"Today has just been watching people circle through the parking lot and reading the sign on my pumps that says we're out of gas," says 67-year-old Frazier.
Frazier says he's had gas on order since Tuesday. His distributors told him they couldn't get him gas. So finally he ran out.
"Then they call me this morning and say we can get you some today, but your price is going to be 4.69," Frazier says.
If his price is $4.69 that means his customers would be paying almost $4.80 a gallon.
"It's just not fair, and I'm not going to be unfair to my customers. I'll lock my doors before I'd do that," he says. Customers, who in this small town, are his friends.
So business was slow Friday at the mom and pop establishment.
And as far as the pumps are concerned, they're closed, until something changes.
"It's just a shame. That's what's happening to our country the large corporations are gobbling up everything and the little mom and pop stores don't have a chance."
But that's a chance Bill Frazier says he's willing to take. So Friday he waited for Ike to pass for something to change. And for the prices to go back down.
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