The Price Changed, i'm walking out

[mattm04]

With the recent price surges in oil and corn it has caused prices to not only increase for us but customers. Today I had one SC who came to my register to have me ring up three items. I ring up all the itmes and when I tell him the total...

ME; That will be x.xx
SC; you know the prices on some items have gone up. What will you do?
ME: Unfortunatley since our costs to ship, manufcture and buy items has gone up because of the higher commodity prices.
SC: Well, I know that you have a secret deal with the oil companies to give you sub $1 fuel but still charge us more. *walks out*


Right, we have secret deal that will get us about $30-40 barrel oil when it is trading at $105. Where do i get that deal? Now don't get me started on the politicians who are one of the major reasons gas is so expensive.

[StevieJD]

As of this evening (3/09/2008) the fuel surcharge is 27.4%. That means that businesses get to pay $274 in a fuel surcharge for every $1000 freight bill.

If the freight companies are getting a special deal on diesel I want to know about it. Oh, that is right, they ain't.

BTW, big companies, like UPS are buying up oil futures to stabilize their freight costs. It isn't working all that well for them, but they are trying.

[iviles]

Yeah but you know your asking for way to much in assuming that these SCs' will see the connection between the rising cost of energy and oil and the reason why everything else (ie food, gas, beer) is getting more expencive. Dont you know that we the cashiers, supervisors, managers, and indistries are all in secret sociaty that is just out to line our pockets on thier dime.... I feel for you though I know I cringe everytime I do an invoice and know that Im going to hear it because bologa went up five cents. And everytime I do get yelled at over the price of smokes or anything else we carry I always just want to show them my paycheck and ask where the money Im "stealing" (yes had a customer accuse me of stealing their money by raising prices) is going.

[Geek King]

SC: Well, I know that you have a secret deal with the oil companies to give you sub $1 fuel but still charge us more. *walks out*

Funny how gas companies are always the target of these conspiracy theories. Nevermind that Avon has a higher profit margin. They must be allied with the Martians


Geek King, card-carrying member of the Gnomes of Zurich.

[LifeCarnie]

Uggghhh...

The worst are the people who the people who want a hundred pound box shipped from coast to coast overnight by Fed Ex and than complain, because the frieght is some astronomical amount like $600 or more. Yes that's expensive, no there isn't a damn thing we can do about it. We pay the ground freight, so ship it ground and wait a week if you don't want to pay freight.

Fed Ex and UPS's rates have risen 300-400% in the last ten years, due to the rising price of fuel and everything else. Yet customers somehow don't think that overnight carriers shouldn't be effected by anything.

[edible_hat]

I once had an SC go on at me about some mythical "gate price" for fuel. The way he told it, the gate price is what fuel actually costs and anyone who sells for above that price is a rip-off merchant. Which means that every gas station is ripping people off.

I forget the figures, but I do remember that the gate price he quoted for that day was around 10 cents per liter lower than the wholesale price... i.e. the price we paid for that day's delivery.

[Kyree]

I once had an SC go on at me about some mythical "gate price" for fuel. The way he told it, the gate price is what fuel actually costs and anyone who sells for above that price is a rip-off merchant. Which means that every gas station is ripping people off.

I forget the figures, but I do remember that the gate price he quoted for that day was around 10 cents per liter lower than the wholesale price... i.e. the price we paid for that day's delivery.

So he was basically saying that the company had to turn around and sell the fuel for equal or less then they bought it for, getting no, or even losing profit, so they won't be ripping off people?

[edible_hat]

So he was basically saying that the company had to turn around and sell the fuel for equal or less then they bought it for, getting no, or even losing profit, so they won't be ripping off people?

Yeah, basically. Gord knows where he was getting his figures from, half the time fuel sales make 1-4 cents per liter, the other half they lose 1-4 cents per liter. Add in drive offs and fuel isn't profitable at all. That's why there are high profit impulse buy items all over the counter.