I've heard of places that have instances of two Starbuck's being located right across the street from one another. People are frequently baffled by this occurence, but it makes sense to me: if there's enough business to keep two Starbuck's open, why not have them so close? You know they wouldn't be building without the business to support it, and that way, people can see which line is longer, and there's no interruption to their routine or pattern. Well, I've found something kind of like that, except different, and baffling.
I saw it while I was on the prowl for lunch. Just to give you a little backgrounf, the excitement of the summer is the low low price of gas in the area. Less than two dollars a gallon is TERRIBLY exciting, especially after last summer's eyebrow-raising, checkbook-stripping prices. I can definitely get used to these prices. Well, I was trundling along down the road, and, spotting a gas station, I checked out the price. $1.99. Not bad, not bad at all. Of course, not as low as Wawa, which has my love and fidelity forever and ever, amen. (Unless they decide to raise their prices, in which case, forget that I was ever loyal. If they're going to betray me, I feel no qualms about pulling a Benedict Arnold on them.) Anyway, I registered the price, then glanced across the street (remember this bit of information, it's important -- ACROSS THE STREET) at another gas station. Their lowest price? $2.09. Wait, what?? That must be a typo. Maybe the part of the sign with the 87 octane had fallen off. Maybe I was getting my numbers confused. But no, I looked closer, and their cheapest gas was on sale for $2.09. Across the street from $1.99. How is that EVEN possible? I mean, I know Sheetz has delicious sandwiches and wraps (or "wrapz" if you're Sheetz and trying to be trendy or something), but that's certainly not enough to make up that outrageous price difference! I hope they go out of business and die, the overpriced jerks.
It's not like it affects me directly (as I said before, Wawa has my love and my check card PIN), it's just the principle of the thing. The light turned green shortly thereafter, and I continued on my way back to my workplace, but I was shaken, shaken I tell you, by this terrible occurence. How? HOW??
I think the star bucks right across the street is better explained by the fact that motorists are more likely to turn right than left. If you turn left INTO a starbucks, then you have to turn left OUT of the starbucks to get back.
ReplyDeleteAlso, they want to stop the same thing that happened with the gas station. You'll often see gas stations right across the street from eachother, it's just that they're competitors. Why leave a place for your competitors to open? Why not just occupy both sides of the road?
While you are mulling the price of gasoline, why don't you calculate what a gallon of regular Starbucks coffee costs.
ReplyDeleteBetter yet, consider what it costs for a gallon of bottled water. Gasoline is really a bargain when you consider that is has to be shipped from far distances, refined, and delivered to the local station. And all these processes must have safeguards to minimize the risk of catastrophic accidents. And for much less than it costs for unrefined, unflammable water.
- Someone close to you.
forgive my arrogance, but i believe that both of your previous posters missed your point. allow me to explain the situation.
ReplyDeletethe price of the gaasoline that the station charges is altered at the time that a new shipment is received, and is categorically based on the cost of that particular shipment, prorated to match that of the approximate mixture. what does this all mean?
it means that if the cost (which we shall just say is the cost for the individual facility, because the actual cost variance could easily be altered by the corporate overhead, etc) of the gasoline goes down, that whichever station first receives their shipment after such a change, will have the price advantage, as their gasoline will cost less at the pump.
however, i do not mean to neglectthe fact that some gas stations are simply more expensive than others. i for one am somewhat brand-loyal when it comes to gasoline, because i've received gas from some stations that i've found to be watered down. this causes for more costly replacing of fuel filters, etc. such is unacceptable to me, so i will pay the extra few cents to get the gasoline that i have confirmed to be of higher quality.
i hope you have found this to be enlightening, and feel free to direct any more questions regarding this topic to your blog, and i will attempt to answer them for you.
Finnaly ,a scientific blog !
ReplyDeleteCraig - Why must you turn left out of a Starbucks'? What kind of coffee shops set-ups are you entering?
ReplyDeleteDad - Are you advising me to drink gasoline? Uh, thanks a lot.
Anonymous - You're way too smart for me, kid. Welcome to the blog.
Baltazar - I'm glad this makes you happy :-)
UPDATE: Wawa's price went up to $1.99 this morning, and I was a little bit sad. Then coming home, I saw that it had shot to $2.09, and I rent my garments and mourned.
Wawa and Sheetz! Are you from Pennsylvania, then? If so, I totally knew I liked you.
ReplyDelete