Misplaced Decimal Leads To 18 Cent Per Gallon Gas

[matcom]

<snip>

OMAHA, Neb. -- A misplaced decimal point gave drivers a surprisingly good deal on gas, and fueled some threats of violence.

Carolyn Folsom, who occasionally helps her brother and father run the self-service Shell station, said she goofed Wednesday when entering prices into the computer that runs the fuel tanks. A gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline was supposed to sell for $1.89 but ended up costing only 18 cents.

"I don't know if my finger missed the nine or what," Folsom said. "The whole family is laughing about this. I will never live this down."

Folsom said about 500 gallons of gas were sold during the several hours the price was down, costing the business about $1,000. The station does not have an attendant and the only way to pay is at the pump, so the mistake went unnoticed for hours.

A fuel truck driver who came to deliver gas discovered the problem and tried to block the entrance of the station with his truck, Folsom said.

But by then word was out and the rush for cheap fuel was on.

http://www.wftv.com/irresistible/4139149/detail.html

[Misunderestimator]

1. There are THAT many people who would not point out the mistake?

That's pretty disappointing. I had a similar experience a few weeks ago. I started pumping and the gas was flowing but NO cash was registering. After a few attempts to get the dial going, with the gas still pumping, I walked into the store to let the manager know. In retrospect, I might not have done it because he started to tell me that I wasn't doing it right and try again... very dismissive and condescending. I practically had to yell at him to get him to pay attention to his problem, and then he just grunted when he recognized that he did indeed have a problem. Kind of annoyed me that I helped him in the end.

Maybe that's why no one bothered.

[Spacemom]

2. I've noticed

that we've become a very "admit no mistake" culture.

*ush must be having a trickle down effect after all. :eyes: