An answer to a question
A few weeks ago, I posted a question about how a Shell station could be SO expensive. The original post is here, and it stemmed from this photo I took:
Well, a little research turned up this story in the Chronicle, written by C.W. Nevius, where it reveals the owner Bob Oyster is doing this protest against Shell.
Oyster is nobody's fool. Don't think he isn't well aware that the Chevron station across the street is selling regular for 70 cents less.
Putting the price way up over $4 a gallon isn't about making a profit. It's about making a statement to a multinational corporation. After Shell forced him to pay higher prices for gas in San Francisco and jacked up his rent, Oyster says, he decided to fight back.
"I got fed up,'' Oyster admits. "It makes a statement, and I guess when people see that price they also see the Shell sign right next to it.''
In fact, far from making a huge profit, Oyster is going out of business. He has operated the Shell station at Sixth and Harrison for 22 years, but he's walking away from it at the end of the month, handing over the keys to Shell officials and expecting them to shut it down.
As they say, ask a question...
The internet is cool.