Oshkosh 2003 Redux

Yeah, I paid 20c a gallon more to encourage the other guys to come back
again.
And, they promised us AUTOGAS next year.

We were somewhat aggravated by the fact that the EAA greeters were
trumpeting the fact that BOTH FBOs were charging $1.99 per gallon. Since
this was the case, we opted to give the new guys on the block, Orion, our
business.

Imagine our surprise to find out that we'd been the victims of "bait &
switch" (inadvertently, I suppose, by the EAA) when we had to pay $2.10 per
gallon before departing! The lady in the booth apologized profusely, and
offered the somewhat lame excuse that "they had *asked* the EAA to stop
spreading that information". Of course, I had personally spoken with the
Orion truck driver as he filled the plane, and joked about the $1.99 price
that they were "both charging". He conveniently never mentioned anything
different to me...

When I asked the lady why they didn't simply match Basler's price, she
responded that they would just cut another 20 cents, in an effort to drive
them off the field.

It seems to me there are State-dictated minimum prices for gas in Wisconsin,
in an effort to prevent the "Big Boys" from running the "little guys" off
the playing field -- although I'm not sure if those laws apply to airport
FBOs. Either way, I didn't object to paying $2.10 -- but I DID object to
not knowing how much I WAS paying...

Ah, well -- if they get autogas next year, all is forgiven!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

Yeah, I paid 20c a gallon more to encourage the other guys to come back
again.
And, they promised us AUTOGAS next year.

We were somewhat aggravated by the fact that the EAA greeters were
trumpeting the fact that BOTH FBOs were charging $1.99 per gallon. Since
this was the case, we opted to give the new guys on the block, Orion, our
business.

Imagine our surprise to find out that we'd been the victims of "bait &
switch" (inadvertently, I suppose, by the EAA) when we had to pay $2.10 per
gallon before departing! The lady in the booth apologized profusely, and
offered the somewhat lame excuse that "they had *asked* the EAA to stop
spreading that information". Of course, I had personally spoken with the
Orion truck driver as he filled the plane, and joked about the $1.99 price
that they were "both charging". He conveniently never mentioned anything
different to me...

Jay, I'd write a letter to Orion. I personally saw a $1.89 sign on the Orion
truck on the South end of the field. I presume that was per gallon 100LL, but
then again the sign said only "$1.89". BTW, the Orion truck's sign appeared
several days into the show (Friday August 1, IIRC), many days after Basler's
"$1.99" sign appeared on its truck. Days prior to that, I had seen Orion's
price posted on their kiosk as $2.19 and no sign whatsoever on their truck.
Perhaps you filled up early?

Ah, well -- if they get autogas next year, all is forgiven!

Early in the show (actually, Monday July 28, IIRC) I personally visited the
Orion booth on the South end of the field and asked about mogas availability.
After explaining that mogas = autogas = that stuff you put in the Chevy, they
called someone to see if they had it. After determining that they didn't, I
explained about the EAA and Petersen STC's and the use of auto conversion
engines, and bluntly suggested that carrying mogas next year might engender
quite a lot of goodwill. We'll see.

Russell Kent

"Russell Kent" wrote in message
...
I personally saw a $1.89 sign on the Orion
truck on the South end of the field. I presume that was per gallon 100LL,
but
then again the sign said only "$1.89".

Did Orion have different prices for the South and North ends???

Greg Burkhart wrote:

"Russell Kent" wrote in message
...
I personally saw a $1.89 sign on the Orion
truck on the South end of the field. I presume that was per gallon 100LL,
but
then again the sign said only "$1.89".

Did Orion have different prices for the South and North ends???

I'm not in a position to say: I never saw the fuel truck on the North end. I
would certainly hope not.

Russell Kent

The rest of the story turned out well, however. I'm standing at the fuel
payment booth waiting my turn, while some guy is giving them hell for
charging
too much, accused them of false advertising, etc., etc. generally making a
pain of himself, and they finally call the boss who caves in and gives him
the
1.99 price to make him happy. Well, I step up to the window and calmly ask
them if I have to pay more for being a nice guy, and she looks at me and
says,
"you know, you make a very good point", and calls her boss and gets the
1.99
price for me too. So, I'd say, yes, it was misrepresented at first, but
competition is a good thing, and Orion is trying to make a go of it, so
power
to 'em.

Good job, Mike. Now I wish I had been more of a pain!

Oh well -- if they use that extra $8.00 I paid to survive until next July,
it'll be worth it...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

FWIW, when I was waiting for someone to show up at flightline security
shack so I could volunteer, I noticed a memo on a table. It was a list
of what the fuel suppliers could or could not do, such as they could not
"chase" new arrivals hoping to make a sale, nor could they block the
competitors trucks, or otherwise intimidate the competition, and a few
other things. This was apperently the result of complaints the previous
few days.

All the prices on the trucks I saw were 1.99. Wisconsin law says that
the lowest shelf price must be honored. IOW, if the truck you are
getting fuel from says 1.99 on the sign for the gas you get, you pay
1.99, not 2.10.

John

I only saw those signs on Basler's trucks.

Same here.

TECHNICALLY Orion was correct in charging me $2.10/gallon. But their driver
never corrected my erroneous observation about "everyone being a buck
ninety-nine...", either.

Oh well -- I'm still glad they're there.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"