Opening Day
I said I would be there on opening day. And I was. Today was the actual opening, what people in business call a "soft opening", with the Grand Opening not happening until February 12.
As I drove past at 7:30 in the morning, cars were already lined up and the media was there. I needed to be at work for a meeting at 7:45, so I didn't have time to stop. But I figured I'd just pop in to the newly-opened Terror Free Oil gas station on the way home.
I was late getting off work, so I didn't get there until 7:30 p.m. Business was brisk at the Quik-Trip station next door. It was pretty busy at the Phillips 66 a block away, too. But there was only one car at Terror-Free Oil. Lights were on inside and a person was at the counter, but there were no lights out at the gas pump. When I tried the door, the kindly looking woman at the counter mouthed "We're closed." I had missed my chance to check it out. So had the folks who pulled up just as I was getting in my car. They rolled down their window and asked me if it was closed, apparently as surprised as I was.
It had never occured to me that they would be closed so early. Judging by the volume of business at the nearby competitors, Terror Free Oil could easily have made money if they'd stayed open a bit longer. I hope they change their hours as they get going.
I did read the notices on the door. (Nothing stated the hours of the station, by the way.) One mentioned that there are some services that might not be actually available until the Grand Opening. There were no details about what that meant, so I'll have to wait and see. It also said that 3% of cash purchases and 1% of purchases made by card or check would go to the War on Terror. That sounds good, but I'm not sure what it really means, so I'll have to find that out later too.
I like the idea of not using oil from countries that want to harm us. I like being able to help thwart the efforts of the Bad Guys simply by changing from a "regular" gas station to spending my money at Terror Free Oil.
I just need to catch the place when they're open.
Melissa Arnold
Omaha, NE
As I drove past at 7:30 in the morning, cars were already lined up and the media was there. I needed to be at work for a meeting at 7:45, so I didn't have time to stop. But I figured I'd just pop in to the newly-opened Terror Free Oil gas station on the way home.
I was late getting off work, so I didn't get there until 7:30 p.m. Business was brisk at the Quik-Trip station next door. It was pretty busy at the Phillips 66 a block away, too. But there was only one car at Terror-Free Oil. Lights were on inside and a person was at the counter, but there were no lights out at the gas pump. When I tried the door, the kindly looking woman at the counter mouthed "We're closed." I had missed my chance to check it out. So had the folks who pulled up just as I was getting in my car. They rolled down their window and asked me if it was closed, apparently as surprised as I was.
It had never occured to me that they would be closed so early. Judging by the volume of business at the nearby competitors, Terror Free Oil could easily have made money if they'd stayed open a bit longer. I hope they change their hours as they get going.
I did read the notices on the door. (Nothing stated the hours of the station, by the way.) One mentioned that there are some services that might not be actually available until the Grand Opening. There were no details about what that meant, so I'll have to wait and see. It also said that 3% of cash purchases and 1% of purchases made by card or check would go to the War on Terror. That sounds good, but I'm not sure what it really means, so I'll have to find that out later too.
I like the idea of not using oil from countries that want to harm us. I like being able to help thwart the efforts of the Bad Guys simply by changing from a "regular" gas station to spending my money at Terror Free Oil.
I just need to catch the place when they're open.
Melissa Arnold
Omaha, NE
posted by BabbleOn at 5:43 PM
12 Comments:
Good luck on the terror-free oil initiative. God bless!
I think it's absolutely fantastic what you guys are doing. I can't wait to see something like this in Maryland (albeit, close to Carroll County!)
They probably give 3% for cash sales and only 1% for credit card sales because credit card transactions generally cost them 2%.
FYI - this article in London newspaper says that not even an American or Canadian oil company can guarantee the oil doesn't come from the Middle East:
"The garage buys its petrol from Sinclair Oil, which has refineries in Oklahoma and Wyoming that use US and Canadian crude. But even Sinclair could not guarantee that its petrol was 100 per cent “terror-free” because some of the oil used in its Tulsa refinery comes from overseas through a pipeline from the Gulf of Mexico."
Here's the link: http://preview.tinyurl.com/2edpag
Though extremely politically naive, you are at least thinking along the right lines. The best way towards true and permanent energy independence is through the development of sustainable non-fossil fuels. Does the company have any policy on this?
Thanks for praying for Britain, by the way, we kind of need it.
Philip Sen
Melissa,
Thank you for your post. We are still in testing stage. There is a sign near every pump stating that some products/services may not be available until the grand opening.
TFO
Sendover,
Please visit http://www.terrorfreeoil.org/coalition.php
TFO
We would be happy to lend our name to any gas station that subscribes to Terror-Free principles and fits requirements posted on http://www.terrorfreeoil.org/franchise/. So if you or anyone you know is interested to run a Terror-Free Oil gas station, please let us know.
TFO:
Yes, I saw the sign on the door about not all services being available, and I mentioned that in my original post:
"I did read the notices on the door. (Nothing stated the hours of the station, by the way.) One mentioned that there are some services that might not be actually available until the Grand Opening."
That actually makes it all the more exciting....will be fun to see how it all progresses as the Grand Opening nears. I'm happy, too, to see that the prices at TFO are comparable to the stations nearby. TFO was only a penny higher per gallon than any place in the area. I'll gladly pay a mere penny a gallon more to do my part to help stop the funding of the terrorists. Bravo, TFO!
BabbleOn,
If you look closely, it is 1/10 of a penny more or 9/10 of a penny less.
TFO:
Prices change rapidly these days. Yesterday when I drove by, the Quik Trip next door looked like it was 2.09 a gallon as was the Phillips 66 down the street, and it looked like the TFO station was 2.10 a gallon. But only 1/10 of penny difference is even better!
Today I asked my husband to go to the new Terror-Free Oil station to fill our vehicle. We live five miles away from the station but we had heard of it and wanted to support the effort. It was an unpleasant experience that will prevent my husband from making the trek to this station again or speaking favorably about it to anyone.
It was about 20 degrees below zero with windchill. My husband was going to fill up the vehicle while I went into the station to get coffee and pay for the gas. After several minutes my husband entered the gas station to tell the clerk that the pump was not working. The clerk told him that something was reset with the computer so he would have to pre-pay inside or pay at the pump.
My husband was more than a little perturbed that two clerks stood inside and watched as he kept resetting the pump trying to get gas. If the clerks had come out and mentioned there was a problem and the “pay inside” function was not working, he may have not been so mad. But the clerks matter-of-factly mentioned that this had been a problem all morning and yet they didn’t figure out that they should put a sign out on the pump or get their customer service bodies out the door rather than observing a patron struggling with a pump in temperatures of 20 degrees below zero.
This is a great cause. The idea behind this new business is great. The attention and national advertising has been something every new business would hope for. I think it would be very sad that this business would risk it all because appropriate staffing was neglected. Everyone knows that the QT station right next door is bright, clean, well-stocked and customer-friendly – my husband was ready to drive there to purchase fuel after that, no matter how good the cause.
I wish Terror-Free Oil good luck and hope that inconvenient hours and poor customer service does not serve as the station’s downfall.
CRWilson,
We apologize for the inconvenience, but there is a sign at every pump.
TFO
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