I’m no stranger to falling into the loving embrace of encased meats, but who knew that gas stations are also seeking comfort from hot dogs these days? While it’s good news for drivers that gas costs less, for oil companies those cheaper prices at the pump means sales that slump (sorry sorry I had to). [More]
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LEGO Dumps Deal Allowing Shell Gas Stations To Hand Out Toy Sets After Campaign Against Arctic Drilling
By 10.9.14
Danish toy company LEGO has ditched a deal it had with Shell that allowed the company to hand out toy sets at its gas stations in about 30 countries around the world, after Greenpeace activists launched a campaign against Shell drilling in the Arctic. [More]
Cops Have To Shut Down Pump After $.011/Gallon Gas Glitch
By 2.11.14
For a few hours during the overnight shift, a gas station in Illinois gave away an awful lot of free fuel, as a screwed-up (or screwed-with) pump was only charging customers a penny a gallon. [More]
Shell Still Trying To Figure Out That Anti-Skimmer Sticker Thing
By 12.5.13
Credit and debit card skimmers are a menace that might discourage consumers from using ATMs and pay-at-the-pump devices at gas stations. That’s why seals that show everyone whether a pump has been tampered with are a great idea, even if they aren’t foolproof at detecting the sneakiest and tiniest skimmers. Unless you employ them like some Shell stations. [More]
Shell Still Can’t Figure Out How To Use Anti-Theft Stickers On Gas Pumps
By 6.5.12 — Updated: 12.5.13
It’s a really great idea to try to prevent people from skimming credit cards at ATMs and gas pumps with anti-theft stickers –Â but the first important step? You gotta put the sticker in the right spot. Shell failed at this back in October, and it appears it’s still totally clueless when it comes to sticker placement. [More]
Those Anti-Skimming Gas Pump Stickers Don’t Work If You Do It Like This
By 10.11.11 — Updated: 7.30.13
Last month, we wrote about the new-ish practice of slapping stickers on gas pumps to prevent credit card skimmers. But someone at this Shell station seemed to have missed the point of the sticker completely. [More]
Orlando Shell Station Charges $5.59/Gallon, Shocking Drivers
By 8.31.11
Gas prices are high, but $5.59 a gallon? That’s what drivers pulling up to a Shell station at in Orlando, FL are paying. They say they don’t find out what the price is until they get their receipt. Talk about Shell-shock. [More]
Updated: Buy Gas From Shell Last Weekend? Check Your Card For Double Billing
By 2.3.11
If you filled up with gas from Shell on Saturday, January 29 2011, (update: readers report double-billing throughout the whole weekend and Shell says they’re looking to expand the affected time period) and paid with plastic, you should check your card statement to see if you got double-billed. StorefrontBacktalk got hold of a confidential memo which said that a telco outage resulted in 401,120 double-billed transactions having to be reversed for a total of $12,135,608.19 in refunds. While the reversals should be automatic, some people with low balances did get charged overdraft and other fees because of the mistake, fees they should not have to pay [More]
How About A Tasty Crude Oil Salad From Shell?
By 9.27.10
Before we had slick and savvy advertising campaigns like the Singimals and the Sticky-Bottomed-Bears, Madison Avenue pumped out some truly demented shlock like Shell’s “oil salad” one-pager from the December 22, 1947 issue of Life. Yummy! Serve me up a salad of asphalt! [More]
BP Gulf-Sized Spilling Occurs In Nigeria Annually, But Nobody Cares
By 6.15.10
For America, the BP spill in the Gulf is a “tragedy that never should have happened,” requiring, “the largest environmental response in this country’s history. In Nigeria, they just call it “Thursday.” [More]
Shell & Virent Begin Production Of Gasoline Made From Beets
By 3.23.10
In news certain to please the Schrute family of Scranton, PA., Shell and youngster biofuel company Virent just announced they’ve started up production at their plant that can convert beet sugar into gasoline and gasoline blend components. [More]
Secret Credit Card Backdoor Numbers To Get Your Credit Increased, APR Changed, Etc!
By 1.14.10
Want your credit line increased, APR lowered, or your declined credit card application approved? Begging and pleading with customer service not getting you anywhere except front row seats to your personal puddle of shame? Then give some of the “backdoor numbers” a shot. [More]
Citi Mysteriously Closes Scads Of Mastercard Accounts Nationwide
By 10.20.09
Without warning, Citi decided to close a swath of gas-station co-branded Mastercard accounts nationwide. The trouble seems to have started October 15. Quan was one of the affected customers and the credit card company was pretty disingenuous about it when called.
Police Dog Chooses More Delicious Of Two Crimes
By 9.8.09
A police dog who had lost the scent of an armed robbery suspect located a different crime instead reports Fox News in Boston. The dog led police into a Stop & Shop chasing a masked man who had robbed a nearby Shell station. The dog lost the trail, but did find a homeless man who had shoved a bunch of meat in his pants.
Shell Introduces Ice Cream That You Can Grill With
By 6.12.09
It looks like Shell has finally figured out a way to combine the awesomeness of ice cream with the grilling power of propane. It probably doesn’t taste very good, though. (Thanks to swarrior216!)
Can Prayer Lower Gas Prices? These People Think So
By 7.8.08
Some people think we don’t have a prayer of gas prices dipping below $3.00 for a good long haul. These parishioners holding hands around a Shell station beg to differ. They’re part of a group called “Pray At The Pump,” organizing prayer-circles at various DC area gas stations, hoping to goad divine intervention into lowering gas prices. I wonder if they carpooled to the rendezvous point.
Shell Station Owner Raises Gas Prices In Protest Against Shell
By 6.21.07
There’s a much deeper story here, and it begins with Oyster, a respected, self-made businessman who turned a single station into Oyster Petroleum, a profitable firm in Redwood City. 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.
Gift Cards Are The Most Popular Gift
By 12.19.06
The 2006 Deloitte report on gift cards is out, and it’s official. Gift cards are the single most popular gift this holiday season. But are they a good buy? Sort of. It seems that due to consumer pressure, and FTC pressure, stores are improving their customer service/disclosure of fees when it comes to gift cards. But that doesn’t meant there aren’t still a lot of problems. The Montgomery County, Maryland, Office of Consumer Protection which assesses dozens of cards annually, has released their 2006 report. The report evaluates 40 different gift cards, looking for things like whether or not the card can be replaced if lost or stolen, whether the cards have an expiration date, and whether fees are assessed to the card’s balance. Basically, you want to avoid the following cards:
