Gas Station Manager Fired After Selling Gas For 69 Cents A Gallon
Drivers in Rancho Cordova, Calif., flooded the Shell after word of the rock-bottom prices got out on social media, ultimately costing the station about $20,000.
The ex-manager, John Szczecin, said he had made a “mistake” after he accidentally put a key decimal point in the wrong place. As a result, a gas that should have cost $6.99 per gallon was available at a massive discount.
“I thought, ‘This is a nightmare,’” Szczecina said. “I put all three prices on there except the diesel, but the last one kind of didn’t go, you know, right.”
Szczecina was fired on Monday. His family members started a GoFundMe seeking to raise the lost funds and repay his ex-employer. As of Wednesday, the fundraising page had generated nearly $5,500.
Initially, the goal was to raise $16.000 in lost money due to his mistake but later updated to $20,000.
A representative for Shell’s US division said the station was family owned.
The price error occurred during a time of painfully high gas prices — especially for those living in California.
The national average gas price was $5.014 as of Wednesday, just below the record high. In California, the statewide average reached a shocking $6.435 — though prices have surged much higher at some gas stations.