Customers Benefit from Gas War

GASTONIA, N.C. -- Robert Greene said he was at home when he heard the news: A gas-price war was going on between two competing stations along Highway 321, in Gastonia, N.C.

"It was 79 cents a gallon, and that was really good because I drive a gas guzzler," Greene said after rushing to Jacobs' Food Mart. "I topped the old buggy off," reported the Charlotte News.

Greene returned to Jacobs' Food Mart on Wednesday afternoon hoping to get more of a good thing. But the 79-cent gallons had returned to $1.37. Across the street, Clemmer's Food Mart had returned to $1.43, 44 cents more than its price from the previous night.

"It doesn't hurt when both of us play this little game here and there," said Kim Denton, manager of Clemmer's. "If Jacobs' wants to go down because we did, that's fine."

Will Bowen, spokesman for Jacobs' Food Mart, told the Charlotte News he thought his store was victorious.

"We don't ever initiate the gas-price wars," he said. "Every day, we remain cheaper or as cheap as anybody else in the market. We strive to be at least one or two cents a gallon cheaper than anybody in the county every day."

"It's pretty much friendly," said Denton, who has "never seen any blows going on or anything like that."

Greene said "tempers were kind of flaring a bit" between drivers on Tuesday night, though. "There were cars in every direction," he said. "If you got in, you couldn't get out. There were cars out in the street."

Both gas stations hinted of another price war sometime in November.
X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds