Employee Accidentally Sets Gas Price at 33 Cents
Drivers rushed to buy gasoline at Trig's Mioncqua Shell in rural northern Wisconsin after an employee accidentally changed the price to 33 cents a gallon, according to an Associated Press report.
The employee, closing Trig's Minocqua Shell for the night, mistakenly entered the price of a gallon of gasoline as 32.9 cents instead of $3.299 on Monday night.
He left about 10 p.m., but drivers could still use their credit cards to buy gas. Word spread fast; 42 people bought 586 gallons of gas in an hour and 45 minutes. One person had pumped 27 gallons and two purchased 18 gallons.
Local police saw the horde at the station and called store manager Andrea Reuland, who went to the station and pushed the emergency stop, according to the report.
"There were cars two deep at each of my pumps," said Reuland, who knew many of the drivers and told them they were being dishonest. The store sign had the correct price.
The employee, who has been there for about six months, had changed the gas prices 25 times in the past six months.
"It was an honest mistake," Reuland said. "I could have done it."
The employee, closing Trig's Minocqua Shell for the night, mistakenly entered the price of a gallon of gasoline as 32.9 cents instead of $3.299 on Monday night.
He left about 10 p.m., but drivers could still use their credit cards to buy gas. Word spread fast; 42 people bought 586 gallons of gas in an hour and 45 minutes. One person had pumped 27 gallons and two purchased 18 gallons.
Local police saw the horde at the station and called store manager Andrea Reuland, who went to the station and pushed the emergency stop, according to the report.
"There were cars two deep at each of my pumps," said Reuland, who knew many of the drivers and told them they were being dishonest. The store sign had the correct price.
The employee, who has been there for about six months, had changed the gas prices 25 times in the past six months.
"It was an honest mistake," Reuland said. "I could have done it."