From Richard Chapman, manager, Peterborough Garage.
IN your edition of 2 July the Fair Play page mentioned that two garages in the Island were to charge less for their fuel. On the next page there was an article about a garage closing down and being taken to court over its debts.
I would like to put the point of view from one of the Island’s small garages, which are under tremendous pressure at the moment.
There are fewer small garages every year, as the owners give up the unequal fight against the big garages who, because of their enormous turnover, can buy their fuel at cheaper prices than we can.
The two garages currently offering very cheap fuel are selling it for less than we are able to buy it at wholesale prices. Great news for the customers, but in the long run we will see many more small garages, with their personal touch and friendly attendants, go to the wall and sell off their forecourts for housing.
Yes, we have to charge more, and in these times of rocketing crude oil prices we are getting weekly calls from the wholesalers advising us that the price has gone up yet again.
But imagine the Island in a few years’ time, when the only place you can get fuel is probably well away from your usual route to work, run by one of the big supermarket chains who will then have a monopoly on selling fuel and can charge whatever they like.
Who, then, is going to change the wipers or check the tyres for a little old lady who doesn’t know how to work the pumps? When we’ve all gone, where are people going to fill up with a fiver to last them until the weekend when they have time to queue up for cheap fuel on the other side of the Island?
The same argument applies to small shops – if we eventually get a Tesco here, do you want to see all the small local shops close because their prices will inevitably be higher? La Neuve Route,
St Aubin,
St Brelade.
Forcing out the smaller garages will cost us dear
From Richard Chapman, manager, Peterborough Garage.
IN your edition of 2 July the Fair Play page mentioned that two garages in the Island were to charge less for their fuel. On the next page there was an article about a garage closing down and being taken to court over its debts.
I would like to put the point of view from one of the Island’s small garages, which are under tremendous pressure at the moment.
There are fewer small garages every year, as the owners give up the unequal fight against the big garages who, because of their enormous turnover, can buy their fuel at cheaper prices than we can.
The two garages currently offering very cheap fuel are selling it for less than we are able to buy it at wholesale prices. Great news for the customers, but in the long run we will see many more small garages, with their personal touch and friendly attendants, go to the wall and sell off their forecourts for housing.
Yes, we have to charge more, and in these times of rocketing crude oil prices we are getting weekly calls from the wholesalers advising us that the price has gone up yet again.
But imagine the Island in a few years’ time, when the only place you can get fuel is probably well away from your usual route to work, run by one of the big supermarket chains who will then have a monopoly on selling fuel and can charge whatever they like.
Who, then, is going to change the wipers or check the tyres for a little old lady who doesn’t know how to work the pumps? When we’ve all gone, where are people going to fill up with a fiver to last them until the weekend when they have time to queue up for cheap fuel on the other side of the Island?
The same argument applies to small shops – if we eventually get a Tesco here, do you want to see all the small local shops close because their prices will inevitably be higher?
La Neuve Route,
St Aubin,
St Brelade.
Article posted on 5th July, 2008 - 9.59am