BP Station Bucks Transparency, Loses My Bucks

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Comment by Michael R. on May 21, 2009 at 5:42am

Huge pet peeve of mine, too, Rick. I hate when the price isn't posted. It makes me think, "who is running this place??"

Comment by Cissi Sherlock on May 19, 2009 at 5:45pm

Thank you.

Comment by Rick Wilkerson on May 19, 2009 at 5:43pm

Ben and Cissi, I apologize if my reply came off harsh. I am "under the weather" this week and not in good shape for thoughtful posting. Your point is taken, especially in light of the clock at Kroger. It's just not always easy to track down a clerk and my point was not that I was unable or unwilling to ask. My point was that the lack of price made it easy for me NOT to buy.

As to the lack of drink pricing at BP, however, I really feel strongly that this is inexcusable. Personally I respond to promotional pricing which is prevalent at convenience stores. There is a trend to "buy two at a savings" but if you buy one it's regular price. I do not want to fall into the trap unknowingly. My sense is that BP is moving to this model in order to make larger margins on drinks. But, this comes at customer expense because the customer isn't offered enough information to make an intelligent decision.

There is a trend in some areas of business to "trap" consumers rather than cater to them. Companies that work hard to provide transparency and an overall positive customer service are going to be the winners in this new economy, and those that use the "tricks and traps" model are going to have a harder time.

Comment by Rick Wilkerson on May 19, 2009 at 5:21pm

Asking is fine, but not having a price is a barrier. Period.

Comment by Cissi Sherlock on May 19, 2009 at 4:51pm

Not meaning to be rude, but couldn't you have just asked.

It solve a lot of problems.

Comment by benjamintraub on May 19, 2009 at 12:19pm

just ask. its not that hard.

Comment by Deanna Sipe on May 19, 2009 at 10:03am

Great post Rick. I agree.

Comment by Daniel Herndon on May 18, 2009 at 11:37am

It seems that BP could be following the model that the drink menu at restaurants follows. Don't post the price so people will choose based on what they want instead of price. In the case of a soda at a convenience store a minimal barrier can be all that is needed to loose business as the bulk of their in store sales are based on the ancillary "since I'm here" incidental business.

In the case of the 'drink menu' I refer to, people are already sitting down and determined to have a drink with their meal, etc. That usually only deters those that are "cheap". It seems BP is mis-applying this concept.

This is a good lesson that we apply to event marketing. We structure our campaigns to put buyers in buying mode, or intersect with that part of their lifestyle where they purchase, and then make it easy to say yes. Anything else is just awareness which doesn't always lead to buying.