I remember back in '89 or so when fast-food places started doing desperate things like giving away free refills (they never managed to take that back, either)...at BK, they'd bring out your food and give you popcorn while you waited. It was like the Bizzaro World.
As for folks not filling their tank up, there could be other factors in play...waiting for prices to come back down, not wanting to lug around the extra weight of a full tank unecessarily, etc. I actually think we as a country might be primed with expectations of lower prices across the board...we remember when prices were lower on houses and energy, and subconsciously expect a reversion to that. Additionally, everything else we've bought for 20 years has lost value and/or been less expensive later...cars, computers, boats, TVs, food (yay Costco!)...on and on and on. So I, Joe Consumer, look around and say, 'Pffft, no need to buy this now!'
Well, except for my Quad Venti One-Pump Mocca. That's gone up from 4.98 to 5.24, but I still need it. |
