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Anisman: Oaks gets higher gas prices PDF Print E-mail
Written by Mike Anisman   
Sunday, 17 June 2007

For the last couple of years I have been observing how Tower Mart constantly takes advantage of residents of the Oaks. Tower Mart has three stations in the area, one in Lower Lake, one in Lucerne and one in The Oaks. The Oaks store is always anywhere from five to 15 cents higher a gallon than the other two locations.


Why? Because there is no competition. All the stores are supplied by the same company and I think they are owned by the same person. The delivery costs to the locations have to be the same, but consistently the people in the Oaks are charged more.


On Saturday I went to Lucerne, the Oaks Tower Mart station was $3.25 a gallon and the Lucerne Tower Mart was $3.15 a gallon. Why? The other station in the Oaks, Beacon was $3.49, so no competition there.


I should add that the Beacon Station is always 15 to 20 cents a gallon higher than the Tower Mart, except on Wednesdays, when they have locals appreciation day, then the Beacon Station is at least five cents a gallon cheaper than Tower Mart, on that day only.


In Lucerne the Tower Mart has three other stations as competition, so they keep the price close to the other stations, the same in Lower Lake, but they can charge as they like in the Oaks.


I, for one, prefer to buy locally in the town in which I live. But I refuse to get taken advantage of. I will not buy gas from any Tower Mart, because even if I go to one of the other Tower Marts they are owned by the same person.


I would hope this letter, would make other people aware of how we are being taken advantage of, and you will make some kind of statement, so the owner of Tower Mart will stop biting the hand that could feed him.


Thanks for reading this.


Mike Anisman

Clearlake Oaks


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Comments
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yellowwing - Oaks Fuel Prices Registered | 06-17-2007 09:27:20
You make a good point. However, it is possible the location of the Oaks Tower Mart has as much to do with the higher prices as the lack of competition.

If you are a traveler that has just driven from I-5 headed for Hwy 101 and did not stop for fuel at the Shell on Hwy 20 near Williams because of the high cost - the cost of fuel in the Oaks looks like a bargain.

Little do they know if they went a little further the price would be less.

As consumers we battle with our wallets.
Donna Christopher Author | 06-17-2007 11:19:16
Uh, wheres the third station in Lucerne? We have Tower Mart and Lucerne Gas just opened (Cliff Maners old Chevron). If you just drive around the Oaks, get one of those little electric cars. If you don't just hang in the Oaks, buy your gas elsewhere. Yeah, gas prices suck and will continue till we've pumped the last drop. You can momentarily make yourself feel better by seeing what they pay in other nations. Trust me, I do feel your pain, have gotten a more fuel efficient vehicle & consolidate trips. But we're all gas junkies and the market will torture us to see what we will bear.
mikie77 - 3rd Station Registered | 06-17-2007 21:10:51
The third station I was talking about is the Valaro station in Nice, which was 3.09 on Saturday.
FYI I drive a Prius, but none of that is the point. The point is why should we be charged more?
BG Locke - Tower Mart Registered | 06-17-2007 12:12:17
It's interesting that someone has pointed this out. I suggest you dig a little deeper as well. A mystery shop report from '05/'06 showed that on a consistant basis the prices at Clearlake Oaks were higher than they were supposed to be. This is for various items such as bread, milk, ice cream etc. If I remember correctly the shops were done on items that were specials at Tower Mart during that time. The problem was, Clearlake Oaks didn't put them on special price! I tested this a few times myself when I lived in the Oaks, two out of three times it was accurate but the one that wasn't the Oaks was 15% more expensive.
If you have the time, I suggest you give this a try as well. Look for items that are marked as sale/reduced price in Lucerne, you may fnd that it isn't that way in the Oaks.
I have moved to South Lake now and regularly use Lower Lake Tower Mart. I can honestly say I feel MUCH better about the price I pay for gasoline than I did in the Oaks. (Although...OUCH!! Remember when it first went over $1.00 a gallon?)
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