The depth of consumer loyalty

I was on my way over to the school this morning to get some correcting and prep work done for the week ahead. My vehicle was low on fuel. Periliously low. The happy little fuel indicator said I had about 50 KM left. I don't put a whole lot of trust in those but they do give a nice estimate. I stopped at my regular gas station. I have been going to this station since it opened in 1985 and I was the first 'gas jockey' hired. I was 15.

There are two fuel stations in my wee town and in our sister community about 5 Km away, there are about 8ish.  We are very much the little sister of the family and most of our shopping places exist in the larger of the two communities.

Now I go to my regular station out of a sense of habit and loyalty. I also go because it support my Air Miles Card, which I got when I was first a driver. When I am at home, I support this station for probably 99% of my fuel purchases.

I pulled in this morning and thought 'ohh they got a new sign'. Then I took a closer look and realized that the new sign was there because they had switched companies. awwww. I honestly didn't know if this company took AirMiles but I needed gas so stop I did.

For the record, our gas went up across all the stations and is now at $1.329 per litre. sigh.  I put in $50, which is my gas budget for the week. How much did that get me? 3/4 of a tank. Very sad to see, especially since that first 1/4 is the largest part of the tank, based on the shape.

I went in and asked if they still took airmiles and they said no. They are now with Aeroplan. A fine points card I am sure but not the one I use.

I said I was very sad to hear this and that this possibly was my last tank of gas at their station. We are a three car family so that means a loss of business of 3 tanks every 10 days or so, for this station. I told them that, kindly. I have no idea why the companies changed and I know it's not their fault, but I felt it was important to know why they would likely be losing my business.

I know there is one other Shell Station in our sister community. I now have to decide if I want to support my own community and add yet another card to my wallet, or if I will stick with the one I have and fuel up elsewhere. That station is on the far side of the city and really not on my direct path but another 3 minutes would get me there. It's not horribly out of the way but it would require me to be more aware of when I need fuel.

In the big picture of life I know this is not a huge decision. It does make me go hmmmmm