Car owners in a Georgia city got a pleasant surprise from a gas station owner on Independence Day.
On Monday, the A to Z Food Mart in Hinesville discounted their regular unleaded gas for a few hours charging $1.99 per gallon. The low price was available for individuals purchasing gasoline with cash or a Chevron credit card. However, if motorists didnāt have cash on hand, they were able to buy the gas for $2.09 per gallon with other debit and credit cards.
The discount lasted for only three hours and had cars lined up for more than a mile to take advantage of the deal.
Many buyers thought the price was too good to be true, but it wasnāt. Liberty County native, Victoria Smith, said that initially, she hesitated to buy the gas, asking herself, āIs this a scam?ā According to the stationās owner, Ravi Patel, the deal was not a scam at all.
āWe just want to give back to the community,ā Patel says. āJust because the community makes us what we are here as a family. We all came from India to make a better life for ourselves, which is what we need to do to give back to the community.ā
Patel says regular unleaded gas typically costs him $3.85 per gallon. This means he lost roughly $1.86 for every gallon pumped. Patel estimated 5,000 gallons worth of gasoline was sold within the three hours, so he probably lost $12,000 during the timeframe. Nevertheless, Patel says seeing the reaction on his customerās faces was well worth it.
āI was sleeping one time,ā he added. āWoke up, I was like, āMan, I need to do something to give back to the community.ā And I was like, āWhat can I do to ease the burden on everyoneās wallet?ā The first thing that came to my head is gas. And I talked to my brother as well, and he was like, āWe should put the fuel down,ā so thatās what we did.ā