Imagine my surprise when I trundled down the hill to top up my barbecue tank and the local Shell station in town had removed the propane fill up pump!
When asked, the gas jockey told us Shell decided it wasn’t making enough money on propane and is removing this service from all its stations on the Island.
Now we have to drive to Parksville’s PetroCan for a fill up and admittedly, this is no great hardship for me, but it is very inconvenient and will probably necessitate the purchase of a second tank.
I’m sure I’m not the only one ticked off about this. What bean counter in Shell’s corporate efficiency cubicle thought it wise to send customers to their competition and leave a town without access to propane, especially one with a retiree/elderly population base and which depends on the summer tourist trade for much of its income?
Surely, a multi-billion (or is it trillion?) dollar company like Shell can afford to break even on a commodity that many people here use. Shame on them for forgetting the little guy.
Chris Hayes
Qualicum Beach