Fuel station staffers face motorists' fury

KOLKATA: Petrol pump employees across the city faced the brunt of customers' ire on Thursday when they found that the rates being charged were higher than what they expected after the price cut.
N K Pathak of Hirji Auto Centre on APC Roy Road was tired of repeating the same thing to people. "Since morning, we have been telling customers that the order has been issued by the oil company due to the sales tax levied by the state government.What can we do about it? In the afternoon, we asked for a written communication from our dealer so that we could display it. When things got too difficult, we promised to return money to customers if any other pump gave them a lower rate."
At Auto Care Centre on AJC Bose Road, a staffer said: "Ultimately, we are losing out along with the customers. Many had planned to go for a full tank refill but the moment they saw the price, they decided against it."
"Initially, we were also confused because the state government's price list did not reflect the expected price cut. We had trouble explaining things to angry customers," said B K Kundu of Prince Auto Service Station on Prince Anwar Shah Road. "The state government should have issued a notification for the people. The customers cannot be blamed if they are angry. Expectations were high and suddenly it all fell flat. But all this unpleasantness could have been avoided had the government been transparent," said a manager of a south Kolkata fuel station.