Low prices show appreciation
Published 11:03 pm Thursday, April 18, 2013
It’s almost 11 a.m. on Wednesday, so it’s time for Jackie Hill to change the sign at the Holland Road Miller Mart.
Jackie Hill drops the prices on the sign at Miller Mart on Holland Road on Wednesday. The customer-appreciation initiative, dubbed “We Pump Wednesday,” lets customers get lower-priced gas and have the employees pump it for them.
She strolls outside into the sunny, warm weather, armed with placards reading “4,” “5” and “7.” She drops the current prices by 10 cents, leaving the “5,” “6” and “8” on the ground near the sign to put back up in a couple of hours.
The gas station at 1516 Holland Road, along with some other Miller Marts throughout the area, has begun “We Pump Wednesdays,” where they lower the price and pump the discounted gas for the customer between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The idea was formed at a meeting when area managers were trying to think of ways to show customer appreciation.
“It’s kind of fun,” Holland Road Miller Mart store manager Lynn Jenkins said Wednesday. “You get to talk to the customers a lot.”
Some regulars come every Wednesday, Jenkins said. Others notice the lower prices as they’re driving by and come in expecting to pump the gas themselves.
“A lot of times, you walk up to the car and they look surprised,” Jenkins said.
She said the store hasn’t lost a lot of profit — after all, it’s only for two hours. But customer Beth Combs sure felt appreciated on Wednesday.
“It’s nice,” she said. “I like it. They know me here, and I don’t even have to ask them for what I want.”
