PumpTalk - Petro-Canada

This game will pump you up.

Congratulations to the folks at Corner Gas for scoring big at the Gemini Awards this weekend...and for  making gas stations seem more interesting to millions of Canadians.  I found this game while looking for some info on the show.  It's fun, but hard.  Give it a try and see if you are cut out to pump gas in Dog River, Saskatchewan.  I clearly am not.

Photo Credit: Ben Lawson

Checking your tire pressure - a catchy "how to video"

Looks like some people think checking your tires IS more interesting than flossing. Check this out!

People questioning your pricing practices? You've come to the right place.

The strong Canadian dollar has not only kept gas prices lower, it's raised a lot of questions about the price consumers pay for various products.  Like here, here and here.   This is new territory for many in the retail sector.   As someone who receives his mail in this familiar territory, I feel compelled to offer advice to help those of you who now feel under seige.

“If it looks flat, I figure it needs some air”

Last Friday, I was lurking at the Petro-Canada gas station at the Vancouver airport talking with  Canadians about tire pressure. My opener? “Heeyyyy…how often do you check your tire pressure?”

Now checking your tire pressure is up there with flossing. Important yes. Highlight of your day, not so much.

My random and highly unscientific poll (popping my head into car windows of our customers to ask them about tire pressure) revealed that while there are people on either end of the tire-pressure-checking spectrum, most people fall in the middle.

Why do gas prices differ from one place to the next?

A number of you have asked that question.  You drive from town to town and see many different gas prices posted on the big sign.  There are a few basic reasons...we've already covered the differing taxes on gasoline across the country.  Let's take a look at one of the other factors.

Taxes in or Taxes out?

Gasoline is one of the few products you buy with all applicable taxes included in the posted retail price. But what if gas prices were posted with the taxes out? One Pump Talk visitor has suggested that consumers would prefer it that way. What do you think?  To me, an interesting thought. But I see some downsides.