June 12, 2000 Gas prices and tempers on the rise

Gasoline is up an average of more than 27 cents a gallon this week - the biggest weekly jump in Michigan history.

AAA Michigan says there's another new record for gas prices statewide, a whopping two dollars and one cent per gallon of self-serve regular. The increase marks six straight weeks of higher prices in Michigan, adding up to 63 cents a gallon. AAA has been tracking gasoline prices since 1973.

Gas station clerks say with the high gas prices comes a rise in complaints. "They're always complaining. Always!" clerk Hollie McFarland said.

McFarland's a clerk at the Shell gas station at Fuller & Michigan in Grand Rapids. She says she loves her job but recent hikes in the price of gas have made it a kind of tough love. Some of her customers blame the oil companies, some blame a broken gas pipe in Jackson County, and some blame McFarland.

"I've had people thrown money at me, when they pay for their gas they just throw it at me," McFarland said.

She said it's the customer that she doesn't hear from that cause even more problems.

"People just jump in their cars and leave."

McFarland said she's noticed more drive-offs, people who put their gas and take off without paying, since prices began to rise. She says drivers who think they're making a statement against the big oil companies by stealing their gas should think again.

"They're not hurting the company. They're hurting the people that work here. If somebody drives off on my shift, I have to pay for that, because it's my responsibility," McFarland said.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), June 13, 2000