October 1, 2010

GREETINGS AND SAL-UTATIONS!

Dear NJGCA Member:

THIS WEEK’S (UNEXPECTED) BATTLE & THE PROBLEM WITH RECTUMS

Heavyweight prizefighter Jack Dempsey once said "The best defense is a good offense". I happen to agree.  Of course, in order to mount an effective offensive, it helps to know what you’re defending against – and why. 

I was reminded of this earlier this week when I paused to consider how many battles we’re fighting in a greater war to defend you and all NJGCA members.  I thought that the largest battle we were waging in the coming weeks was to negotiate favorable terms and hammer out an agreement in the latest attempt by Legislators to eliminate Below Cost Selling. 

As you know, this is ANOTHER attempt by Assemblyman Burzichelli to change the 70 year old Below Cost Selling statute, and even as you read this, we’re hard at work behind the scenes trying to prevent this bill from harming your small business. 

To compound the issues we face in this fight, Senator Lesniak has proposed a similar bill in the State Senate and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a letter asserting that Below Cost Selling would benefit consumers.  The FTC states that unless Below Cost Selling was specifically targeted to injure particular competitors, it would not harm the state of competition in the gasoline retail industry.

Of course, that’s a defense we’re aware of as we muster our forces to mount an offensive before this bill is heard in the Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee on October 7th.

But simultaneously a new battlefield emerged unexpectedly and forces were engaged.  At least I expected the fight for Below Cost Selling to emerge, and I have warned you of that ever since we defeated it in December 2008.  But another Legislator fired a shot over our bow this week!

We learned earlier this week, that NJGCA has now been dragged into a new and unexpected battle – in part due to the actions of a RECTUM (Yes, I said RECTUM–Read on for an explanation).

Assemblyman Charles Mainor of Jersey City has introduced A-3191, which will prohibit you from charging more than a 5¢ difference between your cash and credit prices at the pump.  Why would he introduce this bill?  Well, it seems the Assemblyman and many of his constituents are offended that many retailers charge a credit price, then offer a discount for cash transactions.  They (incorrectly) believe that the difference in price is nothing more than a way for you to greedily grab extra profit from your customers.

Perception is a difficult thing to overcome, no doubt.  But what if someone aided in that perception and threw YOU under the bus in the process?

That’s exactly what happened here.  It seems that the Assemblyman visited a local gas station in his district and inquired about why there was a difference between the displayed cash and credit pricing.  In response, the proprietor of the station arrogantly responded, “Because that’s what I feel like charging”.  When questioned further by the Assemblyman, the proprietor stated “This is America and I can charge whatever I want. Period!!”

It doesn’t take a political genius or an expert in decorum to anticipate how this was received by the Assemblyman.

Once we learned of the bill, and hoping the damage caused by this unidentified (and rude) RECTUM station owner was repairable, we rushed to meet with Assemblyman Mainor accompanied by our friends from Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey.

Patiently, we explained the mathematics involved and demonstrated how customers purchasing gas at a location offering Cash/Credit Pricing are actually saving money since they are being given an opportunity to get a discount on their purchase.  However, despite all of our evidence and logic, the Assemblyman seemed quite disturbed by the arrogance and attitude of the proprietor he visited in his district.  I can certainly understand why – and I don’t blame him, even if I utterly disagree with his attempt to hurt you.

The proprietor who started this mess is a RECTUM.  I’d prefer to use a more colorful synonym, but since this is a professional communication, I’ll limit my vocabulary to RECTUM and trust you get my point.

Thanks to the actions and distasteful manners of this RECTUM, gasoline retailers throughout New Jersey may have yet ANOTHER burden on their shoulders should this bill become law.  Thankfully, once our meeting ended, we agreed that the bill will be held for the time being, but it is not off the Assemblyman’s radar and we will need to have additional meetings to resolve this problem.

However, in an unexpected move, Assemblyman Mainor is willing to look into capping the fees charged by credit card companies like Visa and Master Card if he moves forward with his bill limiting the difference between cash and credit pricing.  That was a piece of positive news, but certainly not conclusive enough to make me feel like this is all behind us.

Where this ultimately ends up is anyone’s guess at this point but, for now at least, the issue is off the table for the next few weeks. 

The entire staff at NJGCA works very hard to elevate your status among the Legislature and members of the general public.  I personally have often gone out on a limb with the press and state officials, simply to improve their perception of you in the court of public opinion.

However, just as in the case of Predatory Towing a few years back, it only takes a few rotten individuals to mess things up for everyone.  As you’ll recall, at the time NJGCA was fighting alongside the Garden State Towman’s Association to prevent the complete state regulation of the towing industry.  Then the entire debacle was sparked based solely on a single incident in which a shop used predatory towing as a means of extracting an obscene amount of money from two young girls.  The victims of this incident ran to their local Legislator, who ended up overreaching to regulate small business owners.  It all ended badly and the blame can be laid at the feet of a single, unethical business owner. 

In our case, a single RECTUM in Jersey City may have caused us a big headache because he was an arrogant fool and was rude to an elected official.  Had this RECTUM politely explained to the Assemblyman why he offers a cash discount and further explained that he does not make extra profit by taking advantage of credit card customers, our job would have been easier.

If there is one thing I’ve tried to do since I started my tenure at NJGCA, it’s to instill (and project) a sense professionalism and honesty of our membership to the public.  And while you’ll never see a greater cheerleader defending and protecting our members than me, you’ll also never find a harsher critic than I, railing against those retailers who tarnish the very reputation we have worked so hard to polish.

The bottom line is this: Facts and information will always take the back seat to perception in the eyes of the public.  While we may be right, not everyone will understand our reasoning without an involved explanation.  Whether a public official or an average customer asks you why you employ Cash/Credit Pricing (or any other policy), you should always be as professional as possible. 

You don’t have to convince everyone that you are right, but you do have to be respectful.  Failing to do that may provoke the kind of response we see here – where one RECTUM ruins it for everyone.

As a final note, regardless of the success or failure of our efforts to negotiate favorable terms in the Below Cost Selling bill, it will be heard in committee next Thursday at 3PM.  Please be there.  I will be sending a Wildfire Alert on Monday with details. 

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