August 8, 2008

GREETINGS AND SAL-UTATIONS!

Dear NJGCA Member:

SOME RETAILERS JUST DO NOT GET IT. BAD APPLES SPOIL THE WHOLE BUNCH!

For those who need a refresher on how to properly implement Cash/Credit Pricing signage, please click HERE and HERE for details.

NJGCA has been in overdrive trying to defend our members on all fronts.  We have been informing the media and we have been meeting with legislators and other officials to assure them that retailers aren’t ripping off motorists.  We have been trying to inform the public how retailers are being squeezed worse than ever.

Yet after all the effort, when someone posts their signs like this, it makes all other retailers look bad. Worse is it makes me lose credibility with officials that I am trying to keep off of your backs.  Please tell me how I defend this?  Of course my song is always “one rotten apple doesn’t mean they are all rotten”.  BUT…..too many rotten apples have surfaced hurting us all.

I am extending a sincere “Thank You” to the member that brought this location to my attention.  I extend the same gratitude to all of you that have reported similar instances in the past few months.

Thankfully this dope is not an NJGCA member!  YES…I reported this creep to the Enforcement Supervisor of Weights and Measures.

We will earn our reputations back by demonstrating that we do not approve of deceptive practices and that we will police ourselves.

But this is not only about public officials and consumers.  When someone posts their signs in a deceptive manner, they rob YOU of a potential customer!  Think about the customer that is lured to purchase Plus at this station for $3.85.  He fills up and only realizes the correct price is $3.97 a gallon when he pays, at which point it is too late.  The creep operating this station got the sale that you may have received had the customer known the correct price before pulling up to the pump.

Had the customer known the correct price, perhaps he would have pulled into your station instead!!

Let’s look at this from another angle.  One of the biggest issues we’ve been fighting is the now infamous Attorney General’s list of 350 retailers that were “scamming” motorists.  We are continuing to fight this battle on behalf of all retailers.

The Attorney General was reacting to public opinion before she assembled her “task force” and staged her press conference.  The public would never have complained to set this chain of events in motion if it wasn’t for a few deceptive retailers who did try to scam their customers.

This is a classic case of cause and effect.  Don’t misunderstand me: the Attorney General was wrong to sensationalize her report.  If a small group of unscrupulous retailers didn’t practice deceptive behavior, it wouldn’t have prompted this kind of response.  Many of our members would never have been painted as “crooks” or lost their hard-earned reputations for minor administrative violations.

I have previously stated that I will report any retailer that acts dishonestly or deceptively. I don’t care if they are a Member or not.  I must protect honest NJGCA members at all costs, and those who deceive the public harm the reputation of all retailers.

I reserve the right to cancel the membership of dishonest members and I will personally scrape the NJGCA membership sticker off of your window.   I will make sure that the motoring public associates the NJGCA sticker with someone who is operating an honest business.

But I can’t do this alone; YOU have a stake in this too!  If you know of a retailer that is blatantly using deceptive signs, or has cheated customers by blending Regular grade gasoline in to their Premium inventory, or has tampered with pump meters to short their customers, please call me.  At the very least you’ll be helping to police our industry so our collective reputations remain in tact.  You will also prevent a dishonest competitor from robbing you of a potential customer.

Please feel free to call me with any questions or comments you may have.

Thanks for reading.  See you next week!

Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

IN THIS WEEK’S NJGCA ROAD WARRIOR:

UPCOMING EVENTS

•State Vehicle Inspection Program Seminars

NEWS AROUND THE STATE

•New Jersey ranks the worst on highway spending
•Right to Repair moving ahead in Massachusetts
•NJGCA in the News: Risalvato talks Premium Gas
•Seat Belt use up in New Jersey

UPCOMING EVENTS

SEE OUR UPDATED CALENDAR FOR ALL COMING NJGCA EVENTS. CLICK HERE

STATE VEHICLE INSPECTION PROGRAM SEMINARS

This week, many of you received a Vehicle Inspection Database (VID) message concerning the changes to the New Jersey Vehicle Inspection Program.

The program will be open to all currently licensed Private Inspection Facilities (PIFs, ERFs, and DEICs).  Seminars are schedule that will cover changes in procedure and an overview of the new emissions testing equipment, among other topics.

MVC is also soliciting suggestions and comments regarding the new program to make the process more convenient.  All comments must be submitted to the NJ Clean Air Website cleanair@dot.state.nj.us by August 20, 2008.

Seminars will be conducted from 7:00pm to 9:30pm at four MVC Regional Service Centers.  Due to limited seating, each licensed facility will be allowed to reserve only two seats and must carry proper ID when attending.

The seminar schedule is as follows:

West Deptford Regional Service Center
215 Crown Point Road
West Deptford, NJ 08086
Monday, 8/25/08
Tuesday, 9/2/08
For Reservations, Call 609-567-8873

Trenton Regional Service Center
120 S. Stockton and Front Streets
Trenton, NJ 08611
Tuesday, 8/26/2008
Wednesday, 9/3/08
For Reservations, Call 732-869-8335

Eatontown Regional Service Center
109 Route 36
Eatontown, NJ 07724
Wednesday, 8/27/08
Thursday, 9/4/08
For Reservations, Call 732-869-8335

Wayne Regional Service Center
1578 Route 23 North
Wayne, NJ 07470
Thursday, 8/28/08
Monday, 9/8/08
For Reservations, Call 973-631-6584


NEWS AROUND THE STATE

8/6/2008:
Seat Belt use up in New Jersey
Thanks in part to the “Click It or Ticket” program, the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety has reported that seat belt use is up in New Jersey, to nearly 92% of all motorists.

8/6/2008:
NJGCA in the News: Risalvato talks Premium Gas
Executive Director Sal Risalvato spoke with the Star-Ledger’s Tom Johnson on premium fuel volumes and prices in New Jersey. 

8/1/2008:
New Jersey ranks the worst on highway spending
A new report by the Reason Foundation places the Garden State at the bottom of the heap in terms of how effectively spending highway dollars.  New Jersey has been ranked last for the last 8 years in a row. 

8/1/2008:
Right to Repair moving ahead in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts version of the Right to Repair Act is currently moving ahead through the state legislature and has advanced further than in any other state legislature or in Congress.  Observers credit the success of the bill on the well coordinated grass roots efforts by auto repair businesses and consumer watchdog groups.