Bellingham, Washington

[Marin]

Sunday, May 12. Diesel, cost based on amount purchased, resident or transient boat, and the mood the gas dock attendant is in.

Rate for transient boats and/or smaller amounts--- $4.30 per gallon plus sales tax.
Rate for resident boats over 200 gallons and/or the dock attendant in a good mood--- $3.65 per gallon plus sales tax.

 

[ARoss]

So... you slip the guy a couple of $20's to "get him in the mood", and suddenly your 100 gallon fill-up goes down from $430 to $365? hmm... I wonder if the boss knows what's going on.

 

[Marin]

So... you slip the guy a couple of $20's to "get him in the mood", and suddenly your 100 gallon fill-up goes down from $430 to $365? hmm... I wonder if the boss knows what's going on.

No, it's not quite that blatant.

For example, we took on about 160 gallons yesterday. But when in talking to my wife while I filled the tanks we were filling the dockhand learned we had been in the marina almost 15 years and bought virtually all our fuel at the marina's fuel dock, he gave us the resident boat/200-gallon-plus rate of $3.65.

On the other hand, I've been told-- perhaps incorrectly--- that ALL transient/visiting boats get charged the full rate of (currently) $4.30 unless they buy a minimum of 1,000 gallons of fuel in which case they get the (current) $3.65 rate.

So where the dockhand seems to have flexibility is if a resident boat buys less than 200 gallons. It seems to depend solely on what the dockhand feels like doing at the time.

Unless the owner has an unpublicized policy of always charging residents the lowest rate no matter what. We have never paid anything other than the lowest rate no matter how much or how little fuel we bought.

 

[Nomad Willy]

I usually say OK good ... but to this I say NOT OK BAD!

That's disgusting. I haven't been in Bellingham Bay for a very long time but I know now I'll NOT be going there for fuel.

Sounds like something you'd expect in Mexico.

 

[Marin]

I usually say OK good ... but to this I say NOT OK BAD!

That's disgusting. I haven't been in Bellingham Bay for a very long time but I know now I'll NOT be going there for fuel.

Sounds like something you'd expect in Mexico.

So what's the big deal? According to the posters from SFO Bay it's pretty common for the fuel docks there to give a lower rate to marina tenants. This is exactly the same thing. And for non-residents who buy more than 1,000 gallons of fuel, they get the lower resident rate, too.

So it's a nice perk if you keep your boat in the marina and help prop up the local economy. And it's great for the yacht people who come in and buy more than 1,000 gallons worth of fuel. And it's great for the local fishing fleet although I think most of them buy their fuel off the truck which is even cheaper than the resident rate at the fuel dock although there's a pretty high minimum purchase. And it's also great because it helps keep some of the transient riff-raff out of the bay.

It's what we call a win-win-win-win.

Rather than whining about Bellingham you should be trying to get the La Conner fuel dealer (I assume there is one) to do the same thing if he doesn't already. Or buy your fuel from the tribe across the waterway. No sales tax (I think).

 

[Nomad Willy]

When I buy a some fuel I don't like pay'in for part of someone else's fuel.

And if you know anything about economics you know it's true.

And for perks at the marina it would be better if the marina just lowered the moorage rates and kept the "perks".

 

[Moonstruck]

Our marina has a 10 cents Boat/US or tenant discount, but you don't get both. Many East coast marinas offer Boat/US member discounts of 5 to 10 cents. I look for that to happen with Active Captain at sometime.

 

[jukesy]

Try buying fuel in Canada!

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

So what's the big deal? According to the posters from SFO Bay it's pretty common for the fuel docks there to give a lower rate to marina tenants. This is exactly the same thing. And for non-residents who buy more than 1,000 gallons of fuel, they get the lower resident rate, too.

So it's a nice perk if you keep your boat in the marina and help prop up the local economy. And it's great for the yacht people who come in and buy more than 1,000 gallons worth of fuel. And it's great for the local fishing fleet although I think most of them buy their fuel off the truck which is even cheaper than the resident rate at the fuel dock although there's a pretty high minimum purchase. And it's also great because it helps keep some of the transient riff-raff out of the bay.

It's what we call a win-win-win-win.

Rather than whining about Bellingham you should be trying to get the La Conner fuel dealer (I assume there is one) to do the same thing if he doesn't already. Or buy your fuel from the tribe across the waterway. No sales tax (I think).

What's wrong? It discrimination plain and simple and gouging. What would happen if your local gas station did the same thing? No this is not alright and it is wrong.

 

[Pineapple Girl]

The price differences I've seen in sf bay / delta for tenant vs non is five or ten cents. And not dependent on volume. Seems reasonable whereas this (Bellingham) does seem like gouging the transients.

 

[FlyWright]

...and that same $0.10 discount at Village West Marina is also extended to anyone with a Discover the Delta Card. I agree...not gouging.

 

[Nomad Willy]

If a product is worth $1.00 at a certain place, a certain time and under whatever other circumstances all should pay a dollar for it. If some are paying less for it and the business is still making good money guess whose getting cheated?
But if it's a private business they have a right to charge whatever they want.

 

[Pineapple Girl]

When's the last time a fuel check post got so much attention?

 

[Marin]

You guys are making a big deal out of something that happens all the time in all sorts of enterprises. There are thousands of examples where being a member of something gets you a discount over non-members. Being a "member" of Squalicum Marina gets you a discount over "non-members" on the cost of fuel. Boeing and Airbus give "volume discounts" to customers who buy more planes than other customers. Stores give discounts to buyers who use such-and-such a credit card. Airlines give discounts and/or upgrades to passengers with x-number of miles. The Ford dealer gave me a discount on our new pickup because I'd been a previous customer. The coffee stand we stop at when we drive north to Bellingham gives discounts to customers who have stopped there x-number of times.

It''s called incentive marketing. It's reality every time you turn around. Get over it.

 

[Nsail]

When in Benicia, our marina also gives a tenant discount.

Don't forget about the grocery stores, they do it too.

 

[Pineapple Girl]

Marin I think everyone is appaled that the fuel attendant arbitrarily gave you the discount because he felt like it, without you meeting the minimum purchase. And plus it is a HUGE DISCOUNT. Probably we are really all jealous we can't get the same kind of discount wherever we buy our fuel. Sure ten cents off is nice but DUDE you got 65 cents off!!!

 

[Nsail]

I'm not appalled, but I am jealous.

 

[Marin]

Marin I think everyone is appaled that the fuel attendant arbitrarily gave you the discount because he felt like it, without you meeting the minimum purchase. And plus it is a HUGE DISCOUNT. Probably we are really all jealous we can't get the same kind of discount wherever we buy our fuel. Sure ten cents off is nice but DUDE you got 65 cents off!!!

Appalling why, exactly? I realize it might not meet somebody's kumbyah, nicey-nice notion that everything on the planet should be equal-- it takes a village and all that silliness-- but that's not how life works. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. If the kid on the gas dock is able to give the lower price for a marina tenant who buys less than 200 gallons, who cares?

I suspect that any tenants who don't get the lower price when they buy less than 200 gallons simply don't ask for it. We always do, as do the other tenants we know, and all of us always get it.

It's pretty obvious the dockhands are doing this with the full knowledge of the owner. The price and amounts are recorded, they're on our copy of the receipt, and the owner can see exactly how much was sold to who and for what price.

So my guess is that even though for marina tenants there is supposed to be a 200 gallon minimum for the lowest price, any marina tenant can get it all the time no matter how much they buy if they ask for it. If they don't know enough to ask for it, well, more profit for the owner, which I don't view as being a Bad Thing at all.

But I don't pretend to know what the owner's rationale is for the way his dockhands interpret the rule and frankly, I don't care. We have always gotten the minimum rate, as have the other long-time tenants we know, and for us, that's all that matters. You take what life gives you. What other people pay or don't pay is not our concern.

 

[Pineapple Girl]

Lol just trying to find an explanation for all the chatter. Prob jealousy is the root cause.

 

[Moonstruck]

Take the guilt, Marin. It will be OK.

 

[Marin]

Lol just trying to find an explanation for all the chatter.

I don't get it either. Seems like making a mountain out of a molehill to me. And our discount doesn't seem that big to us. If they gave us buck or two off that would be worth writing home about. Sixty five cents seems barely worth the effort. Hell, there's a forty cents a gallon difference between the regular gas sold at the 76 station in our neighborhood and the Costco where we buy it.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Marin you've beaten so many dead horses you ought to be better at it. There's a time to fight and a time to just move on.

 

[Pineapple Girl]

Marin you've beaten so many dead horses you ought to be better at it. There's a time to fight and a time to just move on.

Yeah he's wasting his last few posts before he ticks over to 9999?????

 

[Marin]

Yeah he's wasting his last few posts before he ticks over to 9999?????

You got it.

 

[expat]

Any time I can get anything for less I take it, good for you Marin

 

[koliver]

Sounds like about the same discount the fuel barges in Coal Harbour (Vancouver) and in Nanaimo Harbour offer. I always tell them I will be spending at least $1000.00 and I always get the discount. In Lund and further up, there isn't a discount, but you need those guys to stay in business, so I don't begrudge them their higher prices.