Independent Gas Station In Battle To Stay In Business
by Judy Frank
posted August 21, 2007
Traveling on I-75, near Chattanooga?
Then stop off at Ooltewah – exit 11 – and visit a real dinosaur: an independently-owned gas station.
The reward? A tank full of what may very well be the cheapest gas seen anywhere on your trip.
Plus spanking clean windshields, thanks to Steve Ray’s Midnite Oil’s policy of always having soapy water and hand towels available for motorists who want to use them.
And, finally, if your car doesn’t seem to be riding just right, folks at the service station will be happy to check the pressure in your tires and make sure it’s what it needs to be.
The family can also stop by the coffee shop for some quick refreshments and – if it’s not a rush trip – take a look at the selection of golf carts available for rent or purchase.
It’s all part of Steve Ray’s continuing battle to operate a profitable business, despite the constant and sometimes cutthroat competition he faces from Racetrack, Murphy Oil, BP and the other gas stations that line the same street where his station is located.
“We’ve been here 25 years,” he says, “and we intend to be here another 25 . . . The difference between us and the big oil companies is that we want your business. They just want your money.”
Ooltewah has always been a highly competitive market for gas stations, Mr. Ray said, and that means being able to match or better the gasoline prices offered by the competition.
That fact of life was behind his decision two years ago to leave Chevron – with whom he had been doing business for years – and become an independent dealer. Not long afterwards, a representative of Benton Oil came to see him.
“He told me about Midnite Oil, which is designed for small independent dealers,” Mr. Ray said. “It was perfect for us.”
He’s faced numerous challenges over the years from other stations, including a stiff one from Murphy Oil which opened a station near the new Ooltewah Wal-Mart this summer and began selling gas for about 20 cents a gallon less than the going price in the Chattanooga market.
Consequently, he figured this summer might be tough, he said.
“But Murphy Oil has not hurt us,” he said. “Since they opened, our gallons (sold) are up 20 percent.”
Part of the reason for his success has been the incredible loyalty of his customers in and around Ooltewah, he said. “This community has been very, very supportive of me. They can buy gas anywhere they want to, but they keep coming here.”
But he has also been able to draw in many new customers, he said. Part of the reason, he said, may be that people drawn off the interstate spot his station and decide to give it a try.
“And then they like what they see, so they keep coming back,” he said.
His low gas prices are a key part of his strategy for running a successful, competitive business – not a form of charity, Mr. Ray explained.
“I’m all for making money,” he said. “If I looked down the street now and saw that Racetrack had raised its price five cents a gallon, I’d go out and raise my price, too. I’m not a price-gouger, but I’m not Mother Teresa, either. I do what I do for the money, to support my family.”
Which points up another important difference between his business and the other gas stations nearby, he said. “If you buy your gas here at our station, your money will wind up buying groceries at the BI-LO down the street or other things we need from the stores right here in our community,” he said.
”The people who own these other stations don’t live here in Ooltewah. You buy from one of them, and that same night your money will be on its way to corporate headquarters.”
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Steve Ray
Photograph by Wesley Schultz
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