Buc-ee's sounds pretty lame
Re "Buc-ee s supersized stores aren't all that and a bag of jerky," July 31: I very much appreciate Blake Fontenay's column about Buc-ee's.
As background, I grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., where my dad owned six gas stations from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s.
They had attendants to fill tanks and make change, as only U.S. cash was accepted and customers from Canada had to have greenbacks. He offered nothing to see inside, and there was nothing to buy but gas and oil. They were by far the cheapest stations to buy gas for miles around, and they frequently had lines out to the street on weekends.
My dad located the stores in run-down areas of the urban core near the Peace Bridge,
with low building rents so he could keep his expenses down and attract Canadians, who were ripped off by their government and its high gas taxes.
There was a restroom, but it was not the cleanest. However, that did not matter to customers who were coming to save money. He spent nothing on advertising, and most people learned about the location through word of mouth, as there was no social media then. He did get some free TV and newspaper coverage because people were interested in learning about a new location.
When I now fill up my tank, I am looking for:
- Low gas prices
- Close proximity
- Short lines.
From what you have shared about Buc-ee's long wait times, and since you did not mention it having cheap gas, I am extremely unlikely to ever stop at a Buc-ee's unless I am running on fumes or have a check engine light on.
I have no interest in what they sell inside their stores.
Typically, I shop at my nearby Kroger to get gas discounts and combine my fill-up with my weekly shopping trip.
Brian Frank, Cincinnati
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: I am not going to Buc-ee's unless I'm running on fumes | Letter
