Gas Station Manager Fired After Accidentally Setting Price At 69 Cents A Gallon

The misplaced decimal point reportedly cost the California gas station $16,000 after hundreds of drivers filled up.
LOADINGERROR LOADING

The manager of a Northern California gas station was fired Monday after he mistakenly set the gas price to 69 cents a gallon instead of $6.99.

John Szczecina, who was manager of a Shell gas station in Rancho Cordova, east of Sacramento, said he accidentally put the decimal point in the wrong spot last week, according to local news reports.

“I put all three prices on there, except the diesel. The last one kind of didn’t go. So I just took responsibility for it and said, yeah, it’s my fault,” Szczecina told KGO-TV in San Francisco.

Hundreds of drivers ended up getting cheap gas for several hours before the error was discovered, costing the gas station $16,000, according to KGO-TV.

California drivers on average are paying $6.43 a gallon now.

Szczecina’s family has started a GoFundMe campaign to help repay the lost revenue. According to the online fundraiser, the family is concerned they’ll be sued by the station owners. It had raised nearly $3,500 as of Tuesday night.

Gasoline prices have been surging since April 2020, when the initial shock of the pandemic drove prices below $1.80 a gallon. Prices hit $3 in May 2021 and soared past $4 this March. This month, the nationwide average for a gallon surpassed $5 for the first time ever, as Americans face the highest rate of inflation in 40 years.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot