Fuel situation in your area

Martin Phillp · Sun 26 Sep, 2021 19.40

Diesel in my local Esso on Saturday, nothing today, but the Tesco Express operated as part of Esso Alliance is open as usual.

WillPS · Sun 26 Sep, 2021 20.25

I filled up on my way to Blackpool last week and I still have a third to a half left in the tank, and I'm not planning to do more than a run to Derby this week so there's no need for me to fill up. My expectation (/hope) is that by the time I need to normal service will be restored, unlike loo roll and hand soap there is only so much fuel anybody can buy needlessly without purchasing a huge number of jerry cans.

I really do despair at how stupid and selfish those who don't need to fill up are being.

bilky asko · Mon 27 Sep, 2021 01.07

I saw a rather large queue earlier at a local petrol station, but funnily enough no queue at the (perennially) expensive petrol station that's a good 9 or 10p more per litre than the rest of the local ones.

cwathen · Mon 27 Sep, 2021 10.53

I would have thought this will burn itself out as the panic buyers will eventually get their cars filled and then that'll be it. Coincidentally I had brimmed the tank last week anyway for a trip I didn't end up making, so I still have plenty left in the car. However I'm moving house on Thursday and will need diesel for the hire van. Hoping some level of normality has been resumed by then.

The ultra-locality of some of these problems is interesting. Had a drive down the M5 this morning and Michaelwood services had no fuel at all, whilst 20 miles down the road Gordano not only had fuel, but there was also no queue and I could have driven straight onto the forecourt if I needed to.

BBI45 · Mon 27 Sep, 2021 13.16

Absolutely nothing to be found in my town (aside from drivers who ignore cones, and a very angry Esso worker).

Pete · Mon 27 Sep, 2021 13.34

I topped my tank up (it was just under half full) at Tesco yesterday. Got straight to a pump without queuing although I've often thought Dundonians are a hard to panic people... the toilet roll lasted a lot longer here originally.

Asda however was coned off and the totem was disabled so no prices were showing. So it might be that Tesco's supplier is fine but Asda's isn't, hence the competition law talk today.

rdobbie · Tue 28 Sep, 2021 03.25

Not since the early days of COVID have I seen so many emergency signs/notices created at individual store level on A4 paper in Calibri font (a terrible font for signs because it's too thin to be read from a distance).

It wasn't great when these A4 notices were stuck to shop doors saying "use hand sanitiser", but when they're sellotaped to plastic traffic cones at a petrol station entrance with the words "diesel only", they're very hard for motorists to read until they get really close.

Just look at the bottom photo posted by BBI45 above. The important information is almost invisible, yet the message about the 55p loaf of bread is well conveyed.

I'd like to see supermarkets in the future having large format (A2 size or above) laser printers to make ad hoc signage, or for managers to be supplied with thick marker pens and big massive sheets of cardboard.

scottishtv · Tue 28 Sep, 2021 14.30

rdobbie wrote: Tue 28 Sep, 2021 03.25I'd like to see supermarkets in the future having large format (A2 size or above) laser printers to make ad hoc signage, or for managers to be supplied with thick marker pens and big massive sheets of cardboard.

A simple in-between option in terms of cost/professional appearance would be for the big chains (supermarkets/oil companies) to get their POS suppliers to issue a couple of each of "Sorry, no fuel", "Sorry, no petrol", "Sorry, no diesel", "Sorry, we're closed" to each site to keep in a store room. Should cover most eventualities and would last for years. That said, they'd probably get lost/chucked out somewhere along the way.

Of course you never know you need this stuff until you do. Sainsbury's clearly reacted to the lockdown panic-buying by giving stores a bunch of cardboard props to place on empty shelves. Unfortunately the text reads "Please bear with us, we're experiencing high demand". However, the gaps now are mostly not down to high demand so it starts to look like you're lying to your customers.

BBI45 · Tue 28 Sep, 2021 18.25

Just seen that Boris is encouraging us to fill up as we normally would.

How can we fill up normally when all the local petrol stations are either closed, or rammed full of cars that haven't been able to get fuel for the past few days?

thegeek · Tue 28 Sep, 2021 21.44

scottishtv wrote: Tue 28 Sep, 2021 14.30 A simple in-between option in terms of cost/professional appearance would be for the big chains (supermarkets/oil companies) to get their POS suppliers to issue a couple of each of "Sorry, no fuel", "Sorry, no petrol", "Sorry, no diesel", "Sorry, we're closed" to each site to keep in a store room. Should cover most eventualities and would last for years. That said, they'd probably get lost/chucked out somewhere along the way.

Maybe the company that does those 'Store Closing' signs could do some?

bilky asko · Tue 28 Sep, 2021 21.52

I notice my local petrol station has some plastic covers saying "Sorry, No Petrol / Diesel" (as appropriate), with one of them BP branded despite never being a BP station.