RSSSales take a hit at some BP stations in wake of Gulf oil spill
Manager at McLean station says sales down 25 percent at their location since spill
Millions of gallons of crude oil continue to surface in the Gulf of Mexico. But despite national public outcry about BP's inability to stifle its leak, not every consumer in Northern Virginia is placing blame for the oil spill on the company's franchise gas stations.
"Business has only dropped off about 15 percent," said Kye Lee, manager of the Tysons BP, 8217 Leesburg Pike, Vienna. "A lot of people have come in here asking me that very question -- whether business has dropped -- but we haven't gotten a lot of negative feedback, for the most part."
BP's franchises are not directly connected with the parent company, said Trudy Cubbage, manager of a BP station in Purcellville.
Cubbage and Maria Henriquez, manager of a BP in Sterling, both said the spill has not adversely affected their business because customers understand the spill is not their fault.
"Regular customers have made comments or asked us if it has affected us, and it hasn't," Cubbage said.
Henriquez said her customers understand the station's relationship with BP is limited -- a franchise's relationship with BP is exclusive to the purchase of the gasoline. BP has no say in the franchise's operations and vice versa.
"It's only the name," Henriquez said.
But Simon Kim, manager of the McLean BP at Chain Bridge Road, said he has experienced a little backlash.
"I had one customer who came in here and pointed their finger at me, saying they were never going to use BP gasoline ever again," Kim said.
Kim added that since the spill, business has dropped about 25 percent at his station.
Boycotts and anger about the estimated 2 million barrels of oil that have gushed into the gulf have affected BP stations across the country.
A protest in front of a Washington, D.C., station in June called for a swift cleanup of the oil and stricter industry regulation, while a group called Boycott BP on Facebook has about 785,000 fans.
Sales at BP stations in all parts of the country have dropped, said John Townsend, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, as customers angry about the environmental disaster look for someone on whom to take out their frustrations.
"What you're seeing locally is happening nationally," Townsend said. "Dealers are the ones paying the price."
Bill Holtzman, president of Holtzman Oil Corp. and Holtzman Propane, has some strong feelings about BP himself, but he said he knows it is not the fault of the franchisees.
Holtzman purchases BP's gasoline wholesale to supply 65 gas stations he owns in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland, including 16 BP stations.
He said that of all the gasoline companies he deals with, he dislikes BP's business practices the most. He declined to give specifics.
"I understand that people are irked with BP, because I am as well," he said. "But the guy who's running the BP station? He can't help it."
Staff Writers Gregg MacDonald and Nathan Carrick contributed to this report.