Drilling the Molehill for Some Oil

Letter from my alter ego to the Editor of The Star, posted on 24th June 2008 but to date, remains unpublished:

It did get published! Here is the link until it gets removed. And am upset they didn't use my nama samaran!

Dear Editor,

I think PDAM (Petrol Dealers' Association of Malaysia) is making a mountain out of a molehill. Frankly, my first reaction upon reading the SMS alert and then the full reports on The Star Online was “oh dear, another one jumping on the crude oil bandwagon.” Disclaimer: I do not work for a credit card company. Therefore, I stand to gain nothing commercially from supporting the continued use of credit cards at the petrol pump. I am, however, a reluctant credit card user because I use it sparingly except when it comes to filling up at a petrol kiosk.

I use my credit card exclusively at petrol stations because it allows me the convenience of filling up with the least amount of hassle. It saves me an additional trip to the ATM to withdraw cash for the transaction. Which truncates the added danger of losing greater amounts of money should I be mugged (because no one can be too careful in today’s society, can they?). A credit card transaction also makes it transparent and accountable on which all details are automatically recorded and printed. It also makes it easier to reference in case of a dispute. Now, in this day and age of wonderful technology, why would PDAM want to go back to the techno-stone age? For a couple of sen?

Let’s also not forget that credit cards encourage greater spending (which explains my reluctance as a user) at the pump and at the convenience stores that have become ubiquitous at stations. Doesn’t this translate to higher consumer spend at PDAM outlets? Not to mention the convenience of filling a full tank as opposed to being limited to the amount of cash that one has at that point in time. Credit cards now have a built in convenience of loyalty programmes which drives customers back to certain brands petrol only, ensuring repeated and continued patronage.

And it can’t be that just because petrol prices have gone up, that their profit margins are disproportionately affected? I might be wrong on this but I can’t imagine their margins being so absurdly illogical or they might as well just give up the business, right? After all, who can afford to live on fresh air and sunshine these days?

It doesn’t take a genius to conclude this; the propensity of a credit card user to spend more at any petrol station is higher than a cash-only user. And credit card companies are trying to find yet other ways to drive consumers to buy more petrol on plastic. I would imagine that among those who will benefit greatly from all these efforts are the retailers who sell the petrol to these hungry consumers. Surely, that additional 0.8 sen per liter that they must now bear is a small price to sacrifice?

My two-sen worth.

J Lo