Gas pump psychology

I’m fascinated by the intersection of economics and psychology.  And I’m also a little scared by it.  For instance, I’m beginning to think the gasoline companies are out to get me.

I’m looking for a little support here.  Has anyone noticed that gas pumps are pumping gas more slowly than they used to?  It’s taking longer and longer for me to fill the same sized tank compared to 5 years ago.  And it’s also costing a lot more money.

My theory here is that gasoline companies, just like cigarette companies, do market research.  When the dimes on the gas pump go by in a blur just like the pennies used to do, consumers psychologically feel like they’re pouring too much money into their tank.  Remember, these are the same corporate marketers that realized long ago that $1.19 and 9/10ths is psychologically cheaper per gallon than $1.20.

So, they’ve slowed the pumps down a bit.  Not so much as to make the guy behind you, waiting to pump away, wait so long that he’ll try another vendor.  But long enough to make sure that you’re getting the best possible experience as they separate you from your money.  Not so different from Las Vegas, where they’ve engineered everything from the lighting (permanent dusk) to the smell (what my friends call “stripper vanilla”) to induce you to give up your coinage.

The struggle with proving this is timing data.  Pumps change speeds at your local station as the underground tank changes its fill ratio.  Also, how many people were measuring their gasoline pump speed 4 years ago?  Maybe there is someone reading this on the inside of this mess.  Someone that can shed some light.  Someone not afraid to blow the whistle on this whole thing, even in the face of the recent weakening of whistleblower protections.  This is the Joe Camel cigarette ad scandal of the gasoline world.  Or at least, another one for the petroleum industry, after the tax rebates and record breakthroughs as the most profitable corporations in the history of U.S. corporations (ExxonMobil, 2005).

After very little searching, I found a little bit of data.  I learned, for example, that Gilbarco, a manufacturer of fuel pumps, have retail pumps that are capable of pumping from 0.5 gallons per minute to 30 gallons per minute.  I learned that the vapor capture systems on one of their pumps had to perform appropriately within the range of 6 to 10 gallons per minute.  This latter range is more likely the range that most consumers experience.  So there is definitely range and ability in current pumps to reduce pump speed.

As a side note, I also discovered that the spec for pump accuracy is plus or minus 0.5%.  This means that my new habit of spending $50 for a 12 gallon tank of gas can be off by 25 cents, or about 2 cents per gallon.  I paid precisely $3.49 9/10ths for a gallon of gas this morning — pricing that is 18 times more accurate than their ability to dispense.

So here’s the plan.  For those of you in New Jersey, you probaby try to get within 1 to 2 feet of the pump to make it easy on your full service attendant to pump gas while you wait safely and warmly in your car.  To return the favor of your full service inaccurate pumps, next time just make sure you are within 1 to 18 feet.

Outside of New Jersey?  Don’t fret.  Help me out by timing how fast it takes you to fill your tank, the size of your tank, and how much you paid.  Is the trendline going to vary as the prices change?  We’ll see.