Fuel Station Loyalty Has Entered Review
A cheaper fuel station has been chosen twice. The route to it is less convenient. An investigation has been opened.
Meeting Minutes: Fuel Station Loyalty Review Committee Internal Proceedings, July 2022
Present: The household member responsible for refuelling. One phone displaying the current per-litre rate at two competing stations. A memory of what the rate was before.
Item 1: Background
The subject chose a slightly cheaper fuel station even when the route to it is less convenient. This was not announced in advance. It was noticed upon return, when the subject mentioned the price.
The price was noted by another household member.
The first deviation from the usual station was noted. The route added four minutes. The per-litre saving was thirty paise. No one considered whether the thirty paise justified the four minutes.
Item 2: Recurrence
The following week the subject chose the cheaper station again. The route added four minutes again. The saving was this time twenty-five paise, owing to a small rate adjustment that neither station had publicised. The subject knew the rate had adjusted because the subject had checked.
At this point the subject had checked the per-litre rate at three stations using two apps and a browser tab before departing for a routine errand. The errand had been groceries. The fuel stop had been unplanned when the day began.
Item 3: Classification
The committee has determined that fuel station loyalty of a particular kind has now entered the household record. It is not loyalty to a station. It is loyalty to the principle that a reference price exists, is retrievable, and must be consulted before any deviation from it can be financially certified.
The investigation is active. The purchase is ordinary.
The Governing Rule
Every remembered old price remains legally active as a comparison point until the buyer stops mentioning it. The buyer has not stopped mentioning it. The previous price therefore remains in evidence.
Consequences
After the second incident, a household member began checking the rate before asking the subject whether they needed to refuel. This was done quietly. The subject noticed and confirmed the rate independently anyway.
Other household decisions have begun to acquire reference prices. The last time the cooking gas cylinder cost a specific amount is known with precision. The precision is not being used for anything. It is being maintained.
Eventually fuel station loyalty acquired an unwritten enforcement system that everyone denies creating. The committee acknowledges this without further comment.
Status
Both stations remain in use. The cheaper one is preferred when the route permits. The route is considered more permissive each time the price difference widens.
The investigation remains open. The subject is not concerned about this.
Next Meeting
When the rate changes again.