Bob Burtman

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2000

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Paying the Price

Major gas companies are driving away independent station operators, all in the name of greed

By Bob Burtman
Oct 26, 2000

Coming off the graveyard shift at his Mobil station in Scottsdale, Tom Van Boven looks the way he feels. Van Boven would prefer not to work 16 hours a day, but he had to lay off half his help last Christmas to make ends meet. Business is still slow, though,...
Name-Calling at the Pump

Where have all the lessee dealers gone?

By Bob Burtman
Oct 26, 2000

Getting into the gas business used to be a simple proposition. A prospective dealer would hook up with a brand, go to training school, buy out another dealer or maybe even be given a vacant station by the company, and start pumping. Most were lessee dealers, who rented stations from...
Eating Up the Competition

The five largest oil companies doing business in Phoenix sell more than 90 percent of the gas in town

By Bob Burtman
Oct 26, 2000

In the 1980s, Phoenix motorists had plenty of choices when it was time to fill up the tank. ARCO, Union 76, Mobil and the other giants were around, but so were such discounters as Circle K, U-Totem and Pasco. In 1981, the six biggest oil companies in Phoenix had only...

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