An Inapt Promotion

On the way home from work this evening, I was debating whether to stop for gas or not. Unlike many people, whether I thought I could get a "good price" was irrelevant to my decision.

(Have you ever noticed that men, even young guys, will compare notes on the price of gas at different times or stations - "hey, you can get it for 1.79 at the Super Fill on Random St" (2c cheaper per gallon than at the station someone else is talking about) - when they wouldn't even think about their spending on other stuff, even when, e.g. going across the street could save them $1 on a bottle of shampoo? There's a weird kind of macho onesupmanship surrounding gas prices.)

I am completely habitual about fueling my car; at any given time, I have a single gas station, conveniently located on my drive from work to home, that I use under basically every circumstance. So much so that if I stop somewhere else, you are sure to read about it on this blog. In any event, I was down to 1/4 tank, which is where I like to refill. But it was so warm this afternoon (it was 85 degrees in my apartment when I got home), and I was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and feeling generally like I didn't want to bother. At the last minute, though, I decided to stop at my Shell station. When you start fueling at Shell, it activates an audio recording to attempt to entice you into the station. Today's recording went basically like this:

"...Since the 1550s, the Spanish have loved to drink some-Spanish-word, which we know as hot chocolate. But you don't need to book a flight to Spain. We have hot chocolate right inside!"

You know, somehow, sitting in 80+ degree weather, hot chocolate is just not quite the thing that tempts me. (They would have had much better luck pushing a 64-ounce ice cold soft drink.) Maybe this would sell in February in Boston or Denver (or Amsterdam), but this isn't the hot cocoa season in Texas (which is arguably shorter than the Texas mule deer hunting season). You'd think Shell's marketing team would have come up with appropriate seasonal messages for the various regions of the country. Note to Shell: get a clue.