what is a good way to get in touch with the owner of a business

[zixxer]

I was pumping gas and the gas pump hose sprung a leak, soaking me with gas. I was wearing a 3 week old $200 jacket... that can't be cleaned off...

The problem is the attendants are screwing around with me. they "don't know where the owner is" and gave me a disconnected number. The gas station has a shell sign out front, but when i google the address it shows up as an "amoco".

Where should I go from here?


http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/se7enty7/hose.jpg

 

[sao123]

Your states environmental protection bureau

 

[scorpmatt]

that blows. amoco is probably the company that owns the station. I'd contact the police on the matter, thats overly dangerous

 

[zixxer]

Originally posted by: scorpmatt
that blows. amoco is probably the company that owns the station. I'd contact the police on the matter, thats overly dangerous

they now have the pump turned off and a cover on it..

 

[Bryophyte]

What's the address of the place?

 

[zixxer]

Originally posted by: Bryophyte
What's the address of the place?

sending a pm.

 

[wbresson]

Can't be cleaned ? Did a dry cleaner tell you that or are you assuming ?

 

[zixxer]

Originally posted by: wbresson
Can't be cleaned ? Did a dry cleaner tell you that or are you assuming ?

there is a tag inside that says "do not dry clean" only hand wash

I tried 'rinsing' it with water... but it still smells funny

 

[kranky]

The attendant who said he doesn't know where the owner is might be the owner.

You can look around the pumps and the front door for a "Call in case of emergency" sticker. Sometimes they have the owner's phone number.

Or you can do some social engineering. Call the station, say you are a reporter from ____ paper, and are doing a story on how small independent station owners are coping with the increasing gas prices. Ask to speak to the owner.

 

[zixxer]

Originally posted by: kranky
The attendant who said he doesn't know where the owner is might be the owner.

You can look around the pumps and the front door for a "Call in case of emergency" sticker. Sometimes they have the owner's phone number.

Or you can do some social engineering. Call the station, say you are a reporter from ____ paper, and are doing a story on how small independent station owners are coping with the increasing gas prices. Ask to speak to the owner.

i dont think he's the owner.. possible.. but unlikely.

i didn't see any 'call in a case of emergency' stickers though

 

[Sphexi]

1. Call Shell. Likely it's a franchised location, but all the same they have to abide by certain Shell regulations to be able to use the name. It's possible that Shell owns the land and the building and the "owner" of the place is paying them rent on it, and doing repair work there. Shell would know who the owner is, and would be very interested to know about this situation.

2. Call the station again, tell them to give you the owner's name/phone number, and let them know that this is the last chance they have to do so properly, but don't bother threatening them. Just let them know that they won't have another shot, and if they don't come through then get ahold of your state's attorney general's office and talk to them. These guys are blatently lying to you, they know who pays them, they just don't care. They had an obvious safety hazard there, and they ruined your jacket, and now they're simply avoiding dealing with it. The AG can help with this if they aren't willing to own up.

3. If all else fails, contact a local lawyer, many will listen to you for free and determine if it's worth them helping you. If it is, they can deal with the station for replacement of your jacket as well as their own fees. I stress that this is a LAST option only, you got pictures of the hose which is good, and I'd recommend getting pictures of the jacket and/or a dry-cleaners estimate on it, or at least something from them saying it's un-cleanable. That way even if this takes a month or two to clear up, you have evidence down the line. Get a picture of the pump covered up as well, and keep track of how long it took them to do that and all of your communications with the station.

 

[shud]

Set fire to station. Wait patiently.

 

[zixxer]

To Whom It May Concern;

Last night at approximately 9:30 I was refueling my motorcycle. After about 3 gallons of gas the hose sprung a leak, spraying gas onto my motorcycle, pants, shoes, and brand new $200 motorcycle jacket. The gas station attendant gave me a phone number of the owner, which was disconnected. I stopped by today at 2PM and was told by the same attendant (Shane) that the owner is out of town, will not be back for at least a couple months, and that I should forget about trying to get my jacket cleaned or replaced.

I then went to a dry cleaners, who told me that my jacket cannot be dry cleaned, and that there is no feasible way to get the oils from the gas out of my jacket. I have no way of contacting the owner of the shell station. It is located at:

xxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxx,xx


At this point I am not sure what to do. I am not concerned in the least about my dress shirt, pants, shoes, or the cleaning of my bike. However, I wear an armored jacket in the case of an accident; for protection. It is now destroyed at direct fault of whomever should be maintaining these pumps. If you could put me in touch with the owner if this station it would be much appreciated. You will find attached pictures of the damaged hose, pump, and pump number.



Thank You

first name, last name

 

[irwincur]

Just call the State EPA (or whatever it is called). All businesses also have publicly available records - a DBA (doing business as) should be filed with the city or county. Furthermore, it is most likely a corporation that has public records at the city or county.

It is really not hard to find these things out. However, I would probably get the police involved since the workers are being less than forthcoming about the situation. That or go to small claims court and simply drop a supoena off at the station and let them deal with it as they want. Either way I am sure that you will get your chance to find out who the owner is.

 

[Sphexi]

Originally posted by: armatron
To Whom It May Concern;

Last night at approximately 9:30 I was refueling my motorcycle. After about 3 gallons of gas the hose sprung a leak, spraying gas onto my motorcycle, pants, shoes, and brand new $200 motorcycle jacket. The gas station attendant gave me a phone number of the owner, which was disconnected. I stopped by today at 2PM and was told by the same attendant (Shane) that the owner is out of town, will not be back for at least a couple months, and that I should forget about trying to get my jacket cleaned or replaced.

I then went to a dry cleaners, who told me that my jacket cannot be dry cleaned, and that there is no feasible way to get the oils from the gas out of my jacket. I have no way of contacting the owner of the shell station. It is located at:

xxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxx,xx


At this point I am not sure what to do. I am not concerned in the least about my dress shirt, pants, shoes, or the cleaning of my bike. However, I wear an armored jacket in the case of an accident; for protection. It is now destroyed at direct fault of whomever should be maintaining these pumps. If you could put me in touch with the owner if this station it would be much appreciated. You will find attached pictures of the damaged hose, pump, and pump number.



Thank You

first name, last name

:thumbsup:

 

[lokiju]

Almost all gas stations are all owned by 2 or 3 major companies so it saying Amoco makes sense.

Just call them or call 800 555-1212 and ask for the corporate number to Shell.

 

[desk]

that hose actually looks like its pretty new, im surprised it failed.

 

[backinsac]

Document everything and try small claims court.

 

[Bryophyte]

Ask for your shoes, dress shirt, jacket, and pants to be professionally cleaned or replaced. Concede that your bike was cleaned right away by you by necessity and you will not charge him for it. You can use the shoes, dress shirt, pants as bargaining tools later when he starts to dicker with you about how much to pay you.

 

[Bryophyte]

I couldn't find any more information than you did, but because he's applied for permits with the city, you should be able to go to the city hall and get his information from them.

 

[everman]

If you got a lawyer on this, you could probably get them not only for the ruined clothes, but also the fact that spraying gas all over you was their fault (failure to maintain equipment) and could have resulted in a fire. It is a very dangerous situation and should not be taken lightly.
Get as much documentation as possible, all employee names etc, the picture is a good start.

 

[Bryophyte]

Your "to whom it may concern" letter will probably be ignored. Get his information and send a letter with signature confirmation, with copies to Shell/Amoco (note the "cc" at the bottom of the letter.)

 

[zixxer]

Originally posted by: Bryophyte
Your "to whom it may concern" letter will probably be ignored. Get his information and send a letter with signature confirmation, with copies to Shell/Amoco (note the "cc" at the bottom of the letter.)

I just got off the phone with a CSR from shell... she seemed VERY concerned (guess that's her job?) and opened a claim case. we'll see what happens.