If your lemons are crushed, then sell lemonade. This is the essence of being a merchant.

If you have highpriced gasoline, then sell it with enthusiastic pride. Gasoline powers the family automobile and moves working people and products around our communities. Our quality of life needs fuel, and gasoline is a terrific fuel. Gasoline is better today than it has ever been. Ninety-nine percent of the tailpipe pollutants in 1970s gasoline are not present in today’s formulation. A gallon of gasoline burns cleaner and helps our cars to be continuously more
efficient. As gasoline merchants, we can be proud of the fuel we are selling and the commitment by the petroleum business to keep åmaking it better.

Now gasoline retails for more than $2 per gallon. Crude oil has reached another record high and retail gasoline prices are at record highs in many markets. During the 12 months ending April 2004, the price of crude oil rose 20 percent. That’s a pretty hefty one-year increase in the cost of our raw material. And, as it turns out, that was just the beginning. The price of crude oil has increased another 50 percent in the 12 months ending April 2005.

As gasoline marketers, we are well-versed in the economic and geopolitical factors that drive the price of crude oil. We are also acutely aware that these factors are completely beyond our control. Higher prices means a lot of bad things to a fuel marketer — and first among them is that our customers become agitated and more demanding.

What can you do? Sometimes all you can do is listen and genuinel empathize with a customer who is upset with rising fuel costs. You can offer suggestions for smarter buying, such as taking advantage of specials and discounts. Acknowledging that your customers have a choice, and communicating the benefits of choosing your fuel is more important than ever when prices are climbing. We need to be worth more when we charge more. Being positive — and selling what you have — is an opportunity for great retailers in a price-sensitive environment.

The first rule of being positive is to avoid the temptation to be negative. It is a fine line between
explaining and blaming and we do not show gasoline — our product — in the best light when blaming. We could blame the government for not permitting a new refinery in 30 years. We could blame the refiners for not finding cheaper ways to make quality fuels. We could blame OPEC and Chinese economic growth for pushing crude oil prices to new heights. But we won’t.

We can make our gasoline worth more by providing a buying environment that is friendly and accommodating. With higher prices, our buyers have rising expectations and our winning smile may not have the same wilting effect as it does when the price is low. That means we need
to turn it up a notch, with more smiles and bigger smiles per gallon. A “sort-of clean” store may not be clean enough when the price is high. That means we need to sharpen our squeegees and use them to show that we are worth every penny.

The best retailers will thrive during times of rising prices. That is because world-class retailers are
up to the challenge and capable of meeting rising expectations. It’s a new day. That’s good news for retailers who are learning and adapting to today’s market.