Irritated business owners on the fuel crisis: ‘Slow handclap for the simpletons’
Retailers warned this morning the panic buying of fuel shows no sign of ending, despite ministers urging people not to do so.
Many gas stations across the UK continue to run dry, as long queues were again reported outside stations which were open.
An estimated 70 to 90 per cent of petrol stations are still without fuel as the country faces a heavy goods vehicle driver shortage which is affecting supply delivery.
City PM spoke to a number of small business owners to see what they make of the current situation: their views range from extreme anger to outright disbelief as the shortage of fuel leads to missed doctor’s appointments and lost business.
“As a supplier of key workers to social care settings, the unease is starting to set in. We have already had workers contact us today to say they don’t have the fuel to get them to work,” Louise Burns, director of Nineteen Recruitment, said today.
Her comments come as the government has been urged to give essential workers, such as NHS staff and teachers, priority access to fuel amid shortages.
“Panic buyers need to stop and consider how obstructive they are being to the key workers who take care of this country,” she said.
Panic buying is unnecessary, it’s selfish, and it’s putting so many key services at risk.
Louise Burns
Wendy Ward, who runs charity fund-raising specialists Let’s Save, shares that view: “It beggars belief that people are so swayed by media coverage and don’t use common sense and basic manners.”
“Why on earth would you fill your car up with petrol and jerry cans unless you are doing community work, working in emergency services or are a key worker? How selfish to take more than your fair share,” Ward told City PM
Meanwhile, the founder of craft beer marketplace Beers @ No. 42, also struggles to have respect for those going out to buy as much fuel as they can.
“Inconsiderate, selfish, greedy, the list goes on. As a business that has grown through being able to personally deliver to our local customers, I’m now faced with the challenge of not having enough fuel to get around, run my business and earn a living,” he shared.
Childcare and medical appointments
For many young families and parents, running out of fuel has caused a range of practical issues.
“This whole situation is an absolute joke. I am lucky enough to work from home but my son’s childcare is not within walking distance and I can’t work if he is home with me,” said an angry Dee Featherstone, founder of The Little Sensory Box.”
She told City PM: “Yesterday, I had to get fuel as I needed to take my son to a medical appointment. Six fuel stations later while running on fumes, we managed to find one that was open.”
“My husband hasn’t been able to find diesel and his job requires him to drive around the UK. The world has gone mad.”
‘Can you really blame them?’
Kate Allen, owner of luxury holiday lettings specialist Salcombe Fines, does have some understanding for those who go out and panic buy.
“Slow handclap for the simpletons. But can you really blame them when the headlines have whipped them up into a frenetic mass of petrol heads fighting over the pumps?”
“FOMO is a very powerful emotion, and this has been one of nature’s finest displays,” Allen shared with City PM
“We have guests worried they won’t be able to drive down to their holiday in Devon, let alone make it back up the M5 via M&S for a restorative ham and mustard sandwich. They just might have to resort to the horrors of public transport where weak tea is served up hotter than the sun,” she noted.
Lost business
For Amy Baker, owner of Halo Beauty and Holistic Therapy, the lack of fuel has had significant financial implications.
“I have had a number of customers cancel at the last minute due to not having any petrol or diesel. Others are stuck in traffic queues because people are blocking roads waiting to get into petrol stations, and are therefore missing their appointments,” Baker said.
In fact, “5-minute journeys for mobile appointments have taken 45 minutes to an hour to get to because the roads are blocked. This is the last thing that any business that is struggling to bounce back after Covid closures needs.”
More businesses have been impacted, as a number of employees have not been able to make it into work, stressed Sarah Loates, who runs Loates HR Consultancy.
“We have seen a sharp increase in staff advising their employers they can’t get to work, as they have no fuel. Ultimately it’s the employee’s responsibility to get to their place of work,” she said.
“That said, employers should be pragmatic and, where possible, flexible. Once the hysteria has died down hopefully we can all get back to business,” sighed Loates.