A Shell gas station manager in Northern California was fired this week after he accidentally gave customers the deal of the year, setting the price for a gallon of gas at 69 cents.
John Szczecina, who worked at the Rancho Cordova gas station, shared with KFSN that he placed the decimal in the wrong spot while attempting to price the gas at $6.99 a gallon.
"I put all three prices on there, except the diesel. The last one kind of didn't go. So, I just took responsibility for it and said yeah, it's my fault," Szczecina told KFSN.
Now, losing his job is the least of his worries as the gas station reportedly lost upwards of $16,000 with hundreds of drivers filling their tanks.
While it was a pleasant surprise for drivers, Szczecina is worried the owners of the Shell might sue him for lost revenue. But to help pay back the money lost, he has set up a GoFundMe, according to KFSN.
Gas prices have been on the rise for the last year, but the issue was exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, pushing the cost for a gallon of gas to above $5 for the first time ever, AAA reported.
But prices in California are much higher than the rest of the nation, with drivers paying an average of $6.43 per gallon.
As the Americans continue to struggle at the pump, the President has sent a letter to seven U.S. oil companies calling for them to boost production and take "immediate action," CNN reported.
"At a time of war, refinery profit margins well above normal being passed directly onto American families are not acceptable," the President wrote. "There is no question that Vladimir Putin is principally responsible for the intense financial pain the American people and their families are bearing. But amid a war that has raised gasoline prices more than $1.70 per gallon, historically high refinery profit margins are worsening that pain."
Meanwhile, production seems to be returning to pre-pandemic levels for U.S. oil companies, as Patrick De Haan from GasBuddy shared on Twitter that domestic oil production has hit 12 million barrels daily.
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