Customers of a DeKalb County Shell station Thursday morning were excited to find out that the station had dropped prices -- to zero.
They were so excited, in fact, that the mob of motorists lining up for the free gas caused a major traffic jam at the corner of North Decatur Road and DeKalb Industrial Way.
The price on the signboard read 000, as vehicles backed up in every direction, awaiting their turn to pull in for a freebie. Blue lights from a police cruiser lit up the morning, with officers steering traffic into the station. It made for a hectic morning, the police whistles shrieking and cars honking.
The station was one of five Shell stations across the country giving away gas on Thursday, a company spokesman said.
“We’re excited to be offering this promotion for the customers in tough economic times,” Shell spokesman Ed Martin told the AJC.
Martin said he expected between 300 and 500 cars to come through the station during the promotion, which runs from 7 to 8:30 a.m. Each customer during those 90 minutes will receive up to 15 gallons of gas.
The company held gas giveaways in five other cities prior to Thursday.
“The customers have been very appreciative,” Martin said.
Martin can add DeKalb resident Larris Boston to his list of happy customers.
“I got here this morning about 5:50,” Boston said.
“A girlfriend told me about the Shell station near me having free gas,” Boston said. “When I got down here, I was number one in line. I'm extremely excited about the free gas.”
The promotion might have backfired, though, at least in the minds of some of those caught in the gridlock of bargain-seeking motorists.
"I was one of the unfortunate people stuck in traffic this morning because of the gas giveaway," Sean Egan told the AJC in an e-mail.
"It took me more than an hour to drop my daughter off at the Montessori at Emory school," Egan said. "I'm so angry about it that I will never buy gas or anything else from that or any other Shell station."
Metro Atlanta’s average price for a gallon of regular unleaded early Thursday was $3.29, 7 cents higher than a week ago but 21 cents lower than this time a month ago.
A year ago, however, Atlantans were paying an average of just $2.66 a gallon, according to atlantagasprices.com, a website that tracks fuel prices.
The cheapest gas reported by the website early Thursday – aside from the Shell station’s gas giveaway – was $3.06 at numerous stations in Conyers and Covington as well as at the Costco in Kennesaw. That was also the lowest price statewide.
The highest price reported was $3.69 at several stations in downtown and Midtown Atlanta.
AJC staff writer Ty Tagami contributed to this article.
About the Author
