Saturday, June 12th, 2010
Since April 20, and especially over the last few weeks as the drama from the oil spill has escalated, I have heard several people talking about boycotting BP. I haven’t bought BP gasoline since the oil spill, either. With that, I’ve also heard several people pointing out that boycotting BP hurts small business owners more than BP itself. This, too, is true.
The unfortunate truth is that most BP gas stations are owned by a local businessman, and over half of individuals that own gas stations only own one, making it their primary — if not only — source of income. Because they use BP gasoline, though, they only take a few cents for every gallon sold. Those local businessmen rely on the sales from inside the store — the candy, cokes, coffee, bottled waters and those late-night runs for a gallon of milk — much more than they do the gasoline.
I’m more than happy to support those local businessmen. But I refuse to support BP. Their handling of this situation has been unacceptable in every way, in my opinion, whether I’m speaking professionally from a PR standpoint or ethically as a person who just generally cares about the environment and all the damage being done to it. I’ll still buy anything from inside the stores. I may even intentionally go to BP stations for that just to support the innocent individuals affected by the oil spill merely through association. But I will not buy their gasoline.
I think what ultimately frustrates me are Tony Hayward’s quotes: “No one wants this thing over more than I do; I’d like my life back” and “There’s other places besides Louisiana to get shrimp.” Believe it or not, Mr. BP CEO, there are people hurting here worse than you.
I don’t claim to be an economical expert in any way, so I openly admit there’s a good chance I could be way off in this assessment. From the limited knowledge and little research I’ve done, this is the opinion I’ve developed. I’d love to hear your thoughts, especially if I’m wrong.
By the way, if you’re not following @BPGlobalPR on Twitter, you should. A comical way to relieve frustration at the situation while supporting a healthy Gulf Coast and making fun of BP’s C-suites.
Tags: bp, bp pr, gulf coast, oil spill, pr
Posted in Public Relations | No Comments »