69 Cent Gas? Accidental Price Error Got This Gas Station Manager Fired

A gas station in Northern California was selling gas at a significant bargain, but the consequences of the discount got the manager of the store fired.

A Shell gas station in Rancho Cordova, California, had accidentally set its gas prices to 69 cents for a gallon for premium, a giant mistake in a state where the average gas price is well over $6 a gallon, according to KFSN, an ABC affiliate out of Fresno.

As of Wednesday, the average gas price in California was $6.435 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), with some stations in the state reportedly selling gas at prices near $10 a gallon.

The manager of the Shell station, John Szczecina, told KFSN that he mistakenly placed the decimal in the wrong spot and the gas price should have been $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,” he said.

Szczecina was fired for the mistake, which cost the gas station approximately $16,000 as hundreds of drivers topped off their tanks at the super discounted gas rate, the news outlet said.

But it may not be the end of Szczecina worries. He told KFSN that he’s concerned that the gas station may sue for the lost revenue, adding that his family has started a GoFundMe to help repay the losses from the pricing error.

Gas prices across the U.S. have surged in recent months amid growing demand during peak summer travel season, inflation, and the Russian-Ukraine war.

Americans have felt the pinch at the pump as gas prices reach record prices and just keep rising with no end in sight as experts predict a national average of $6 a gallon prices by the summer’s end.

Wednesday marked another record national average high for the price of gas as it reached $5.015 per gallon, according to the AAA.