How Many Managers?

(No Marathon gas station employees were harmed during the making of this rant.)

In February 2023, I stopped at a Marathon gas station in Mount Joy, PA to get gas. As I was paying, there was another customer named Donna who had also tried to get gas from a different pump with her credit card. She couldn’t get gas and the readout on her pump said, “See attendant.” Lenny, the attendant, asked me to let him know if I had any trouble getting gas since I was paying with cash. A minute later, I came back into the store to let him know that I could not get gas, nor could three other customers who were also attempting to do so. Lenny gave me my cash back, but I didn’t leave. I wanted to see what was going to happen to Donna. This was a woman who was about a year away from retirement from Lancaster General Hospital, and who also worked at Stauffer’s of Kissel Hill, which was only about two blocks away from the gas station.

Lenny was explaining that since Donna had paid with her credit card, he wasn’t authorized to give her cash back even though she did not have any more money and was very low on gas. He did offer to call his supervisor, Betty. Betty also explained that it was “their policy” not to give back cash when somebody pays by credit card. Lenny was nice enough to lend me his phone so that I could speak with Betty. I explained the situation from a customer’s perspective. I said that I had had the same problem, but Lenny instantly solved my problem because I paid cash. However, Donna was in a different predicament even though she went there to pre-pay for her gas with the credit card, “in good faith.” I understood that there was a problem, but the company had to be aware that customers should not be held responsible when the Marathon systems fail.

Betty agreed to get her manager, Carrie, on the phone to listen to the problem. She also stated that it was Marathon’s policy not to give back cash when someone pay by credit card. I explained to Carrie that the problem did not call for somebody to merely recite policy, but rather to step up and be a problem solver. Carrie said that she would call her higher up, the district supervisor, to see what could be done.

While this was going on, Lenny, Donna, and I went outside and repeatedly tried to get Donna some gas from different pumps, but it was all in vain. Meanwhile, Lenny had to put bags on all of the other gas nozzles to prevent additional customers from going through the same frustrations. He was very stressed out because he was about to finish his shift and Summer, his shift reliever, was still in training.

When he called Betty back, she said that they had checked with the district manager and there was nothing they could do to solve the problem. At that point, I asked for the phone, and I explained to Betty that, since four different levels of managers were unable to solve Donna’s $25 problem in under half an hour, that I would just give her the money, so that she can go and get gas and this problem would be solved. I also explained that I would be sharing this story with my blog readers.

I’m not here to embarrass companies. Lenny had no recourse because he had not been equipped, nor authorized, to solve a $25 problem for the customer right in front of him. Sadly, Betty was also not authorized to solve a $25 problem. As it turned out, neither was Carrie. I didn’t get the name of the district manager, but at that point, it wasn’t needed. The reason I share the story with you is to ask you this: How many managers does it take in your company to solve a $25 problem? The answer should be zero. All you need is one, problem-solving leader to step up and do the right thing.

I’m encouraging you to take a lesson from Marathon Gas — a multimillion dollar organization that has now been in business for more than 136 years: throw out your useless policies if they’re preventing you from taking care of your customers and make sure that you solve your customers problems to the customer’s satisfaction — not yours.



“What fools these mortals be." - William Shakespeare”

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This excerpt was taken from my The Fine Art of Pivoting seminar. I encourage you to register for The Fine Art of Pivoting seminar on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at Melhorn Manor in Mount Joy, PA from 9 AM to 12 noon Eastern standard Time. This event will also be available through live streaming.