The Benefits Of On-Site Fueling

Picture this, you are a business owner with a small fleet of trucks and some other fuel-powered equipment. For years, you’ve just been having your team fill up at the station “down the road.” One day, you find yourself talking to a Crystal Flash sales rep who suggests on-site tanks, so you ask yourself, “What do I do?”

It’s very easy to look at on-site fuel from a value/benefits perspective, the basic math is as follows:

(Drive time to station + Time spent fueling truck + Time spent getting snacks + Time spent chatting with the cashiers) * (hourly rate of employees) = Costs to go to the pump

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Plugging in some actual numbers can help make this more “real”:

5-minute drive time to station + 4 minutes to fuel up + 4 minutes to grab snacks/coffee + 3 minutes checking out and chatting = 16 minutes * $50/hr. (driver & passenger @ $25/hr. each) = $13.33 per trip to the station

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A 16-minute stop at the gas station seems like a relatively minor occurrence, and $13.33 doesn’t seem like much of an expense to continue running things per usual, right? Besides, the employees are used to filling up trucks and grabbing snacks at the gas station. However, these $13.33 stops can really add up quickly.

If this truck averages three trips a week, 50 weeks a year, that $13.33 is now $2,000. Another way to look at that $2,000 is picturing that each employee who stops at a gas station costs the company $1,000 on an annual basis. Two employees are not so bad, but if a company has five employees, 10 employees, or maybe 20 employees, the “snack break” line item is now getting expensive.

Admittedly, there are offsets to consider. No matter what, somebody is getting paid to fuel the truck, and the gas station may even be on the way to the jobsite. Even if drive- and fill-time are dismissed, snacks and chatting still costs the company $437/year per employee.

Business owners should rarely base decisions solely on value/benefit lists. It is important to understand other factors, because they are part of a larger picture — opportunity for growth, and greater controls/methods for running a smarter business.

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When Crystal Flash works with companies to bring on-site tanks to a location, it is not a crockpot situation, i.e., we don’t just “set it and forget it.” Not only do we use double-walled tanks, quality pumps and meet all state safety guidelines, but we maintain, repair and update the tanks and pumps as needed.

Partnering with Crystal Flash for on-site fueling services also offers the following benefits:

• The opportunity for fuel tracking by vehicle/piece of equipment
• High speed pumps where necessary
• Always (and only) Premium Diesel
• Separate tanks available for off-road diesel, to avoid unnecessary taxes
• Smaller, separate tanks available for Rec Gas, to maximize the life of small motors
• The opportunity to contract your annual gallons, with no money down or upfront costs

On-site tanks are not always the way to go, but when considering the question, “Should I have on-site fueling?”, it is important to understand that the answer runs deeper than, “What’s the delivered price today?” Call the employee-owners of Crystal Flash today at 800.875.4851 to learn more about on-site fueling options and The Crystal Flash Difference!