BP Gas Stations in the United States Attract Negative Reaction From Consumers

It now appears that Americans are not quite ready to forget about the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Unfortunately for staff working at BP petrol stations around the United States, it would seem that American consumers are taking it out on them and anything that is bearing the BP logo.

The very distinctive green sunflower logos that are on petrol pumps and signs around the United States are under attack. The British petrol company finds themselves under attack from consumers that wish to distance themselves from the company. This is causing the British company to, not only lose business, but also receive a lot of vandalism.

Right now BP stations across the United States are losing business to other petrol stations from other nations. 12,000 BP branded service stations on American highways have reported falls in business between 10 and 20 percent since the oil spill.

One consumer group in the United States, Public Citizen, is calling for a 3-month consumer boycott to all BP products. BP logs have been smeared with mud all over New York. One BP petrol station located in Mississippi has even had gunshots fired through its windows in the middle of the night. These gun fires were a sign of protest and no robbery took place.

The sad part is that more than 90 percent of the BP service stations in the United States are independently owned but are tied to a long term deal to sell BP fuel only. BP built up its extensive United States retail network when it bought Standard Oil of Ohio in 1987 and then merged with Amoco in 1998. American police are doing what they can to keep the protest violence free but cannot stop the protest due to the freedom of speech.