Patty Anderson knows almost every customer who comes to the Tobacco House gas station in Dunbar.

She's looked at pictures of their kids, discussed their legal problems and learned their favorite brands of cigarettes. Anderson, the manager, has also empathized with their struggles to pay rising gas prices. After all, the Fairlawn Avenue gas station has plenty of its own fuel cost woes.

"We can't win for losing. The small guys don't have a chance," Anderson said Thursday.

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Chip Ellis

Patty Anderson manages the Tobacco House gas station and convenience store in Dunbar. The station’s old pumps stop at $3.99, which means $600 upgrades for each pump when gas prices pass $4.

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"We used to keep our gas prices lower than anybody, just to get the business, but we can't do that now. We can't compete," Anderson said. "We are a community. We love them and they love us and they keep coming back."

She said the upgrades are a steep price to pay on top of the record gas costs. Oil prices hit a record high $135 a barrel this week, a $10 rise from just a week ago.

Every dollar increase per barrel registers as a 2- to 3-cent increase at the pumps.

But that doesn't mean more profits for gas stations, according to Jan Vineyard, director of the West Virginia Oil Marketers and Grocers Association, the state organization for gas stations and convenience stores.

"I can promise you that almost nobody is more unhappy about the price of gas than we are. We're providing a service and we absolutely hate it for our customers," she said.

Vineyard said she has received several calls in the last week about stations in the state that are closing because they can't keep up with the costs from shrinking profit margins and interest when more customers pay with credit cards.

"I would miss them in the neighborhood and I hate to say it, but life is going to have to go on. Everybody's hurting," said Michael Leonard, a regular customer at the Tobacco House.

Patty Anderson knows almost every customer who comes to the Tobacco House gas station in Dunbar.

She's looked at pictures of their kids, discussed their legal problems and learned their favorite brands of cigarettes. Anderson, the manager, has also empathized with their struggles to pay rising gas prices. After all, the Fairlawn Avenue gas station has plenty of its own fuel cost woes.

"We can't win for losing. The small guys don't have a chance," Anderson said Thursday.

The Tobacco House's six pumps are running out of time as the prices rise to $4 per gallon. Anderson's analog pumps stop at $3.99, and an upgrade to digital pumps would cost the station hundreds of dollars for each pump.

"We used to keep our gas prices lower than anybody, just to get the business, but we can't do that now. We can't compete," Anderson said. "We are a community. We love them and they love us and they keep coming back."

She said the upgrades are a steep price to pay on top of the record gas costs. Oil prices hit a record high $135 a barrel this week, a $10 rise from just a week ago.

Every dollar increase per barrel registers as a 2- to 3-cent increase at the pumps.

But that doesn't mean more profits for gas stations, according to Jan Vineyard, director of the West Virginia Oil Marketers and Grocers Association, the state organization for gas stations and convenience stores.

"I can promise you that almost nobody is more unhappy about the price of gas than we are. We're providing a service and we absolutely hate it for our customers," she said.

Vineyard said she has received several calls in the last week about stations in the state that are closing because they can't keep up with the costs from shrinking profit margins and interest when more customers pay with credit cards.

"I would miss them in the neighborhood and I hate to say it, but life is going to have to go on. Everybody's hurting," said Michael Leonard, a regular customer at the Tobacco House.

Nationally, the markup at gas stations is about 7 cents per gallon, according to the Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing. In West Virginia, the markup is about 12 cents per gallon, which is close to what retailers pay in expenses.

"For small retailers, it's harder for them to eat the cost," Vineyard said.

The state is trying to give older gas stations a break, said John Junkins, director of weights and measures for the West Virginia Division of Labor.

West Virginia follows the handbook regulations under the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which standardize the practice of selling gas only by the gallon across most states. However, the state division is now allowing stations to sell gas by the half gallon until they can purchase and install the new computer systems in their pumps.

"Our biggest concern is protecting the consumer, but at the same time we want to work with the business and not create unnecessary hardships," he said.

Junkins said between 100 and 150 gas stations in the state need to obtain the new equipment before they can crank the prices to $4. Stations will pay about $600 a pump plus labor to be running again, Junkins said.

Gas stations aren't only hurting because of taxes, high costs and upgrades. Anderson said escalating drive-offs forced the station to require customers to prepay about six weeks ago. The drive-offs have stopped, but Anderson had to explain the change to her regular customer so they would not be insulted.

Anderson said the station would have to consider its options when the prices finally do pass $4. For now, the station has plenty of customers buying gas and stopping to chat, especially because the Tobacco House's gas price is 4 cents cheaper than nearby stations.

"We've got a steady flow all day, and I can barely go five minutes without selling," Anderson said. "Right now we just don't know what else we can do."

To contact staff reporter Kellen Henry, use e-mail or call 348-5179.