 Of all our satisfied customers, there probably
is none more vocal than our loyal propane gas consumers. They
have a right
to voice their opinion, and so we will let them and let you
read them in our customer comment section. You can even write
in and have your comment on this section. We hear everything
from “I was able to pay for my entire Christmas because
I switched to Dixie” to “The way your guys work
during emergencies like Isabel and ice storms with their quick
response time gives me a peace of mind that can’t be
bought”. With that being the jest of our two most popular
comments, we’ll explain just how we provide the best
service for the lowest possible price.
A. Location – We are located within 10 minutes of
the Yorktown refinery. This refinery supplies propane up
and down
the entire east coast. Once again by buying direct, this
eliminates middlemen and transportation cost, and the savings
is passed
on. Location helps on the service also because we are centrally
located on the peninsula and are locally owned and operated,
we always have someone on call to meet any emergency needs
that may arise.
B. Delivery Schedules – While the location savings is
self explanatory, the savings of delivery schedules is slightly
more complex. The trick is to pump as many gallons as possible
at each stop. This reduces the overhead on each gallon, and
therefore reduces total price. For simplification purposes
let’s make up a hypothetical situation. Let’s say
that propane cost the dealer $1.00 per gallon. For simplification
purposes let’s ignore all other costs like truck expense,
insurance, diesel, office expense, and all overhead. But let’s
say the driver makes $15.00 per hour. Let’s also
assume that a particular customer takes 1 hour delivery
time from
start to finish. Now if this particular customer was to
need 1 gallon of propane, then the company would have to
charge
$16.00 per gallon to break even (cost = 1.00 per gallon
+ $15.00 labor) However, if that customer took 100 gallons
of propane,
the total cost would be $115.00. This would make the break
even price per gallon (115/100) $1.15. Therefore, we route
our customers to maximize volume and reduce prices. We
do this with scheduled deliveries as well as those on call.
We work
a different section of the peninsula once every ten business
days.
At the end, we start over when the weather calls
for it. In the heart of winter it is a constant cycle
and our heating
customers are filled once every two weeks or once a month.
On call customers are slightly different. Usually firelog
gas users, the on call customers use different amounts
so we want
to eliminate unnecessary fills to keep costs down. These
customers call in when 1 tank is empty of when a large
tank gets down
to 20%. When they call in we put them on the route with
everyone else in their neighborhood. Therefore, they
will get gas within
a timeframe that will keep them from running out, and
still keep their cost down!
We also offer complete piping services for propane or natural
gas appliances such as firelogs. Our expert staff members can
assist you with any gas needs or questions you may have.
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