Ever since the April 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, the oil spill situation has gotten significantly worse in the Gulf of Mexico. Disastrous. People are angry, and rightfully so.
As a result many individuals are taking action because two months later the situation is still out of control with no end in sight.
The solution they've developed has emerged in the form of a boycott against BP.
This Boycott BP campaign has materialized and continues to expand each passing day. It includes everyday motorists, celebrities and their gas consuming tour busses and even a Boycott BP Facebook page. The Facebook page, as of June 20, 2010, has almost 673,000 fans and steadily rising.
Instead of filling up at the tank of their local BP station, consumers across the United States are joining together in agreement to pass these stations by and patronize other gas stations and convenience shops instead. Others are arranging protests and arriving with picket signs in front of their local BP stations.
While on the surface a boycott of BP sounds like a great idea since the company screwed up in a big way, and refusing to spend money to help bulk up BP's financial coffers sends a pretty direct and strong message. But is it the right one?
A problem with this is that boycotting local BP may not necessarily hurt the oil giant. Unfortunately what could happen is many small business owners instead would be the ones being hurt by the boycott.
While it is true some of these franchisees must purchase BP gas according to their contract, apparently this is not the case across the board and in some instances BP branded stations allegedly purchase their gas through third party sellers, or it could be the gas purchasing portion of a contract may have expired if the owner has been in business a long time.
In addition many other gas stations not carrying the BP name on their operations do purchase their fuel from BP. So in essence unless all gas stations are boycotted, no one has any true idea what oil corporation the gas they are purchasing originated from. The Consumerist states "Your corner BP station is mainly just a brand, a licensed franchise owned by a local businessman. The fuel that comes out of the pumps might have been bought from a totally different company. Only right before it gets put on the truck for delivery is the special BP sauce, additives, added."
According to WISH-TV 24 Hour News 8 in Indiana, "BP doesn't actually own any of the 11,000 stations across the country. All of them are independently owned franchises", and "even if you avoid a BP station when filling up, you still may be getting gas that originated from a BP well. Oil is a globally traded commodity. Experts say there is no easy way to tell where the gas you're buying is coming from. So, if you're pumping gas at non-BP station, you still may be getting their product".
Are boycotts perhaps missing their target? These independent franchisers whose personal livelihood is tied to the success or failure to their gas stations are losing their source of revenue as more people boycott the company.
In an economy that is on the heels of a major rough spot, unemployment is still up and many people struggling to get by financially, just how effective is boycotting the thousands of small businesses carrying the BP name? Especially considering the fact that small businesses are considered the backbone of any economy. Is boycotting independent entrepreneurs really going to help solve the multitude of problems stemming from the disastrous oil spill?
As part of buying into a franchise, franchisees are legally bound to contracts and are stuck to the agreement; so boycotting the stations aren't necessarily going to change a thing. And real people could get hurt that aren't hiding behind the corporate mask of a large company.
If these small businesses go out of commission, not only do owners lose their livelihood, but their employees too. This can have a ripple effect through local communities by changing the dynamics of competition, not to mention local businesses often support their communities through localized efforts and financial backing; this would all be lost when a local business goes under.
Essentially in the long term BP will likely be impacted by a lack of consumer support, confidence and overall tarnished reputation through the boycotts, which perhaps might hurt their company's bottom line, but for the short term, it is the small business that could very well end up paying the price. Is the crime of the parent corporation the fault of the franchisees?
In the end BP should and will have to recompense, they've paid out millions and should continue to pay, however is it fair to take the little guy down too? Small business owners aren’t at fault for what happened, yet with the way the political climate is going, some of these small businesses could take a serious hit, perhaps one too difficult to recover from.
This horrific oil spill has had so many casualties already, should small businesses be added to the list?
BP should not be let off the hook. Not by a long shot, however perhaps the bigger picture should be considered before boycotting small businesses who are in no way at fault for the oil spill disaster. All they were doing was living the American dream through owning their own business. Most of their profits come through their convenience stores and when consumers boycott the gas, chances are they boycotting the stores too.
Instead perhaps a better boycott would be to challenge purchasing gas at all. Strive for alternatives. That would send the ultimate message to BP and other oil companies who routinely pollute the environment daily. BP, like Exxon and most other corporations, will get through this eventually, but the small business harmed in the crossfire may not be so lucky.
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