Carpet Store Feeling the Heat Over Gasoline Prices
Binghamton, NY, Sept. 2--Phillip Casiuk, owner and operator of Southern Tier Carpet and Upholstery in Port Dickinson, hasn't heard from some of his regular customers in more than a year. And he said there's a single culprit to blame: gas prices, according to the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.
Casiuk's carpet-cleaning machine operates from a truck-mounted unit that runs as his car runs -- more than two hours per cleaning. He was forced to raise his rates when gas hit $2 a gallon, and he said he'd be forced to raise it again if prices remain over $3 a gallon. His customers, trying to save money for gas, don't set up a yearly appointment. They wait 18 months -- or don't set one at all.
Call it the "trickle-down effect" -- a dilemma that business owners and consumers are facing as gasoline prices hit record nominal highs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's assault on the oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.
Food prices will likely increase as fuel charges are added to distributors' bills. Taxicab companies in downtown Binghamton raised their fares. The owner of a traveling petting zoo will cut workers' wages to make ends meet.
And business owners are feeling the brunt of it, personally and professionally.
"This," Casiuk sighed, "is really killing me."
