Joan Mayans, president of the service stations association in the Balearics, says that a boom in unattended petrol stations is killing the traditional garage and placing petrol pump attendants in danger of extinction.
It is not possible to compete with stations that do not have employees or only have one for some hours of the day. He says that profits of those that provide a service to their customers have fallen on average between 20% and 30%.
Current figures indicate that there are 210 service stations in the Balearics - 180 are traditional and 30 unattended. "They already represent 16% of the market and their expansion is unstoppable. As an example, two unattended ones are soon going to open near my petrol station."
Savings at an unattended station are between five and ten euros for a full tank. Mayans adds: "We cannot lower our prices any further. For a small station we need at least four workers: one for the morning shift, another for the afternoon shift, another to cover days off and another to cover holidays. On average, the cost per employee is 25,000 euros per year. How many litres of fuel do we have to sell to pay for it?"
As it is, the profit margins are very small. "For example, if we sell a litre of petrol for 1.61 euros, we get between 10 and 12 cents. We can earn more by selling a bottle of water." For this reason, many stations are offering other services - cafeteria, shop, laundry, for instance.
The alternative to diversifying the range of services is laying off staff. "This is much to our regret, because we believe in attended service. But if sales continue to decline, we will have to lay off staff. We will do everything possible before closing, but if the figures continue to not add up, we will have no choice but to close down for good."