BP Oil Spill Updates

The EPA has launched a website to track the BP oil spill http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/

I wish they would launch a website to track all of the trash not being picked up around BP's AMPM store here in south Seattle, but I guess that is asking too much?

Bloomberg is also reporting that "BP’s Response to Oil Spill Lacking, Officials Say". I got a good laugh out of that one. BP must have an entire department dedicated to avoiding responsibility, it will be interesting to watch them squirm out of this one.

New Landscaping and Old Trash

There have been very few good things that I could say about the AM/PM convenience store on MLK for the years and years that I have been tracking the trash problems at this store. But I have to admit that they kind of did a good thing recently by cleaning up and landscaping a small section of the land around their store. Now a thin strip of their property has risen to the same level as the other stores in the AM/PM chain and I'm happy to see this small improvement.

However if you look directly across the sidewalk to the parking strip it is still absolutely packed full of garbage. Do they not know that they are responsible for the upkeep of this area? Or do they just not care?

Of course the large pile of cement still sits in their alley and there has been no improvements to 85% of their greenspace. It still sits next to the store as a chained off empty lot full of garbage but I'm happy that they are finally taking some small steps to improvement.

Problem Properties Ordinance

The city council is considering passing an ordinance to give police further powers in policing 'problem properties' such as AM/PM, I hope it passes and gives police more powers to clean up this property.


a quote from the story "That's huge for Erin Ehlinger, whose brother was killed in 2005 in a motel on Aurora Avenue North. "There's very simple things owners can do to make their place not a magnet for a bunch of criminal activity," she said. "The (existing law) is too fuzzy and didn't specify these kinds of activities."

Still Trashy, after all this year

If you look closely at my post from October 1st, 2008 you can see where somebody dumped a tv on top of some cement on AM/Pm's property. The reason that people dump things like cement and TV's is that it costs money to take them to the dump. Cement weighs a lot so it is particularly expensive to throw away.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because it has been over a year now that the cement has been sitting behind the AM/PM and nobody from the store has yet bothered to pick it up. What a terrible member of the community this store is. It is hard to imagine that a national chain would continue to allow a store to operate like this.

Parking Strip Maintenance

I just found the Seattle municipal code pertaining to parking strip maintenance, I'm posting it here because AM/PM is CONSTANTLY in violation of this law by simply not picking up the trash that accumulates around their store.

The Seattle Municipal Code (SMC)
10.52.030 requires the adjacent property
owner or tenant to maintain the vegetation
that impacts the sidewalk and planting strip
area immediately adjacent to their property.

BP Consumer Relations Service Request Acknowledgement

I got another letter from BP, here it is with my response


BP WRITES TO ME! Wed, 01 Jul 2009

> Dear Joel,
>
>
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> Thank you for taking the time to email us. We are always pleased to hear from our valued customers. We apologize for the problem you have encountered at the ARCO station located in Seattle, WA. Providing quality fuels and customer service is very important to BP. The event you described occurred at an independently owned and operated ARCO station. We have forwarded your concerns to the station owner and have requested they respond directly to you regarding your experience. We have also notified a BP field representative to review your comments. Please allow at least 3-5 business days for a representative to follow-up with you directly.
>
>
>
> Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact BP Arco Consumer Relations at 1-800-333-3991.
>
>
>
> Once again, thank you for your recent email. We hope we have been of service to you.
>
>
>
> Thank you for your business.
>
>
>
>
>
> BP/ARCO">BP/ARCO Consumer Relations | USA
>
> Phone: 800-333-3991
>
> FAX: 630-300-5253

From me...July 3rd, 2009

Dear BP,

Thank you for your reply concerning the mounds of trash piling up at your Arco AM/PM station at 5620 Martin Luther King Way South.

I really don't care who comes over from your company to pick up the trash, but if you don't pick it up soon and start picking it up regularly that I will have no choice to turn you over to the DPD for failing to maintain your property. Your lot is an eyesore and a detriments to the whole neighborhood.

I think it's great that you think this is the responsibility of the 'independently owned and operated ARCO station.' however when I look up the parcel data for this lot it is clearly owned by BP WEST COAST PRODUCTS LLC 6 CENTERPOINTE DR LA PALMA CA 90623. Guess what?!? That means that the maintenance of the property is the responsibility of your company despite your seemingly inept business structure which attempts to put the responsibility on an obviously uncaring franchise owner.

If you continue to operate this way it either means that you are terribly un-knowledgeable or you must think that I am stupid? Either way I hope that your company takes the initiative to PLEASE PICK UP YOUR PROPERTY!

-JOEL

Thanks

Thanks to the Columbia Citizens Wiki for the link. It's good to know that people in the neighborhood keep up with this issue.

E-Mail Exchange with BP

photo of large pile of trash piled behind behind Columbia City AMPM just the other day!

3/12/09 (letter from me to BP)

Dear BP,

I have a problem with an Arco AM/PM gas station in my neighborhood and I only recently discovered that BP is actually the parent company for Arco so I thought that I would bring this matter to your attention directly. My problem is trash, lots and lots of trash being dumped and left on the Arco property in my neighborhood and Arco not taking the time to pick it up. This has become such a problem that I actually keep a blog about it, which you can visit here.

http://ampmsucks.blogspot.com/

I have never gotten anywhere by writing anyone in your company with any of my concerns, and I don't expect this notice to get any results either, but I thought that I should continue to try as I realized I have been tracking the problems at this particular station for almost 4 years now, but you are welcome to read all about that in my blog.

Sincerely yours,

4/08/09

(almost a month later, trash still has not been picked up at the site.)

Dear BP Customer Service,

It has been several weeks since I sent you this email detailing trash problems at your store and I have not heard back from you. I'm just curious if any headway has been made on this issue.

04/09 (A letter from BP!!!)

Thank you for taking the time to send us an email recently. We are always pleased to hear from our valued customers. We have located this station and we apologize for the problem that you encountered at the BP/Arco station in Seattle, WA. However this is an Independently Owned Station and we have forwarded your concerns to Upper Management over the station for proper handling and also requested for a follow up call to you regarding this matter. Please allow 3-5 business days for a follow up call from Upper Management not including weekends. Once again thank you for your recent email, and we hope we have been of service to you. Thank you for your business.

(they never called, trash still on site)

4/30/09 (from me to BP, nearly a month and a half after trash reported)

Thanks for your email on April 9th letting me know that someone from Upper Management will be contacting me in 3-5 business days to discuss this situation. It is now April 30th and I still have not heard from anyone. Are you sure that somebody is going to contact me?
thank you,

5/4/09 (almost 2 months since trash reported)

FROM BP TO ME

We apologize if you have not been contacted. We have notified the BP Field Representative for this station and advised that this is your 3^nd request for a follow-up. They will request that the independent owner follow-up with you directly at their earliest convenience.

We appreciate your patience with this matter and apologize for the delayed response.

(I was never contacted by BP management or an independent owner)

5/27/09

FROM ME to BP(nearly two months since trash reported, some clean up has happened but trash pictured above still on site)

Thank you so much for your email. I just went by the store and I was impressed to see that the noxious weeds and 'lawn' had been mowed. I was amazed to see that most of the trash had actually been picked up except for a large pile of concrete and some barbed wire and some traffic cones it was looking pretty good. I was even more impressed that they threw their trash in the dumpster this time rather than dumping it on the neighboring property.

I'm curious if this was a one time clean up or if your company is going to start holding the franchise owner to the same standards as your other stores?

thank you,

P.S. you misspelled 'Acknowledgement' in the subject line of this email, if that is being auto-generated you might want to make sure and fix that.

June 9, 2009

Some trash still on site several months after being reported to BP they still have not contacted me saying when this will be taken care of or if there is going to be any regular maintenance on this site. BP is trying to spin this as being the responsibility of the franchise owner HOWEVER BP is actually the owner of the property and it is therefor ultimatley their responsibility.

another abandon car

I just reported another stolen vehicle that was dumped on the side of the AMPM Arco station on MLK. This is a HUGE problem in my neighborhood and I'm really bummed that Arco is not taking steps just to report stolen cars being dumped on the side of their property. As a matter of fact they are encouraging this by allowing the weeds to grow so tall that it gives cover to potential car problems. I let it sit for a few weeks this time hoping that I could just get in touch with someone from their company and get them to report it, but their customer service department won't respond to my messages. A sad day for my neighborhood.

shots fired

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattle911/archives/160306.asp

no surprise, shots fired outside of Arco am/pm the other day.

still waiting

same trash behind the store still has not been picked up in a month.

trashy trasherson

No surprise, more trash. It's been lying around the store for awhile. Just in case you cant make out the photo, thats a television and in the other photo is a shopping cart and lots of trash bags and random piles of crap. Why is Arco and AM/PM such bad neighbors? Why won't they ever pick up their property? I would be so embarrassed if I worked for his company.

Trash Trash Trash part two

One more photo of all the trash collecting at the AMPM

arco the bad neighbor

I realize as I post these that it must seem like I am making this all up, there is no way that a company can keep doing business while having such complete disregard for the community, right? Another cell phone photo of the trash currently on the side of the building, maybe this is their attempt at landscaping?