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Retailers this morning warned the panic on fuel purchases is unending, despite ministers telling people not to.

Many gas stations across the UK continue to run dry as long queues at open gas stations have again been reported.

An estimated 70 to 90 percent of gas stations are still without fuel as the country faces a truck driver shortage affecting delivery.

City AM spoke to a number of small business owners to learn what they think of the current situation: Their views range from extreme anger to utter disbelief as the lack of fuel leads to missed doctor appointments and lost businesses.

“As a supplier of key workers for social institutions, the discomfort begins. We already had people contacting us today to say they didn’t have the fuel to get them to work, ”Louise Burns, director of Nineteen Recruiting, said today.

Your comments come as the government has been urged to give priority access to fuel to key workers such as NHS staff and teachers in the event of shortages.

“Panic buyers need to pause and consider how obstructive they are to the key workers who take care of this country, ”she said.

Panic buying is unnecessary, selfish, and jeopardizes so many important services.

Louise Burns

Wendy Ward, who heads charity fundraising specialist Let’s Save, shares this view: “It is incredible that people are so influenced by media coverage and not using common sense and simple manners.”

“Why in the world would you fill your car with gasoline and canisters if you weren’t doing community service, working in an ambulance service, or being a key worker?” How selfish it is to take more than your fair share, ”Ward City told AM

Meanwhile, the founder of the craft beer marketplace Beers @ No. 42 also about showing respect for those who buy as much fuel as possible.

“Ruthless, selfish, greedy, the list goes on. As a company that has grown with the ability to personally deliver to our local customers, I now face the challenge of not having enough fuel to get around, run my business and make a living, ”he said.

Child care and doctor’s appointments

For many young families and parents, the lack of fuel has created a number of practical problems.

“This whole situation is an absolute joke. I’m lucky enough to be able to work from home, but my son’s childcare facility is not within walking distance and I can’t work with him at home, ”said an angry Dee Featherstone, founder of The Little Sensory Box .

She told City AM, “I had to get fuel yesterday because I had to take my son to a doctor’s appointment. Six gas stations later, while we were running on smoke, we found one that was open. “

“My husband couldn’t find a diesel and his job requires him to drive around the UK. The world has gone mad. “

‘Can you really blame them?’

Kate Allen, owner of luxury vacation rental specialist Salcombe Fines, understands those who go out and panic buying.

“Slow clap for the simpleton. But can you really blame them when the headlines whipped them into a frantic mass of petrol heads fighting for the pumps? “

“FOMO is a very strong emotion and this was one of the most beautiful depictions of nature,” shared Allen City AM. with

“We have guests who fear that they will not be able to go on vacation to Devon, let alone drive back the M5 via M&S for a fortifying ham and mustard sandwich. You may just have to resort to the horrors of public transport, where weak tea is served hotter than the sun, ”she noted.

Lost business

For Amy Baker, owner of Halo Beauty and Holistic Therapy, the fuel shortage had a significant financial impact.

“I’ve had some customers who canceled at the last minute because they ran out of gasoline or diesel. Others are stuck in traffic jams because people block roads to get to gas stations and miss their appointments, ”Baker said.

In fact, “5-minute journeys for mobile appointments took 45 minutes to an hour because the streets are closed. This is the last thing any company struggling to recover after the Covid shutdown needs. “

Other companies are affected because a number of employees did not manage to start their work, emphasized Sarah Loates, who heads Loates’ HR consultancy.

“We have seen a surge in employees telling their employers that they cannot come to work because they have no fuel. Ultimately, it is the employee’s responsibility to get to their workplace, ”she said.

“However, employers should be pragmatic and, if possible, flexible. Hopefully we can all get back to business once the hysteria subsides, ”Loates sighed.