Why pay more for gas?

On the way to work this morning, I stopped to get gas for my wife’s car.

You:  You should have just waited until you were in her car. It’s much easier and safer to get gas that way.

Thanks, Einstein.  I was driving my wife’s car this morning.

You: And she gave it to you with almost no gas? Ah – I hate that.

Actually, it had a quarter-tank left, but I figured I could help out a little bit.

You: How big of you.

Look, I’m not bragging. Anyway, as I was filling the tank, I noticed the gas station across the street.

You: Cute girls on that side?

I don’t know.

You: So, yes, then?

No, I really don’t know.  It was too far to see that well.

You: Sure it was.

You’re in quite a mood today.

You:  Got to work off this turkey.

So what I actually noticed was the price of gas – nearly 10 cents more per gallon than where I was standing.

You: So you got lucky by choosing the station you went to.

Not really – I knew it was always cheaper, but it had been a while since I actually thought about it.  But then, I noticed all the people paying the higher price across the street.

You: Why do people do that?

I don’t know. Personally, I won’t drive across town to save a couple of cents per gallon, but when two stations like these are across the street from one another and one consistently charges less than the other, well, they’ll get 100% of my business if I need gas when I’m in the area.  Yet, quite obviously, that’s not the case for most people or the more expensive gas station wouldn’t still be in business.

In what situations would you/do you pay more for gas on one side of the road rather than cross the street?  Why do you think others might?