Gasoline costs force service firms to raise prices

Small companies such as pet sitters and housecleaners are finding it necessary to pass on some of the rising expense to customers as well as to cut back on driving.

You know fuel prices have gotten out of control when even your dog walker is adding a surcharge to the bill. In the week ended Monday, self-serve regular gasoline rose nearly a nickel a gallon in California to an average of $3.892 — a record — while nationwide the average jumped nearly a dime to a record $3.603, according to the Energy Department’s weekly survey of service stations.

For Melissa Roth, owner of Pet Concierge, filling the tank of her 2003 Ford Explorer costs nearly $90 instead of the $74 tab when she opened her company in July 2006.


“It’s just scary,” said Roth, who logs as many as 300 miles a week to walk and care for her clients’ four-legged family members. “One of my biggest expenses now is gasoline.”

To keep her company operating, Roth is planning to increase her prices and add an extra fee for clients who live more than 10 miles from her Atwater Village base.

LA Times