It sounded too crazy to be true. After all, it involved two huge firms, the Phoenix-based Circle K chain, and UNOCAL 76 Gasoline. In a well-publicized announcement, last year they announced that Circle K would now carry Unocal 76 gas in the pumps at its stores in Arizona and Nevada. It was followed by a major advertising blitz: full-page ads, billboards, TV, radio. But the News 15 investigative unit began getting calls from tanker drivers and Circle K employees, all saying the same thing: The gas at Circle K, wasn't coming from UNOCAL's terminals. We checked it out, following tanker trucks, and sure enough, the gasoline at Circle K, was coming from the same gas terminals it was using before the agreement. Nothing had changed, except now "76" was slapped on the pumps.

FoxPro is my friend

But we wanted more proof. So I called the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures, the agency responsible for testing quality. An inspector there would not get specific, but dropped hints about inspections reports. He mentioned they were kept on a database. BOING! Having just returned from NICAR Bootcamp, I was salivating. He began bragging about this great FoxPro program.

"FoxPro is my friend," he said. "Can I get a copy of your database?" "Sure," he said. "Just fax me an Open Records request." One fax and a diskette later, I had my database (easiest I've ever acquired), and I had the hard facts to back up my story.

The proof

The database helped me verify what our insiders had been telling us. As part of the inspection, the stations must list which terminal the gas came from. This field not only proved the Circle K gas wasn't coming from UNOCAL, but because the records stretched back to well before the agreement, we could prove these were the same suppliers as before.

Another field showed the elements to oxygenate the fuel. UNOCAL only uses ethanol in Phoenix, but the gas at Circle K used MTBE as well as ethanol, clearly demonstrating a difference.

The database also helped us establish a serious difference in the quality control between real UNOCAL gas, and the stuff at Circle K. I ran queries pulling out all the violations inspectors handed UNOCAL and Circle K since January. UNOCAL only had three. Circle K had 33 more than any other chain.

The database also helped debunk Circle K's claim that swapping gas is something everyone does. It showed that the gas at Chevron stations was coming only from Chevron terminals, Mobil from Mobil terminals, Unocal from Unocal. Circle K has lots of suppliers, and few got their gas from UNOCAL. The bottom line: The gas I buy at Circle K is not the same gas I would get at UNOCAL.

Loosening tongues

Faced with this, state inspectors now felt quite free to spell out their concerns that consumers were being misled. And the state Attorney General's office made it clear, if the companies are saying it's UNOCAL gas, it better be UNOCAL, not something like UNOCAL, and the ads could be violating consumer protection laws. Circle K could not refute that it was different gas. They could only say that it met the standards set by UNOCAL. But even this didn't hold up because the database showed the problems with quality control.

Data backbone

The story was important to consumers, and might not have flown if it wasn't for the database. Circle K had brushed off concerns as no big deal, insisting the gas meets UNOCAL's standards. At least one of our print competitors reportedly shelved their story because they bought Circle K's explanation. We might have too if we hadn't found and used the database. While it was only one element our viewers saw in a colorful story, it provided backbone and gave the report the teeth it needed to stand in the face of some major corporate pressure to refute it.

Chris Heinbaugh can be reached at (602) 232-6314, or send e-mail to heinknxv@aol.com