AUBURN - Some customers at the Hess Express on North Street are puzzling over a lone figure practically planted near the gas pumps.

The young man tries in earnest to look discreet while clenching a walkie talkie, pad and pen, but still, he looks out of place.

His name is David Reynolds and he is the service station's answer to stemming drive-offs fueled by rising gas prices. Hess Express placed Reynolds outside last week to take down the makes, colors and license plates of cars whose drivers who do not choose to prepay.

Reynolds uses a friendly approach with customers. He introduces himself, is ready to assist any customer requiring help, and seems generally approachable. He's a low-profile type person with a high-profile job.

“We were wondering what he was doing out there,” said Adam Thomas, who sat with his father, Leroy, at a table in Hess Express on Tuesday. Adam, who lives in Auburn, said drive-offs naturally accompany surging fuel costs.

“Gas is expensive. People feel like they're getting away with it,” he said.

Assistant manager Jeremie Stramonine agreed.

“If they have the idea they can get away with anything, they will,” he said.

The National Association of Convenience Stores reports fuel theft is directly proportional to price increase, as opposed to just high prices. Each time prices rise, so do the number of drive-offs. The trade association attributes gasoline theft to misdirected consumer anger at higher prices.

AAA puts the local average cost of filling a 15-gallon tank at $44.30, up more than six dollars from last month. A year ago, the price was at $34.49.

Nationally, drive-offs cost the industry an estimated $237 million in 2004.

The average loss per store was $2,141 in 2004, and that figure is conservative, since it is based on all convenience stores that sell gasoline, including those in states that mandate full-serve, according to the NACS.

Hess Express suffered a particularly bad month in February, Stramonine said, when drive-offs cost the station roughly $2,000.

In March, the station considered having consumers prepay exclusively, which would have eliminated the drive-off problem.

“Customers were angry and threatened to boycott,” said Stramonine of the station's decision.

So the station returned the pay-after-you-pump option for the convenience of its customers, but have added Reynolds as their ‘outside man.'

Hess employees now monitor the pumps 12 hours a day, Stramonine said.

Other local service stations, like Ed and Jean's in Port Byron, considered installing cameras to monitor consumers, because the Port Byron station also allows customers to pump their fuel in advance and pay after. Prepaying is an option the business may use to ward off theft, but owner Tom Moon isn't taking any action yet.

“Right now we have everything we need to call in a drive-off,” he said.

Staff writer Olivia Goldberg can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 235 or olivia.goldberg@lee.net