Downtown Cleveland delivery drivers make adjustments as gas prices soar

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Prices at the gas pump continue to skyrocket.

The average price around Cleveland on Monday afternoon was about $3.82 a gallon.

Ken Wheeler says sadly, he’s been down this road before.

“It’s happened before. we’re actually squeezed now with the gas prices and the product prices,” said Wheeler.

The owner of 12th Street Florist in downtown Cleveland has been in business for 23 years and said it’s not a good feeling.

Wheeler says a key portion of his business is delivery with anywhere from 10-20 deliveries a day.

He told 19 News he’s proactive, but he can’t always take shortcuts to get the products out in a timely manner.

“We do the whole county as far as delivery goes, and you really can’t be efficient if you’re going from Solon to Bay Village and points in between,” he said. “Delivery is gas, it still costs more to deliver,” said Wheeler.

So he’s making some hard choices: he’s upping his delivery charges as the gas prices soar.

“The prices are up and we’re going to have to increase along with it. We’re in business to make a dollar and when it starts getting down to it, then we have to look at ways to increase the profit.”

Wheeler tells 19 News once gas prices decrease, he’ll drop the delivery fee back down.

Copyright 2022 WOIO. All rights reserved.