"Our new branches have been well received by the community, and we wanted to give Worcester a thank you," Garner said. "We're all about helping people get the most for their money and that's certainly what happened."

Between 10 and 12 credit union staffers were on hand to greet drivers waiting in line, direct traffic, and even washed a few windows, Garner said. The detail cops there were "extremely helpful and friendly" as they helped keep drivers from cutting in line and directed traffic.

"It was so funny, at one point, one of the cops was yelling 'free checking, no waiting,'" Garner shared. "They were great. We gave them t-shirts. Everyone had fun with it."

More than one driver got some of the 99 cent gas in a gas can because the station had run out while waiting. Garner said when Hassan Yatim, the owner of the station, tried to set the price at 99 cents, "the computer balked" at the low price as if it was saying 'you've got to be kidding.'" After five unsuccessful attempts, Yatim successfully lowered the price to $.89 then raised it to $.99.

It took DCU nearly two months to plan the promotion including finding a gas station that was close to members and would not be a hindrance to street traffic, Garner said. While DCU received a four cent discount for the gas, it wanted a steeper cut, but was not able to get one due to Exxon's franchise restrictions. In all, the gas station distributed double the amount of gas it would in a typical day, Garner said.

Radio, newspaper and television reporters swarmed the station to get the scoop, interviewing drivers in line, Garner and other credit union staffers there. Ironically, when DCU planned to hold the promotion on Sept. 19, it didn't realize that a primary election would take place the same day. Garner figured reporters would be tied up at precincts. Little did he know of the media blitz that would occur.

"We were trying to get a lot of publicity," Garner acknowledged. "Here we had a captive audience."

Another interesting twist was the irony that three banks were located within walking distance of the Exxon gas station, Garner said. In early September, the Massachusetts Bankers Association launched a Web site to alert the public to tax-exemption "threats" on the state's largest credit unions, including DCU. Garner said another reason they kept the promotion quiet was because "we didn't want the banks to chime in on it before it happened."

"From a credit union perspective, we have extra benefits from this," Garner said on the promotion. "[Banks] are attacking us and a couple of large credit unions in Massachusetts. Our response, as well as the league and other credit unions, has been we do a great job, we know we're different."

It's still too early to tell whether DCU signed up any new members as a result of the gas nearly free-for-all, but Garner said they will be monitoring the numbers over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, the credit union may consider doing a similar promotion for future new branch openings, he expected.

DCU has been running a "win free gas for a year" promotion this month with those opening any loan with a minimum balance of $1,000 in September will be entered into a drawing for the big prize. The contest can also be entered by sending in a postcard with contact information. The three prizes consist of $2,600 in cash, equivalent to $50 a week for gas for 52 weeks. –[email protected]