WINAMAC — Watching BP stumble through its response to the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been puzzling to Don Good.

“Historically, this is a pretty good company,” the owner of Good Oil in Winamac said. “We’ve talked about how weird it is to see this happen to BP because it is so over the top safety wise, especially after the Texas refinery fire.”

Good was among a group of marketers who BP took to the Gulf Coast June 14 and 15 to witness first-hand its cleanup efforts.

“There is no way to feel good about this no matter who you are. You see pictures of wildlife struggling in the oil, if that doesn’t make you sick to the stomach, something is wrong with you,” he said.

Good is the Indiana region’s representative on BP Amoco Marketers Association (BPAMA) national board of directors. BPAMA represents 400 marketers with more than 10,000 locations. BPAMA represents 90 percent of BP’s locations.

“We work as liaisons between BP and the jobbers. Normally we deal with pricing, terminals, how competitive BP is in its advertising and what programs are working” he said. “This is new for us.”

Good Oil has 20 locations selling BP products and also has stations selling Marathon and Citgo products.

“We’ve been in Winamac for 30 years and the company is 70 years old. People around here understand who Good Oil is and separate us from BP.”

That, Good believes, is why BP brought the group to the site.

“They see that [customer recognition] and see the way to redemption through us,” he explained. “If they don’t make BPAMA happy, they’re not going to get that redemption.”

Keeping the marketers on its side is extremely important to BP, he noted. BP has concerns that the marketers themselves could change brands or locations which is why it flew several BPAMA members to the Gulf to show what it was doing.

“We were getting a weekly conference call on the Gulf to update us.

But, what I was seeing on TV and hearing on the radio wasn’t lining up with what we were being told,” Good said.

“We’re stuck between the final consumer and BP. And, to be honest, I didn’t believe them.”

The group’s on-site inspection left quite an impression.

The Gulf Coast has been split into seven zones and the BPAMA representatives went to Zone 5, which includes Alabama and Mississippi.

They were taken out onto the Gulf one day and also toured the unified command center, which includes BP, Transocean, which owned the oil rig, the Coast Guard, EPA and OSHA and other owners who have stakes in the well.

“We went in the conference room and the BP representative got up and said this is what we’re doing that’s successful and here are the challenges coming,” Good recalled. “Then, they had the Coast Guard and EPA come up and give their versions. The BP rep said ‘tell them if anything we’re saying is not right.’”

The Coast Guard captain on hand said it felt the company was doing well minimizing damage for the amount of oil spewing from the well. The EPA representative pointed out that no 50 miles of the coast are same environmentally and areas will be impacted differently.

Good said that planes go up at dawn every day to see where oil slicks are and could come ashore.

“They’re trying to treat it before it comes ashore, and if it comes ashore, they try to have people waiting,” he said.

“They’re hitting with it dispersants as it comes out of the well head. What’s coming to the surface, they’re collecting and burning off,” he explained. “It’s lined up so that every so often it triggers another type of treatment.

“The bad part with the dispersants they’re using is no one has ever used that much before. What effect that will have over the next year and decade, well they’re in uncharted territory and learning on the fly.”

One thing Good noted is that both BP and the federal government “are big lumbering organizations.”

“They’re working well together, but they’re stumbling on each other,” he said.

Despite the cleanup efforts, nothing can minimize what’s happened.

“This thing should never have happened and it happened because BP thought it never would. I don’t think they anticipated ever finding themselves in this position,” Good said, “and that contributed to this.

“You can’t say it’s not that bad because it is completely that bad.”

Company leaders admitted BP’s reputation has suffered.

“Its reputation has been tarnished not only by the spill but in situations where they misspoke and things they’ve said and done,” Good said. “In the meantime they understand that saying they will make things right is not good enough but that they have to follow up on it, too.”

The company has promised to make financial reparations to residents and businesses and work to restore the environment.

Good said the event itself has to be taken apart and questions answered, noting BP promotes itself as a “green” company and a company that tries to do more.

“What allowed this to happen? What decisions were made, what equipment was used to allow it to happen?” he said. “BP has to do some soul searching. It needs to answer what it could do to be better prepared. They had to build the tophat. Why weren’t those things already available at least to try and have somewhere to get to it quickly instead of constructing it then?

“I don’t think it’s a sham. I think the company is sincere, but how do you line what happened in the Gulf to that? Were they that unlucky?”

The marketing group left the tour feeling better, but still not committed to giving BP its total backing.

“The message we left them with is ‘that’s fine. You’re doing a lot and everything you can, but at the end of the day we’ll judge you on where this ends up,” Good said. “We’re going to withhold judgment until the well is capped and the damage contained and repaired.

“If we can say you kept your promise to those people and took care of everything as best as anyone could, we’ll say you did right. We’re not going to give you a pass until you’ve completed that.”

If BP doesn’t do that, Good says he will look at the other brands he markets.

“We got BP because it bought Amoco. That was Standard Oil of Indiana and dad started with it in 1941. Good Oil Company means far, far more to me than BP,” he said. “We’re basically their customers and we’re really concerned.

“We have been in business for 70 years. This business is our life ... when you’re connected to BP, it’s a reflection on you.”

• John Dempsey is the Pharos-Tribune’s associate editor. He may be contacted at 574-732-5150 or by e-mail at john.dempsey@pharostribune.com.