"The retailer is a neighbor, even for brand-name gas stations. He's not major oil," John Hill told The Associated Press. "He's some neighbor supporting the soccer team or high-school drama club and trying to make a living. He's not the major oil company making record profits."

The day after Huntsman's announcement, the state's commerce chief said she received multiple reports that gas prices had dropped six cents, hinting at the power of the governor's bully pulpit.

Since then, however, the state has received only a handful of price gouging complaints that amount to "just grousing," said Francine Giani, director of the Utah Department of Commerce, who said she had little power to lower prices. She urged motorists to strike back.

"I tell my friends who complain, 'What kind of car are you driving?' They've got the big old Suburban," Giani said. "I sold my Suburban last year, and I take fewer trips to the grocery store. We need to change our habits, and stay the change."

Asked what weights and measures inspectors can do to curb high gas prices, Kunze laughed. All they can do is make certain that whatever high price stations charge, they dispense the correct amount of gas.

Pump accuracy is no worse now, inspectors say, than during times of lower prices. The team says pumps work to motorists' favor 97 percent of the time.

At the Top Stop on Salt Lake City's Foothill Drive, Kunze found that the pumps shorted motorists no more than 4 cubic inches of gas — less than half a cup — for every five gallons. Inspectors won't take a pump out of service unless it shorts motorists 6 cubic inches or more for every five gallons.

Michelle Andersen, manager of the Top Stop convenience store, didn't sweat the inspection.

The station never cheats — customers do, she said. Or they try, sometimes with outlandish tales, like insisting their gas gauge didn't budge with a fill-up, or leaving a $20 bill at the counter, filling up, then claiming they didn't or forgot to fill up and are returning for another opportunity.

"People will try anything and everything," Andersen said.