County residents dissatisfied with local propane company after buyout

By Jordan Wilcox
Assistant Publisher

If there’s one thing rural residents rely on this time of year, it’s propane.
Hopkins Propane is the area’s largest propane supplier. Founded in 1958, Hopkins served as the Grand Rapids Area’s premier independent propane supplier for over 60 years.
In 2021, they were bought out by Superior Plus Propane, a Pennsylvanian company with operations in nearly 20 states.
Unfortunately, though, and ever since the acquisition, customers have been left far from satisfied.
A quick search for “Hopkins Propane” on Facebook, will reveal tons of posts from disgruntled customers.
Many are from those enrolled in Hopkins’ auto-refill service, who claim that despite running low on fuel, a refill isn’t dispatched to them.
Others say that even when they call and specifically request a refill, it’s just not delivered. The customer service representative either blows them off, or promises day after day that a refill will be sent out, but it never is.
Judy Funk is a resident of Plainwell and a former longtime customer of Hopkins Propane. After her tank ran empty twice this winter, she posted in the Allegan County Informed Facebook group that she’s switching to their competitor.
Less than three weeks later, her post now has over 450 reactions and nearly 200 comments, mostly from people voicing similar concerns and saying she’s made the right choice.
WWMT News Channel 3 was able to catch Funk for an interview and learn the exact problems she had with Hopkins Propane.
“It was Dec. 12. We were down to about 15%, and I called them, and I paid $790 to have propane delivered,” said Funk to WWMT.
She stated that although her tank kept getting lower and lower, she never heard back from them.
She eventually called them twice more and was promised each time that a refill would be coming.
“It always seemed like it was like, ‘blame the other department.’ Like, ‘Oh, yeah, I see where it’s been created, but
the dispatcher hasn’t put it on the schedule yet,” Funk told WWMT.
Funk said that by the New Year, her tank finally ran out, leaving her family without heat or hot water. They had to rely on an electric burner for cooking and space heaters for warmth.
Finally, after five days without propane, and 24 days after her first call, Hopkins Propane refilled her tank on January 5th.
According to historical forecast data from weatherunderground.com, temperatures were in the 20s during those five days.
In her closing words with WWMT, Funk said, “It seems like they’re just trying to run the business into the ground because they’re not doing anything right. I’m hoping that this will pressure them into realizing that they need to do something.”
WWMT News Channel 3 also stopped by Hopkins Propane’s Shelbyville headquarters. No official comments were made, but they were told that the company is aware of the problems and doing all they can to fix them.
Eventually, a spokesperson from Superior Plus provided the following statement to WWMT:
“At Superior Plus Propane, our top priority is safely delivering propane to our customers. We apologize for the delays some of our customers are experiencing and understand their frustration. Ongoing winter weather conditions can lead to higher propane use and make delivering propane difficult and sometimes dangerous. We are actively working to address any emergency needs and complete deliveries as safely and efficiently as possible.”
Superior Plus urges anyone with questions, or customers experiencing problems, to call the Shelbyville office at 269-792-7205.
They can also log in to their online account portal or read about the best practices for propane delivery and tank maintenance during inclement weather at https://www.superiorpluspropane.com/.