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Why'd the pump stop at the amount I paid you?
This older lady was a real piece of work... apparently she didn't understand the idea behind pre-paying for gasoline. She hands me two $20s and her discount card, tells me which pump she's on, so I ring it up and give her back the card. She leaves the window and fills her minivan. Her van actually holds the full $40, but instead of hanging up the nozzle and going about her day, she leaves it in and just waits....
...And waits. After glaring at me for a while, she comes back to the window. In a real snotty tone, she demands to know why the pump stopped. Now, I was trying to be polite, but in my utter shock at hearing that question, I may have come across a tad bit rude at first...
"Uhmm, because you only gave me that amount when you prepaid. If you wanted more than $40 in gas, you needed to pay more than $40 to begin with..." I started to tell her that I could let her pump more and credit her for the discount afterwards, but she didn't even stick around to listen! She just storms over to her van again and keeps giving me the stink-eye.
I have to get on the loudspeaker (which I hate using b/c I have to yell into the damned thing to make myself audible, making me sound like a jerk whether I intend to or not) and say "Ma'am, you need to hang the nozzle back up so I can turn the pump on for you. Please come up when you're done." She hangs it up. I turn on the pump. She picks it up again... and instead of pumping, hangs it back up!
Can you guess what happens next? Yep, she stomps back up to my window and throws a tantrum like someone a fifth of her age! "This never happens when the other people are here, blah blah blah..." (Maybe she had a thing against men. Most of the other clerks that work up at fuel are women, not that that should matter.) Now that she's at least paying attention to me instead of walking away, I calmly explain that I turned the pump on for her, but by hanging up the nozzle, she shut it back off. I can credit her for her gas discount, but I have to take it off after she pumps again. If this were a cartoon, smoke would be coming out of her ears and I'd hear that high-pitched whistling noise... and I'd be able to drop an anvil on her head without going to prison!
Finally she slams another $20 into the sliding drawer, goes back to the pump, which is on and ready, and finishes filling the minivan. Grand total? .7229 of a gallon, so she gets $18 and some change back, and once I credit for her fuel discount, it's more like nineteen bucks. Now she really lets me have it, claiming that I "ripped her off" and that she'll "never shop at your store again or ever buy gas here!" I try to show her on the receipt that because of her gas savings, she got more back in change, and she yells that when she gets home, she's gonna call the manager and let them know what I'm trying to pull!!
After she leaves, I call down to the store manager and explain what happened... He actually starts laughing at me/my story and tells me not to worry (I wasn't, but
.) And after all that hassle, she never made good on her threats, as far as I know.
You're kidding, right?
A younger couple comes up to the window.
"Our card won't work in the pump."
I ask to see the card, since many customers have this problem with worn-out or cracked credit/debit/gift cards. Also, the state I live in has started giving those who qualify for child support payments little debit cards that they can use like cash. They work everywhere except at our pumps - we have to scan them at the register instead.
The guy hands me the card, magnetic strip side up. I turn it over to reveal (Drumroll please)
a Wal-Mart gift card!
"Um, that kind of gift card won't work in our pumps. It has to have the credit card company logo to work anywhere that isn't Wally World."
This older lady was a real piece of work... apparently she didn't understand the idea behind pre-paying for gasoline. She hands me two $20s and her discount card, tells me which pump she's on, so I ring it up and give her back the card. She leaves the window and fills her minivan. Her van actually holds the full $40, but instead of hanging up the nozzle and going about her day, she leaves it in and just waits....
...And waits. After glaring at me for a while, she comes back to the window. In a real snotty tone, she demands to know why the pump stopped. Now, I was trying to be polite, but in my utter shock at hearing that question, I may have come across a tad bit rude at first...
"Uhmm, because you only gave me that amount when you prepaid. If you wanted more than $40 in gas, you needed to pay more than $40 to begin with..." I started to tell her that I could let her pump more and credit her for the discount afterwards, but she didn't even stick around to listen! She just storms over to her van again and keeps giving me the stink-eye. I have to get on the loudspeaker (which I hate using b/c I have to yell into the damned thing to make myself audible, making me sound like a jerk whether I intend to or not) and say "Ma'am, you need to hang the nozzle back up so I can turn the pump on for you. Please come up when you're done." She hangs it up. I turn on the pump. She picks it up again... and instead of pumping, hangs it back up!
Can you guess what happens next? Yep, she stomps back up to my window and throws a tantrum like someone a fifth of her age! "This never happens when the other people are here, blah blah blah..." (Maybe she had a thing against men. Most of the other clerks that work up at fuel are women, not that that should matter.) Now that she's at least paying attention to me instead of walking away, I calmly explain that I turned the pump on for her, but by hanging up the nozzle, she shut it back off. I can credit her for her gas discount, but I have to take it off after she pumps again. If this were a cartoon, smoke would be coming out of her ears and I'd hear that high-pitched whistling noise... and I'd be able to drop an anvil on her head without going to prison!
Finally she slams another $20 into the sliding drawer, goes back to the pump, which is on and ready, and finishes filling the minivan. Grand total? .7229 of a gallon, so she gets $18 and some change back, and once I credit for her fuel discount, it's more like nineteen bucks. Now she really lets me have it, claiming that I "ripped her off" and that she'll "never shop at your store again or ever buy gas here!" I try to show her on the receipt that because of her gas savings, she got more back in change, and she yells that when she gets home, she's gonna call the manager and let them know what I'm trying to pull!!
After she leaves, I call down to the store manager and explain what happened... He actually starts laughing at me/my story and tells me not to worry (I wasn't, but
.) And after all that hassle, she never made good on her threats, as far as I know.You're kidding, right?
A younger couple comes up to the window.
"Our card won't work in the pump."
I ask to see the card, since many customers have this problem with worn-out or cracked credit/debit/gift cards. Also, the state I live in has started giving those who qualify for child support payments little debit cards that they can use like cash. They work everywhere except at our pumps - we have to scan them at the register instead.
The guy hands me the card, magnetic strip side up. I turn it over to reveal (Drumroll please)
a Wal-Mart gift card! "Um, that kind of gift card won't work in our pumps. It has to have the credit card company logo to work anywhere that isn't Wally World."
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