Prepaying will kill me, but hold this $50 while I pump my gas.

[CarcinogenCrunchies]

I imagine you had the same look as the one cashier did when she brought up the total for the pump that I had just used -- a whopping 27 cents.

I remember that summer. It was 99 cents a gallon here for awhile.

I understand filling up lawnmowers and such, but it always amuses me when someone gets $2 or $3 in an SUV. Where are they going, around the block?

And yes, it was a $50 bill. We mark all our large bills and check the security features. Well, at least I do.

[mjr]

My best guess here is an attempted drive-off. He paid for $1 worth of gas with a $50 bill. And he complained about pre-paying.

[sms001]

Now that I know it's a fifty, I'm split between him trying to break the fifty (his reluctance to prepay was b/c he thought they might not take it even for gas) and starting to pump the gas and saying"To hell with this" and stopping at a buck.

[Gizmo]

Or he was filling the car up on routine only to start pumping and find the other half did it already. After he had made an ass of himself.

[taxguykarl]

Newfangled rules? I had a classmate who worked at a station that had prepay in the '80's. The only time since that I can recall a non-prepay was with an attendant pumping the fuel--having plenty of time to write down the plate numbers.
I agree with the suspicion of counterfeit money. That's a classic counterfeit ploy--a small purchase to acquire change in real money. At $4/gallon (just over $1/liter) it is not hard to eat up $50 in a fillup.

[mathnerd]

I just filled up my tank this morning. I was thrilled that it was "only" $52. My brain can't even comprehend only a buck in fuel.

[drjonah]

He's an ornery old goat who won't accept changing times, so he pumps $1 so he can Stick It To Da Man™!

^ This is what I was thinking as well. He thinks he's teaching you a lesson because you won't 'respect the elderly' and just give him what he wants.

[CarcinogenCrunchies]

...saying"To hell with this" and stopping at a buck.

That's what I figured. If he was running really low maybe he needed the dollar's worth to get to the next station so he could brighten someone else's day.

[taxguykarl]

My brain can't even comprehend only a buck in fuel.

I have quite a few relatives who don't have the reflexes to stop at a buck.

[Estil]

I'm not a licensed driver and we don't own a vehicle so maybe I'm in no position to judge, but why do so many people throw a fit about having to prepay? You have to pay anyway so why not go ahead and get it over with? And if that's what it takes to reduce drive offs (after all if there's too much theft/shrink won't that cause higher prices?) then what's the big deal?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I chuckle every time there's a post about pre-paying for gas, because here in Wisconsin, or at least my part of it, it still isn't a requirement. One can still pump, then pay.

I always pre-pay via my credit card anyway.

[EricKei]

My brain can't even comprehend only a buck in fuel.

69.9 cents a gallon?! The cat drinks unleaded from now on!

[NecessaryCatharsis]

I'm not a licensed driver and we don't own a vehicle so maybe I'm in no position to judge, but why do so many people throw a fit about having to prepay? You have to pay anyway so why not go ahead and get it over with? And if that's what it takes to reduce drive offs (after all if there's too much theft/shrink won't that cause higher prices?) then what's the big deal?

When they first came out with pre-pay around here (still less than 20% of gas stations do it) it was a big hassle for me, and I absolutely went out of my way to avoid it. You had to pick an amount, then go in and pay for it, then pump, then go back in for a credit if there was any difference or if you needed a receipt. This not only required getting the kid out of the car twice, waiting in line twice, but any credit you got back on your card would take a week to show up, which can be a big deal for someone on a tight tight budget. So you always had to guess an amount under what you needed/could afford/could fit, otherwise you were out the money for a week. So getting gas the cheapest day (usually Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning around here) might not get you enough for the week and you would have to go through the process again later for more expensive gas. Or you could go to bank for cash, get the baby out of the car a third time to go in and get it, and then prepay with cash going back in for your change as soon as you finished pumping.

When they came out with pay at the pump they changed the prepay system to the same idea, so that it just checked that amount would go through without taking it out, and then taking out the actual amount pumped after the fact. This meant no more waiting a week for the difference to be credited back to you. Everyone around here with prepay also has pay at the pump so I never have to go in if I don't want, (unless you pay with cash) so it's become more convenient than pay afterwards. But anywhere with the old prepay system still in place is probably just begging for SC's.

[Chromatix]

Many filling stations here are automated, with someone on hand for safety reasons only. I'm uncertain of the precise procedure used, but I might be able to catch someone using one when I go shopping today. Incidentally, the safety officer is probably monitoring that station by CCTV from a central security office for the whole shopping centre.

[Gaki]

I've been dealing with this for too long.

There are three methods of payment, excluding checks because checks are run as debit transactions through a machine.

1. Credit. The pump will "test" your card to see if there is enough on your card to cover what you will likely pump (75-150 dollars.) This will be a "hold" on your account for about 24 hours or less. Out of that 75-150 will come whatever you pump. Often, that "hold" is on your card for so short of a period of time that you won't ever notice it. If you PREPAY with credit, whatever amount you did not pump will go back onto your card in whatever the normal time period is that is determined BY THE BANK OR CREDIT UNION. Screaming at ME for this is completely useless. IF you do not pump your gas in the allotted time period after prepaying or if you totally fuck up and make the pump reset, the ONLY thing I can do for you is refund that amount (which again, takes time to go back into your account) and re-do the transaction AGAIN.

2. Debit. Works like cash. Put your PIN into the pump, it takes it out of your account "immediately" and you are on your way. If you prepay like this, you can come in and get the rest of your change either back on your card by putting your PIN in again or I can just give you cash out of the register.

3. Cash. Must prepay. No exceptions. No, I will not turn the pump on for you. No, it's not even possible. No, it is not a matter of "won't", it is a matter of "can't."

For some reason, a lot of people have this weird idea that whatever they don't pump gets taken from them by the gas station and they never get it back. I don't know why this is. People will leave without ever getting their change and some it's because they just think that whatever they gave you, even if they don't pump it, they're never getting back. It's YOUR change, buddy. COME IN AND GET IT.

I have people who try to hand me their credit card and run out the door. Or hand me a hundred and run out the door. Now my question is this:

What happens when you have a cashier who ALLOWS this and just pockets the money and when you come in asking what happened, plays dumb? What happens when you do this in a store that doesn't have security cameras set up to capture that? Then you're just out a hundred bucks 'cause the cashier just duped you hardcore and you totally deserve it. OR that kid now has your credit card. Surprise.

-----

I understand that it's a huge hassle for a lot of people (especially with babies) to prepay when all they have is cash, but allow me to be selfish here and say this:

It's a lot less of a hassle for me when I don't have to call in a drive off 4 times a day while a line of customers is watching me wondering when I'm going to take care of them.

It's a lot less of a hassle for me when I don't bear the responsibility for looking out at every single car pumping at the pumps and try to memorize which pump number is what kind of car and what color and possibly the license plate number. (There are no front plates here, so this is exceptionally hard.) This is all while simultaneously trying to take care of the lunch rush of about 30 people inside the store at the same time.

It's a lot less of a hassle for me when I don't have to try to find someone taking their sweet old time in the store and tell them they have to come pay for their gas RIGHT NOW because the drive-off alarm is going off and I can't stop it until they pay for their goddamn gas.

I don't know if people realize how much of an absolute pain in the freaking ass it is when a gas station doesn't have prepay only. I have to fill out forms, have my brain on a thousand things at the same time. Mistakes are RAMPANT. Angry customers, customers who have to wait, mystery shoppers who wait in line for more than 30 seconds (YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT) who give us a bad score for wait time. Our nerves get shot because we're responsible for so much crap and so much MONEY that is being lost under OUR WATCH.

We are not paid enough to do any of that. When we switched to prepay only, I nearly SHIT. MY. PANTS. With joy. With euphoria. With elation.

And as I thought: My job is 100% better. 100% less stressful. 100% the job I wish it would have been when I started.

All from prepay only.

You only have to fill up your car once or twice a week on average. And I understand that prepay is a hassle during those 1-2 times a week. But I have to deal with hundreds of people, hundreds of gas fill-ups, in a single day. And I thank GOD for prepay only.