Was I the SC??

[ebonyknight]

looking back I suppose I overreacted, but trying to do something that could injure(or even kill)me got me upset. While I CAN see his side of it, being upset at a 'theif', he should probably know how his own pumps work.

I've been in this sort of situation, as I work 'security' at my job and I actually do care if people are stealing, however I would never try to hurt someone who wasn't trying to hurt me physically, in fact all my life I've NEVER hit first.

No, but you missed the point. If you told him you paid several times and he wasn't getting it, THEN you should have showed him the reciept. He shouldn't have tried to stop you, but it shouldn't have gotten to that point either. Think about it from his side...if he actually think you stole the gas, why would he believe you just saying you already paid. I am sure a lot of shoplifters say that too.

You both suck!

[LostMyMind]

Actually, because that shopkeeper actually grabbed him. He was in major wrong. If you prevent someone, who had done nothing wrong, from leaving, you could be thrown in jail. That's why you always have to be damn sure they have committed a crime before attempting to "arrest" someone.

Yes, he could (and should have) shown the receipt. But he shouldn't have to, all the shop-keep had to do was write down the license plate number and gas runners will be in trouble.

What you don't understand ebonyknight is this, you can not grab someone's keys out of their cars to prevent them from leaving unless they're committing a crime. The shop-keep was majorly in the wrong by not being sure that a crime was committed. If someone grab me while I'm on my bike, I wouldn't be as nice as Bugg was. Bikes are not toys, you do not "grab" someone else's bike. Its the same as letting air out of the tires on a car to "prevent' them from leaving. You can't do that.

[ebonyknight]

What you don't understand ebonyknight is this, you can not grab someone's keys out of their cars to prevent them from leaving unless they're committing a crime. The shop-keep was majorly in the wrong by not being sure that a crime was committed. If someone grab me while I'm on my bike, I wouldn't be as nice as Bugg was. Bikes are not toys, you do not "grab" someone else's bike. Its the same as letting air out of the tires on a car to "prevent' them from leaving. You can't do that.

What you don't understand is English apparently. I clearly said that he shouldn't have done that.

But it shouldn't have even gotten to that point. If someone accused me of stealing something that I paid for, my FIRST instinct wouldn't be to play he said, she said...it would be to PROVE I paid for it. That's why reciepts are given.

But that's just me.

[Rapscallion]

*sigh*

We don't fight each other on here - we fight SCs.

Calm it down, folks.

Rapscallion

[LostMyMind]

But it shouldn't have even gotten to that point. If someone accused me of stealing something that I paid for, my FIRST instinct wouldn't be to play he said, she said...it would be to PROVE I paid for it. That's why reciepts are given

Right, sure. I believe you 20/20 hindsight is a wonderful thing. Makes for alot of B.S. Maybe you should re-read the first post, you'll see that the "gas man" grab and hit first before Bugg could really react.

After being told, the "gas man" should have looked at the pump and saw that it was ready for the next "pump". He didn't and was in the wrong. Bugg did the perfectly natural reaction when challenged.

[Mixed Bag]

All well-meaning posts, everyone, but I'm surprised there isn't more agreement that the manager should have thought to ask for the receipt instead of Bugg having to show it--after all, while both were upset, I expect managers and employees to be more aware of practical steps and appropriate policies.

Occasionally I've placed an order in a restaurant for an item, not realizing my order could have been misunderstood as perhaps being for something else I didn't notice on the menu--and I'm amazed that I wasn't asked to clarify, and that the server or manager isn't quicker to agree I shouldn't have to pay the full price of the higher-priced item I got but didn't ask for. Even worse is if I think the lower-priced item is what I got and I come to think it's that good, only to find I can't get it for the money in the future (more likely to happen when they're trying to be nice because they're out of something or like when I get two waffle cones to hold my ice cream because the inner one cracked).

[ladodger34]

I've read the OP a few times and while I'm sure that Bugg could have handled it better, the attendant screwed up.

As many others have pointed out,the attendant could have asked for a receipt, checked the pump itself, or checked the system. I'm not, nor never have been a gas station attendant but as a customer, everytime that I've needed to get a receipt, I've been able to go inside to get one even if I've paid at the pump.

The attendant escalated the situation by accusing Bugg of stealing the gas. Like I said, he had several methods available to check whether he had paid or not. Just as we are telling Bugg to be more rational, the rational thing to do would be to tell the customer "Hey, I'm pretty sure that you paid but can I double check?" by using one of the methods above. That probably would have stopped the situation right then and there.

On the other hand, and I can totally understand why Bugg was mad, starting to drive off may have given him "proof" that you stole the gas. Then again, I know when someone accuses you of something that you know you didn't do it kind of pushes your buttons sometimes. In this instance, I can see both sides of the situation. Neither side was really right or wrong, but it still goes back to the first point I made. If the attendant would have been calmer on his end, this part of the story wouldn't have happened.

Now as for the grabbing the bike and shoving Bugg, the gloves are off at that point in time. I'm not a physically violent person and I usually remain very calm. If someone did what the attendant did to Bugg, I don't know what I would have done. I know I would be more than a tad bit angry. And while I know that cussing doesn't solve anything, I couldn't say that I wouldn't have done it.

And on another note, can you imagine the hot water the attendant would have gotten the station into if Bugg was hurt when he did that? He had absolutely no proof other than Bugg driving off (and that isn't proof, it was just his rationalization) that he stole the gas. If I was the owner of the station, I would be pissed. A potential lawsuit over a couple of bucks? No thank you.

Long poster made even longer, it's really hard to rationalize how this was even slightly Bugg's fault. The only thing I fault him with is driving off, but even then, he didn't steal the freaking gas. All this lies at the feet of the attendant. He escalated the situation from the get go when he didn't need to.