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  • Tales from the petrol station

    A collection of things that happened over the past month.

    I want it nooowww!!

    A man was having difficulty with our car wash and went into to the shop for help. The thing is was at the time there was only two staff on at the time as I hadn't arrived yet and there was a queue that was reaching the door. One of the staff said that as soon as she could she would go and see to him, which wasnt good enough for him. He demanded that someone went NOW, and when he was still told that he would be seen to when they were less busy in the shop he went to the store to complain.

    When the person who was the duty manager at the time came in to buy petrol after her shift had finished, she was asked if he had got anything to compensate for his "inconvenience". She said no. It turned out that she had given him a voucher and when the store manager was told what she had done and he pulled her up about it, she said that it was another manager who had done it. When he was asked about it by the store manager, he didn't have a clue what the store manager was going on about.

    I'm too important to queue with the riff raff

    After 7 PM there is only two members of staff and we were had a queue going to the door again. A blonde woman walked past everyone and tried to give me her money. I was serving someone at the time so I was trying to ignore her, my colleague bluntly said to her that there was a queue so she should join it like everyone else.

    She whined "I'm not queuing with all THEM" and she threw her money at me and walked out.

    This'll teach you to not fall for my scam!

    A man came in wanting to return a phone voucher that he had bought the previous day. He said that when he had bought it he had forgotten that he had already bought one at the store and didn't need it (err.. yeah, ok) so he wanted a refund. Our policy is that phone vouchers have to be returned within an hour of purchase so he was told that it wasn' going to happen. This pissed him off and he walked out with three cans of de-icer. He is on camera and the police was informed.

    I never paid for my fuel so pay half of it!

    When someone doesn't have any means of paying they have to fill in a form and then they have 7 days to pay the amount. After 7 days it gets passed onto civil recovery. A man had filled in a form before christmas and it was passed on. Last week he came in with a letter from civil recovery and said that he wanted us to pay half of it, because he wasnt told about the 7 day rule. We are supposed to mention it but even if it wasn't it also mentions it on the form itself so he should have known from that. As far as I know he is still refusing to pay.

    I also found out that we have a new policy on dealing with fake notes. Now we are to write void on them with a money pen and hand them back.

  • #2
    Err. I'd be very careful with that policy regarding the fake bills. I don't know the law in the UK, but I'd certainly recommend you look it up before you hand the cash back.

    Comment


    • #3
      Wow. You had a bunch of whiners


      Quoth Draco View Post
      Err. I'd be very careful with that policy regarding the fake bills. I don't know the law in the UK, but I'd certainly recommend you look it up before you hand the cash back.

      I know in Canada, we're suggested to hold on to it and then hand it over to the police. If you feel unsafe, then you just advise the customer you think it's fake.

      To be honest, I like having my body in one piece so I just give it back with the advice. I've never kept a bill ever and never will. Having to write void on it would freak me out and I'm just in a small store. I can't imagine in a petrol station.

      Comment


      • #4
        Aye, saftey first, petrol buddies across the pond.

        I'd have left that lady's cash on the counter until all the other customers had left the store, if not longer, if she was trying to prepay for gas.

        Comment


        • #5
          Quoth Raveni View Post
          I'd have left that lady's cash on the counter until all the other customers had left the store, if not longer, if she was trying to prepay for gas.
          Would have served her right if the nearby customers had grabbed the money she threw >_> It's not like you could accept it as payment if you weren't told what she wanted...
          "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
          "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
          "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
          "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
          "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
          "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
          Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
          "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

          Comment


          • #6
            People did that all the time at the gas station that I worked at.

            I guess it was too much trouble to NOT stop at the podunk store that only has 6 pumps and ONE clerk and gets busy within moments, versus going to oooh Kwik Trip with like 20-30 pumps per store and several clerks, or Holiday which is the same as Kwik Trip staffing wise.

            They'd pump an even amount of gas at peak business times, get pissed off that there was a line going out the door, either try to waltz up to the front and wave their money at me.....though most just got "smart" and would just walk in and throw their money on the counter and bail out the door, so after a rush would clear, I'd find $10 or $20 laying on the counter somewhere and a gas amount not paid out yet. ASSHOLES.
            You really need to see a neurologist. - Wagegoth

            Comment


            • #7
              Quoth blas View Post
              ....though most just got "smart" and would just walk in and throw their money on the counter and bail out the door, so after a rush would clear, I'd find $10 or $20 laying on the counter somewhere and a gas amount not paid out yet. ASSHOLES.
              The evil side of me would report them as no-pay because I can't prove they gave me enough or even if it was their money.

              Comment


              • #8
                Yeah. The only problem with woulda/coulda/shoulda is it doesn't usually help later when all is said and done.
                You really need to see a neurologist. - Wagegoth

                Comment


                • #9
                  Quoth Gibbo View Post
                  A collection of things that happened over the past month.


                  After 7 PM there is only two members of staff and we were had a queue going to the door again. A blonde woman walked past everyone and tried to give me her money. I was serving someone at the time so I was trying to ignore her, my colleague bluntly said to her that there was a queue so she should join it like everyone else.

                  She whined "I'm not queuing with all THEM" and she threw her money at me and walked out.
                  The amount of time's I've had a customer come up to the counter, bypassing the lines because they only have a small order or have been waiting more than two seconds, is just rediculus.

                  Each and every customer thinks they are the most precious, special thing to ever grace your presence and therefore expect to be treated as such.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I would just tell them "Why yes, ma'am, you are indeed a special customer to us... Just like everybody else in here! Back of the line, please."
                    "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                    "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                    "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                    "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                    "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                    "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                    Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                    "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Quoth Gibbo View Post
                      I also found out that we have a new policy on dealing with fake notes. Now we are to write void on them with a money pen and hand them back.
                      Your details say you're in the UK, so I suggest you check with the local plod; AFAIK the law requires you to retain any suspected fake note & forward it to the cops, regardless of "company policy". Writing "VOID" on it has no legal standing, and if it's NOT a fake you've just defaced legal tender which is also illegal despite it being SOP for most cash-handling institutions.

                      I've worked in petrol stations, and the impatience of people always astounds me; it's not like they couldn't see the dozen other cars on the forecourt before you pulled on, so why are they always so surprised to find a queue in the shop?!
                      This was one of those times where my mouth says "have a nice day" but my brain says "go step on a Lego". - RegisterAce
                      I can't make something magically appear to fulfill all your hopes and dreams. Believe me, if I could I'd be the first person I'd help. - Trixie

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Quoth blas View Post

                        They'd pump an even amount of gas at peak business times, get pissed off that there was a line going out the door, either try to waltz up to the front and wave their money at me.....though most just got "smart" and would just walk in and throw their money on the counter and bail out the door, so after a rush would clear, I'd find $10 or $20 laying on the counter somewhere and a gas amount not paid out yet. ASSHOLES.
                        I think pre-pay pumps should be standard everywhere. The way they work here in NC is that you pay first - either by debit/credit card or you have to go inside to pay if it's cash - then pump.

                        I would think that should put a quick halt on folks who just wander in, throw their money on the counter and walk back out.


                        Not only should it cut down on that nonsense, it helps prevent drive-offs.
                        Human Resources - the adult version of "I'm telling Mom." - Agent Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo (NCIS)

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          My favourite local station has just had an upgrade to their prepay system; I say "just", it was installed 4 months ago & has only been used for an hour so far. Turns out the new system for some reason overcharges to the tune of 10x... As yet there's still no word on when it'll be working properly, as the devs can't work out why it's even doing it!

                          Damn shame, I loved it when it worked - they'd only just upped the pre-auth limit so I could get a tankful in one transaction too!
                          This was one of those times where my mouth says "have a nice day" but my brain says "go step on a Lego". - RegisterAce
                          I can't make something magically appear to fulfill all your hopes and dreams. Believe me, if I could I'd be the first person I'd help. - Trixie

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Quoth RealUnimportant View Post
                            ...overcharges to the tune of 10x... As yet there's still no word on when it'll be working properly, as the devs can't work out why it's even doing it!
                            My guess: they are storing the price in tenths of cents per gallon (divide by a thousand for dollars), but interpreting it as whole cents (divide by a hundred for dollars). If they can't figure something simple like that out, though, I would really not want to rely on them for a business-critical money-handling system.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Quoth DGoddessChardonnay View Post
                              I think pre-pay pumps should be standard everywhere. The way they work here in NC is that you pay first - either by debit/credit card or you have to go inside to pay if it's cash - then pump.

                              I would think that should put a quick halt on folks who just wander in, throw their money on the counter and walk back out.


                              Not only should it cut down on that nonsense, it helps prevent drive-offs.
                              Can't speak for all petrol stations, but there are two main reasons why the ones in my area don't have prepay. Firstly cuz customers are basically stupid and would be wandering in and out all day whining, "The pump is broken!" cuz they don't understand about prepay and of course can't read the sign and second cuz a great deal of the total money is gotten by nonfuel sales. A lot of nonfuel sales are garnered by impulse buys; ie, people see stuff then buy it on impulse when they go in to pay for their fuel. Having prepay would cut back on impulse buys so therefore the management wouldn't hear of it.

                              I had this SC try and bypass the line once. She didn't get very far cuz I locked the door when she threw her money down and tried to run out the store. She was forced to come back for the money and stand in line... my heart bleeds. XD
                              People who don't like cats were probably mice in an earlier life.
                              My DeviantArt.

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