Week of Suck in the Petrol Station

[Lace Neil Singer]

SCs are like buses; you get weeks without a single one, then a load come along at once. -.-

Coupon Confusion.

A bit of background first; there's a coupon that you get from the random coupon generators at the till that entitles you to ten pence off per litre of fuel if you first spend twenty five pounds on clothes at the supermarket. The coupon is clearly marked that it's not the actual petrol voucher, that you have to hand it in after spending the requisite amount on clothes then after the transaction, you will get your voucher.

This SC obviously could not read cuz she tried to use the clothing coupon to get the petrol reduction. I explained to her that it wasn't how it worked; she was nasty and bitched that she was going to call the supermarket and complain. Yeah, like that's going to work when the problem is that you can't bloody read. She demanded that I put it thru the till anyway, I told her no cuz it wouldn't scan thru. She left in a huff after paying for her fuel.

I demand an apology!

This happened during a busy period, when a customer accidently got a double scan of an item. It's a simple mistake which can be corrected easily. The customer turned into an SC cuz she didn't check her receipt before she left, and had to come back. That wouldn't be a problem as such, but she was acting as tho we'd kicked her first born child and demanding an apology. I gave it, as it's not as tho I have to mean it, but honestly; if you don't check your receipt before you leave, then it's your own fault that you have to come back. And if you blow a gasket over ninety pence, then I'd hate to see how you'd react over more money!

Unreasonable SC.

This SC thought that we were the unreasonable ones, cuz we wouldn't let him use our staff loo. Now, most customers accept the white lie that we don't have one; we say this cuz it's easier than explaining why we can't allow customers out back. This guy however insisted that we did have one and that we had to let him use it. Um, no we don't. Out back is our stockroom plus the safe plus the office; we could lose our jobs if we let every Tom Dick and Harry out back to use the loo. Besides, there's a public loo over the road and also one in the supermarket. He threw a massive tantrum over it, and tried to force his way thru the door; unsuccessfully, cuz the connecting door was locked. He then said he was going to complain to the manager. This won't get him very far.

I want free fuel!

We had a drive out, where a guy filled up and didn't even try to come in and pay. It was during a busy period, where we were overwhelmed with customers for a while so he would have been able to escape unseen... were it not for the customer who came after him. Sucks to be him; she not only gave us his registration number but also a complete description of his car. We passed this on to the old bill, so it won't be long before he's tracked down and arrested. Yeah, that was really worth it, wasn't it?

Rules do not apply to me!

Cuz of staff shortages, we had to have an untrained person over to do breaks. This means we have to close down half the pumps; we do this by coning them off. During such a time, this woman in a Giantpointless SUV barged to the front of the queue, drove over the cones and tried to use one of the pumps. Since it's actually against the rules to use those pumps at a time where we only have one trained person in the petrol station, I ignored her and didn't authorise the pump. She tried for a while, before giving up and storming into the petrol station. I attempted to explain the rule, she claimed she was excempt cuz she was in a hurry. I told her I wasn't going to break the law by allowing her to use that pump; she swore at me (in front of her child) and tantrumed out. She then left. Good riddance.

[camjuniper]

were it not for the customer who came after him. Sucks to be him; she not only gave us his registration number but also a complete description of his car. We passed this on to the old bill, so it won't be long before he's tracked down and arrested. Yeah, that was really worth it, wasn't it?

Awesome customer FTW!

Sorry you had to put up with some many other jerks just to find the one decent one!

[XCashier]

... were it not for the customer who came after him. Sucks to be him; she not only gave us his registration number but also a complete description of his car.

Good customer,

I attempted to explain the rule, she claimed she was excempt cuz she was in a hurry.

"Oh, you're in a hurry? Well, guess what Princess, so is everyone else here! You are not more special than all the other customers. So either wait your turn with the rest of the peasants or take your business elsewhere."

[thehuckster]

SCs are like buses; you get weeks without a single one, then a load come along at once. -.-

Ain't that the truth.

We had a drive out, where a guy filled up and didn't even try to come in and pay. It was during a busy period, where we were overwhelmed with customers for a while so he would have been able to escape unseen... were it not for the customer who came after him. Sucks to be him; she not only gave us his registration number but also a complete description of his car. We passed this on to the old bill, so it won't be long before he's tracked down and arrested. Yeah, that was really worth it, wasn't it?

Every single gas station I've been to here in the states always required a credit card inserted or cash paid to the station attendant before the pump even operated to prevent things like this. Is this less common in the UK?

[Lace Neil Singer]

The powers that be won't even consider it, cuz with pay at the pump we'd lose shop profits. Sad but true.

In any case, we have massive CCTV coverage so the vast majority of drive outs get caught.

That customer was totally awesome; I love people who are observant and helpful and make sure that an SC gets his comeuppance.

[mhkohne]

Ain't that the truth.



Every single gas station I've been to here in the states always required a credit card inserted or cash paid to the station attendant before the pump even operated to prevent things like this. Is this less common in the UK?

Also, in AU they only started doing significant installs of pay-at-pump in the last few years (My previous job was doing some of the software for Woolworths initial offering of pay at pump. I even got to spend two weeks touring the petrol stations of Sydney for that job.)

I think the related crime rates must simply be lower outside the US, and thus they don't have as much driving them toward PAP as a theft deterent system. Alternately, the penetration of credit/debit cards may be lower, making it less useful.

[Sapphire Silk]

We don't tend to have station attendants in the UK and Ireland. I'm sure a few places do but they're very uncommon, it's mostly all self-service.

In the US, only New Jersey and (IIRC) Oregon require full service by law. Every other state is self serve. You can pay at the counter in some places, not in others. It was quite flustering when I moved to a state where you HAVE to pay at the pump. North Carolina allows pay at the counter, and had issues with drive offs when the economy tanked and gas prices soared. Most of the stations have since retrofitted to pay at pump as a result.

[Zenova]

Im in the UK, and generally I go to the petrol station, lift the hose, and wait a few seconds before the pump comes on. Then just put in whatever fuel i like and go inside and pay.
I was told the delay of a few seconds is so that your number plate can be checked and someone in the station can switch on the pump (petrol stations have a LOT of CCTV cameras) but i dont know if thats true or not.

One place I went to, i tried to put in diesel as normal, but nothing happened. Its only when I went inside i was told that i had to pre-pay for a certain amount of fuel. Only ever had that at that one place.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Yup; we have to manually switch on the pump from inside. And CCTV is a multitude in itself; your number plate will be recorded... (and you will be assimilated; only joking!)

[fireheart]

Also, in AU they only started doing significant installs of pay-at-pump in the last few years (My previous job was doing some of the software for Woolworths initial offering of pay at pump. I even got to spend two weeks touring the petrol stations of Sydney for that job.)

I think the related crime rates must simply be lower outside the US, and thus they don't have as much driving them toward PAP as a theft deterent system. Alternately, the penetration of credit/debit cards may be lower, making it less useful.

Just to clarify, Woolies PAP is only for their credit cards.

Several places were putting in pre-pay options for customers 24/7, but now a majority of them only do it during certain hours.

Also, at least in South Australia, we have a system where you can check when your rego is due to expire online. Some petrol stations have been using that function to check licence plates of drive-offs, so that they can inform the police of the car make, model, colour and if the licence plates are stolen or not. (for instance, if a white 99 Toyota Camry drives off with a licence plate for a 2004 green Holden Barina, you can bet that the Barina plates have been stolen)

[CarcinogenCrunchies]

Most stations around here are still pump & pay, although they do have prepay and pay-at-pump capabilities. When I first started gas station work I was continually confused when people would say they wanted "$10 on pump 6," and there was no fuel already pumped there. The company I work for now doesn't even require an employee to activate the pump before fueling, which was a big surprise to me when I started. As an employee, I wish everything was prepay so I could focus on customers/side work in the store without having to keep an eye on the pumps. As a customer, I'm glad I can just fill up my tank and then pay that amount without having to either guess how much I need or go back into the store for change.

[Librarian]

Belgium here, i scan my bank card, then pump what i need. Amount pumped = amount that goess off my card.

We don't have any stations i know of that are serviced, and only the major ones at highways have attendance in a shop (that's only open during the day, don't know of any 24/7's around here) and then it's "pay after you pumped" if you prefer not to use a card, but not all allow it.

[DarkProwler]

The gas stations around my parts are the standard prepay/pay-at-pump deals, but the one closest to my home now apparently won't let you prepay with cash (you can still pay at the pump with debit/credit, though). Instead, you register for this prepay card to start up the pump (they take your name, address, phone, and driver's license number), then you can pay cash inside when you're done. I haven't used that option yet, so I really don't see the benefit, other than getting info on non-credit/debit users.

[Cosmart Security]

Yeah, I wish we had good CCTV at DG, our CCTV sucks, it suppossed to be digital, but it isn't and if you get a good close up of someones face you can barely make out their face, so we get a lot of HIGH SHRINK (Thefts), mostly because DG is too cheap to hire on a 3rd person unless they can figure out some rediculas additional tasks that need to be done for the slave wage we get.

No, no you can't just stand at the register, you have to stay busy, by Stay busy, I mean you have to be totally ignorant of the fact people walk out with Merchandise, while we have CCTV, probably laughing it up.

[Mystic]

We had a drive out, where a guy filled up and didn't even try to come in and pay. It was during a busy period, where we were overwhelmed with customers for a while so he would have been able to escape unseen... were it not for the customer who came after him. Sucks to be him; she not only gave us his registration number but also a complete description of his car. We passed this on to the old bill, so it won't be long before he's tracked down and arrested. Yeah, that was really worth it, wasn't it?

I've done this accidentally before. We have to use a store card to get a discount on petrol at the one I shop at (and to actually start the pump if you're not paying in cash beforehand). I forgot to swipe my credit card after and just took off. I ended up getting a letter in the mail because the store card was attached to my account that said to call them about it. I explained what must have happened and they told me no worries, just pay at one of their locations.