Petrol Station Etiquette

[davidmi]

A few people on here will know the petrol station on the eastern Coventry bypass. Pass by there quite a bit but haven't used until returning empty from the frozen north last Sunday evening about 8 pm. As I went fill up I noticed the attendant holding up a large notice in the shop saying "pay before filling up after 6 pm" not to me but a customer already waiting for the pump to operate. I was first into the shop and lightheartedly asked if it was "a bit rough around the bypass area". I was totally ignored except for the words "cards or cash" and sensing a bit of hostility decided not to fill up and handed over £20. My request for a receipt was rejected because I hadn't filled up although the attendant had my money and said I should come back after filling. The next customer also tried communication but clearly followed my lead and bought £10 worth and was off. Now i do live in the sticks and don't come across this pay in advance approach but it struck me as inept and bordering on rudeness and could be handled more courteously. Certainly the owners lost out on a full fill-up and, although I suspect they make more out of the burger bar in the shop, they will get no business of any kind from me again.

 

[John]

I've never had any issues like this. Worse thing I seem to experience occasionally is you hold the door open for someone and they assume you are the door man.

Doesn't always annoy me but when it does, I wait in the door way until they've acknowledged my courtesy.

I noticed the other day a family of smelly individuals, who had the 'sweet' unwashed aroma that most of you will have experienced at some point, filled up with a whopping £6.

They must have effectively poured in a cup of petrol.

Some garages actively discourage this, TESCO (in my area at least) wouldn't authorise a pump if you had it stretched across your car

My local Tesco aren't fussy then. I regularly stick the nozzle in either side.

I also fill up on the side opposite to my fuel filler...

The general consensus of opinion seems to be that waiting 5 mins to fill your car with fuel is extremely annoying and that precious time is gone forever and it's everyone elses fault you'll never get it back.....and yet bitching about it to stangers on the interweb for 15 mins is fine. Strange world we live in. Patience is a long forgotten virtue.

As I sit here and spend that 15 minutes, I am on comfy leather executive chair in a warm room rather than standing awkwardly in the -15c wind chill blowing around my ******** pissing away another £100.

Understandable really...

 

[HR17]

I've noticed kids/lads/fully grown men on their bikes/mopeds trying to cheat the que at my local station a number of times. Just driving to the front of the que between cars. On each occasion, those in the que(women included) have got out and complained, getting the attention of the cashiers who have spoken to cheaters(and everyone on he forecourt) via the pa system and explained that cheating is not tolerated, and that they are to leave the premises.
Very embarrassing for them as they put their helmets back on and drive off without their petrol in front of those they tried to cheat.

 

[Dieselman]

Anyone else had any "interesting" experiences at petrol stations?

No, but watching a meat-head Chav in a 3 Series arguing over the "right" to a parking space at Ikea was fun a week a go.

Before you ask...no we weren't going to Ikea, but got stuck in their car-park.

 

[Dieselman]

i use my left hand

tmi...

 

[Shude]

depends on the pump software, they can at ours.

I do this at the Shell near work quite often, if there is any kind of a queue I tend to pull forwards into the parking spaces outside the shop to let the next person use the pump, this almost always works and owning a V8 I know the staff quite well and it's rarely a problem. One day it was a different employee and I got a roasting...

 

[davidjpowell]

A few people on here will know the petrol station on the eastern Coventry bypass. Pass by there quite a bit but haven't used until returning empty from the frozen north last Sunday evening about 8 pm. As I went fill up I noticed the attendant holding up a large notice in the shop saying "pay before filling up after 6 pm" not to me but a customer already waiting for the pump to operate. I was first into the shop and lightheartedly asked if it was "a bit rough around the bypass area". I was totally ignored except for the words "cards or cash" and sensing a bit of hostility decided not to fill up and handed over £20. My request for a receipt was rejected because I hadn't filled up although the attendant had my money and said I should come back after filling. The next customer also tried communication but clearly followed my lead and bought £10 worth and was off. Now i do live in the sticks and don't come across this pay in advance approach but it struck me as inept and bordering on rudeness and could be handled more courteously. Certainly the owners lost out on a full fill-up and, although I suspect they make more out of the burger bar in the shop, they will get no business of any kind from me again.

I've seen this before, but never as early as 6PM! Normally it's after 10PM. Coventry is obviously worse than Doncaster!

 

[SilverSaloon]

if similar things happen to me and there is a dozy git in front i always give it a few secs for them to make their decision and then if they are still too slow its tough and i'm not waiting any longer. lifes too short to be sitting around for no reason. people should be more aware of whats going on around them. rant over!

 

[davidjpowell]

But if it is a woman, when she comes back to the car she then usually has to look at herself in the mirror, do her hair and make up, empty her handbag, re-fill her handbag before putting on her seatbelt and heading of. Grrrrrr

Interestingly, I travel around the North East of Brazil a lot and none of the petrol stations there are self-service that I have found. There is usually a team of guys who all do different jobs - one does your oil, another does your windscreen, another fills the tank. I guess it was like that here in the 1950s

This reminds me. I filled up in Wolverhamton recently and they had an employee roving around the forecourt, whose job was to fill the tanks, check the air and oil etc. Old fashioned service... English was not great, but he was a cheery chap and clearly very keen on his job.

 

[Darrell]

With my new job I have got a diesel card. I just pull up, fill up and give the guy my card. It's the first time I have had a job where I get my fuel paid for.

I have noticed a few dodgy looks when I stick 100 quids worth of diesel in the van, then jump inside to start the engine.......just to note down the mileage.

 

[DITTRICH]

A few people on here will know the petrol station on the eastern Coventry bypass. Pass by there quite a bit but haven't used until returning empty from the frozen north last Sunday evening about 8 pm. As I went fill up I noticed the attendant holding up a large notice in the shop saying "pay before filling up after 6 pm" not to me but a customer already waiting for the pump to operate. I was first into the shop and lightheartedly asked if it was "a bit rough around the bypass area". I was totally ignored except for the words "cards or cash" and sensing a bit of hostility decided not to fill up and handed over £20. My request for a receipt was rejected because I hadn't filled up although the attendant had my money and said I should come back after filling. The next customer also tried communication but clearly followed my lead and bought £10 worth and was off. Now i do live in the sticks and don't come across this pay in advance approach but it struck me as inept and bordering on rudeness and could be handled more courteously. Certainly the owners lost out on a full fill-up and, although I suspect they make more out of the burger bar in the shop, they will get no business of any kind from me again.

Pay in advance has also been started at Texaco on the Isle of Dogs. The thing I did not like was you had to decide how much fuel you wanted, they would then process the transaction, leaving you to fill up. Not much use if you wan to brim the tank like I always do. I don't use them anymore. In Russia most fuel is paid for in cash. I simply advance £30 = RBL1,500 to the cashier and specify the pump number and fuel quality. After filling up with the amount I WANT I then return for a receipt and change. Filling station cash offices are a little bit like cash deposit machines. Highly armoured, guarded and very very solid.

 

[MOCAŠ]

I use my left hand...

tmi...

I regularly stick the nozzle in either side.

 

[trainer]

Our local Morrisons has pay at the pump on two aisles of pumps and pay at kiosk at two others. People queue for ages to pay at the kiosk rather than pump. They block the access to the pay at pump aisles in doing so which is a right PITA.

The shop is so small they can't all be doing a hourly shop never mind weekly.

 

[Harrythedog]

I remember years ago I pulled into an unmanned station in France. I put the relevant notes into the pump and filled to that amount. Never seen one since.

 

[renault12ts]

I remember years ago I pulled into an unmanned station in France. I put the relevant notes into the pump and filled to that amount. Never seen one since.

We have a couple of these in Northern Ireland.

 

[markjay]

Local Esso had 'pay-at-pump' option - never worked properly. They were taken over by Tesco, so now it's 'queue with other shoppers to pay from fuel'.

 

[John]

Yeah, but mine was deliberate...

I've tried posting stuff like that before to see if I can get away with it and usually do.

 

[christopherwk]

They were taken over by Tesco, so now it's 'queue with other shoppers to pay from fuel'.

The Sainsburys petrol station in Lower Richmond Road, Putney had a seperate queue for fuel purchases only, last time I looked.

 

[akhan48]

I generally pick a pump and queue up behind it. This usually then turns out to be the person who then does their weekly shop in the store, whilst leaving their car parked on the pump, then going to pay.

Sometimes the forecourt design determines if queuing is sensible or not.

Lol this is what usually happens to me.

 

[Charles Morgan]

I once pulled into a petrol station close to Dash in South London, saw an empty pump at the front of the forecourt so pulled up, with a BSM driving instructor pulling up at the pump behind me. To my irritation the pump was not dispensing petrol, to my considerable surprise, the BSM guy saw this and reversed back to let me have the pump he was going to use. Chivalry isn't dead, and I told him afterwards how appreciative I was of his consideration.