Self service...a boon or not??

[3930dave]

I went back to paying at the pump, once, in the better part of 10 years. I've posted this on here before, just hopefully not in this thread .

I had 2 major customer equipment demonstrations scheduled with an out-of-town factory engineer, in the same day. Got to the first one a little early. Since I needed gas to get to the second distant appointment, I decided to squeeze in a fill-up before the first appointment, at a Canadian Tire Gas Bar.

In a hurry now, so I decide to pay at the pump. Card scans, pump fires up. Fill up car, put nozzle back, pump shuts down normally. No receipt prints. I always take a receipt, but I almost jumped back in the car to head to this now nearly due 9am appt.

Fortunately, I literally ran into the kiosk, and asked for a reprint receipt. Lady shows me a crumpled Transaction Failed receipt (it might have actually said Card Fault, or something like that), the payment had never gone through. I followed up with my Ccard company, this was all legit. There had been no Pay Inside message on the pump, it reset and looked totally normal.

When I queried my Ccard company about the error message the clerk first printed, the comment was "If there is some glitch on the line, or with the credit terminal equipment, they will often call it a Card Fault, instead of a hardware issue". Point the finger somewhere else....

I almost unintentionally drove off w/o paying for gas, the last time I used Pay at The Pump. So now, I avoid pay at the pump unless the vehicle is on fumes (my wife's MO), and I have absolutely no other choice. That incident is part of why I avoid self-serve checkouts in stores.

Rgds, D.

 

[cqaigy2]

Hah! I was mesmerized by the little glass bulb with the marble in it!

lol, i remember watching that thing go round and round on the side of the gas pump.

 

[dmccarty]

I will stop for diesel at maybe three stations. Two of the stations have issues. One limits you to $100 per transaction which means I have to swipe TWO cards to fill up the truck. Which wastes time. Since I track my fuel usage, I then have to add up two tickets to see the total cost and gallons then I get to figure out my MPG. MORE wasted time. I don't use that station anymore. The other station is the same except their fuel pump is always having problems. :shocked::confused3:

The third station is where I go now. No credit card scanner at the pump so I have to walk into the store to pay but I can pump and then pay. No way would I pay and then pump since then I have to walk in a second time.

I have taken vehicles to quick lube places a few times but those places are not quick that is for sure. I have not used one in years since they don't save me time, and 20 years ago, while waiting for them to change the oil, I thought about their costs in labor, overheard, filter and oil. Figured they were cutting corners somewhere and that was the last time I went to an oil change place. The irony was that this was the new trucks first change. I HAD to take the truck to the quick lube place because I was traveling and staying at someone elses house. The oil filter would not come off and I could not jam a screw driver through the filter while in someone's elses driveway, so to get the filter off, I went to the quick lube. :shocked: Once they were done, I went back to the house and changed the oil with my filter and oil. :shocked::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[brain55]

I had a friend that worked at a full service station back in the 70's. His boss told him to always add a quart of oil even if it didn't need it. He would have an empty oil can with the spout in it for the cars that didn't need the oil.... What a rip off.

I was taught how to short stick and add an empty quart of oil as a teenager. I could never do that now, but as a teenager I was learning about my moral compass. The first station I worked at encouraged that type of behavior.

Brian

 

[3930dave]

I was taught how to short stick and add an empty quart of oil as a teenager. I could never do that now, but as a teenager I was learning about my moral compass. The first station I worked at encouraged that type of behavior.

Brian

I'm on the other side of the continent, in another country.... but I'm pretty sure the boss you had at that job now runs the electric utilities here, today.

(Sorry for the drift JD.... just paid my electric bill, and was shaking my head over the Regulatory Charges line entry on my bill. I'll attempt to re-direct to Self-Serve..... that's part of why I want to retire with a homestead that is Off-Grid.)

Rgds, D.

 

[Looking4new]

We had a small gas station in my home town that was run by an elderly gentleman...it was a self-service by necessity; he either wasn't able or inclined to provide much service. This was in the '50's; and his station still had the old mechanical pumps with the 5 gallon glass vessels above the pumps. I would wager that very few have had the honor of pumping their own gas by hand and watching it flow out of the glass container above the pump and into the tank.

We had one of those when I worked at the County roads Department in Alberta. circa 1979

 

[TomSeller]

The two closest gas stations to me both have full time mechanics and each has a three bay shop. I take my cars there for repair. Their pumps are self serve or you can opt for full service at the pumps closest to the shop at which time a mechanic stops working on a car and comes out to do the service. They don't seem to be phased by all the convenience stores with gas pumps everywhere. Their gas is a little higher priced and their mechanics are usually backed up for 3 or 4 days. They keep the office open for customers until 9 pm for people picking up their cars, wanting oil added or whatever. The stations have not changed in 30 years (other than the prices). Just like Mayberry RFD in a modern setting.

 

[3930dave]

The two closest gas stations to me both have full time mechanics and each has a three bay shop. I take my cars there for repair. Their pumps are self serve or you can opt for full service at the pumps closest to the shop at which time a mechanic stops working on a car and comes out to do the service. They don't seem to be phased by all the convenience stores with gas pumps everywhere. Their gas is a little higher priced and their mechanics are usually backed up for 3 or 4 days. They keep the office open for customers until 9 pm for people picking up their cars, wanting oil added or whatever. The stations have not changed in 30 years (other than the prices). Just like Mayberry RFD in a modern setting.

A smart car (not the crackerbox on wheels) owner would drive a long way, to get service there - pretty rare today.

Rgds, D.

 

[MossRoad]

Hmmm. That got me thinking.... I only know of ONE service station that has gas AND a mechanic. There were two (owned by the same guy) but they closed the one closest to me. And that one was full serve only.... they'd pump the gas and it was about 25 cents more per gallon. Yet they still got old people in there every day for gas. Almost all of the "service stations" have long ago boarded up their service bays and converted to convenience stores, or, they have removed their pumps and become mechanics only.

 

[Bob77064]

... and a nickel would buy you a candy bar

And a nickel would buy a bottle of Coke, frm the machine with the lever handle.