I used to pull into a gas station; and a guy, in response to the ding-ding of rolling over the rubber hose dinger thing, came out of the building with the car repair bays and said he could "Fill 'er up." There are still a couple places like that around here. And it is sometimes cool to drive out of the way to enjoy the service that was ripped from service stations.
Now, it seems, nearly all gas stations are self-serve. The pumps now take my debit card for payment; so, I get out of the car, pop open the gas tank cover with the little lever by the driver's seat, put the card into the reader, remove card quickly, as commanded by the little screen, push the proper button for 87 octane, remove the gas cap, unhitch the nozzle, put the nozzle in the car filler tube, and start pumping gas.
When finished pumping, after returning the nozzle to the pump's cradle, the little screen asks, "Want a receipt?" to which, I answer by pressing the "Yes" button.
The little screen tells me: See attendant for receipt.
I paid at the pump because I didn't want to interact with people, hold the door for someone, respond, "You're welcome," tell the person behind the glass or the counter which pump, reply "No" to the person when asked if I want anything else.
That is something I don't want to endure. I'm more content pumping my gasoline in solitude, wondering if my cell phone will ring and blow me up, making the MSNBC Weird News page.
So, "See attendant for receipt" fucks with my head; and I ask if it really is rocket science to change the little roll of thermal-sensitive paper on which receipts are printed. Maybe so -- it is thermal-sensitive paper, after all. Is there an all-day training seminar: "Re-stocking Receipt Rolls: Attendant's Nightmare?"
I refuse to see the attendant for my receipt. I didn't bargain for that. I chose to pay at the pump. The oil company executives have no fear that the attendant will abscond with my cash. The gas station gets a huge benefit. But if I don't "See attendant for receipt," the evil oil company will change the amount of my purchase, increasing it, usually by $6.66 -- you know how those evil oil companies do things. Why do you think the evil oil companies have made so much in profits? The increased prices? Sure, the profits go up a little. But that's only a small part of the story. Next time you get that message "See attendant for receipt," write down the date, time, gas station identifiers, and the charge on your card. Then, when your account statement arrives, check it out.
You'll see. You'll see.
Posted by Bill at September 30, 2008 10:05 PMA lot of yougsters won't know what you are talking about.
We have talking pumps locally and it gets very noisy. Rob was offended the other day because our pump wouldn't speak to us. They give out receipts too and you can choose to have one or not...
Not one mention of vomit in this entire post. I'm a little stunned.
Posted by: KathyHowe at October 2, 2008 12:14 PMI have the same general idea about the receipts. I get them when I'm traveling. But with me it's worse. I don't take them for documentation. My brain believes that the mere act of taking the receipt - in itself - deters fraud. They won't try it because I took a receipt. They don't know that I throw them away, unless they read your blog. But discard them I must, or die under an avalanche of thermal paper.
Posted by: Kyle at October 5, 2008 05:15 AM