Gas Stations

[Allen]

A day before yesterday I gased up my MP3 from near empty with 92 octane at the Race Trac gas station... total price was $26!! My first time to step foot at Race Trac gas station because I saw that their price was a little cheaper than the others at $1.42 ... I started the pump and allowed the handle to auto-dispense on low.... I ran into the store to get some water to fill up my hydration pack.... I waited in line to pay and saw this girl run to my car and then run to the store... right when she said gas was leaking out on the ground... I saw this stream coming from my car.... damn.... it turns out that the pump didn't auto-stop with the sensor!!

I asked the cashier why doesn't the pump auto-shut off when full? He said it should, but then immediately said that I should have been standing next to my car while it was filling. Furthermore, he said that customers are suppose to be watching the gas fill up.

I was a little annoyed about his attitude. I wasn't even thinking about getting any money back since it would be kind of difficult (and a waste of time) to say how much I should not be responsible for.... But I felt that was what he was trying to protect me from making an issue about... he was very professional with his words at me... no rude comments and calling me, "Sir"... I give him thumbs up for taking my sarcasms and my rude comments about him throughout our conversation without retaliating with a come back, except to say... "I guess so...".

While he was outside taking care of the spill I asked him to show me the sign saying that customers should stand next to the gas pump while it was filling... he ignored me.... then I asked him again ... "Shouldn't a gas pump be required to have one of those auto-sensor to shut off the pump?"... he answered, "no, that is not required."....

So I asked him how in the hell are customers suppose to know when the tank is full if it didn't auto-shut off then? He just said, "Well, you should have been there watching your pump ... I guess it doesn't matter what I say...."

In reality I thought I should have been standing there... frustrated when you can't depend on simple operations like that to keep mistakes from happening. Oh well, I learned my lesson ... one is to never leave my pump while gassing up, two is to never step foot at Race Trac again, and three to kick that dude's sorry attitude if I ever recognize him at a night club.

Grrrr.... I'm done venting... $10 extra is not worth the trouble to get back in that case... but I guess worth a little story to post here.

 

[kep0ne]

hmmm...1.42 for 92oct...sounds nice.

here in CA we get watered down 91oct...and ive seen some places trying to dish it out for a good 40 cents more than you.

sigh...*waiting for my move to Louisiana where i can **** emissions and get some good gas*

 

[LinuxRacr]

Why the heck were you at RacTrac anyway! I never go to Race Trac anymore due to the fact that I don't like thier gas, and the fact that...well I don't like thier gas! That really sucks that that happened tho. The I thought that gas stations were required to have the back pressure sensor thingy on the pumps?

 

[BigBlue]

At most places here, they actually take the little latch thingy off so you can't leave it on automatic while you wash windows or go inside...I agree that it sucks but I guess those little auto devices aren't flawless so it's for the protection of everyone.

 

[Sir Nuke]

At most places here, they actually take the little latch thingy off so you can't leave it on automatic while you wash windows or go inside...I agree that it sucks but I guess those little auto devices aren't flawless so it's for the protection of everyone.

very true....they do that at nearly ALL self-serve places here.

 

[ZiO]

I actually used to always let it pump while i check everything else... and one time the handle slipped right out of the gas tank and sprayed gas everywhere... .and allover me cause i was washing the back window! I freaked, but when i look back i cant stop laughing about it.

 

[adragonfly]

I'm guilty of relying on that auto stop thingy cause I have no idea how much gas to put in before I stop pumping... Once on a trip to San Francisco I was gassing up at a Chevron and sat in my car while the pump was going. (If anyone's been on that drive from L.A. to S.F. you know how windy and cold it is...) Anyway, I didn't notice how high the bill was getting, or I would have been suspicious. When I pulled the pump out of the car it sprayed gas everywhere and my tank started spitting gas out at me too. I was soaked with it and couldn't sit in my 2-week-old car until it dried off! Made me think of that scene in "Zoolander" where the male models had a gas fight and ended up blowing themselves up. I couldn't help but laugh at myself for being as stupid as they were.

 

[Allen]

Why the heck were you at RacTrac anyway! I never go to Race Trac anymore due to the fact that I don't like thier gas, and the fact that...well I don't like thier gas! That really sucks that that happened tho. The I thought that gas stations were required to have the back pressure sensor thingy on the pumps?

You know, you're the fourth person who's said that to me about why going into RaceTrac in the first place. Hehe. Okay, well I never had any particular gas station I was dedicated to. I guess I'm a brand name guy most of the time... this time it was just because of the price and how new the gas station was. One friend said she believed Chevron had a cleaner gas than even Exxon. I have no idea how she found that out, but she said it was based off her experience from monitoring her gas mileage.

I usually gas up at several... Exxon, Shell, Texaco, Chevron, or Mobile 1. This may change now since I've heard several times how you are suppose to gas up 3-5 tanks of the same brand to notice improved gas mileage. Any truth to this? I'll give it a shot.

 

[Allen]

Got my money back

So this is what happened these past two days.

I wrote an e-mail to RaceTrac corp about my experience at their affiliate gas station. I never expected any response or money compensation from my complaint... just wanted to have my complaint filed in their records if that was possible.

Surprisingly, the following day I received a call from the area supervisor of RaceTrac. She managed the overall areas in Austin and Corpus Christi from what I understand. We were on the phone for 30+ minutes as she was trying diligently to express her apologies for one of her co-manager's (the person who I disputed with at the store) attitude towards me that day. I was ALSO enlightened by her tips that gasing up with the same brand of gas for at least 5 times would help overall gas mileage for any particular car. We talked a little about how to improve gas mileage on a car. I told her I just knew about keeping the tire pressure at the right level and consistent oil changes.

So many folks are telling me to use the same brand for improved gas mileage. Man, I guess Texaco's old commercial is true, huh?

Anyways, she didn't agree her employee at the gas station was right in handling the situation the other day, but she said that what he IMPLIED was correct. That was about me having to monitor my car while the tank was being filled up, and she mentioned that there WAS a sign telling people to monitor their gas up. She explained that she was trying to get ALL the pumps removed with those auto-fill lever hinges. She told me those are unreliable in the first place.

Having already decided not to go back to RaceTrac, there was no incentive for me to discuss this issue further with her. I told her I appreciated her phone call and it was nice of her to respond to my complaint. Then, she suddenly brought up how she wanted to refund part of my money back to be fair, which was the ten dollars I had wrote in the e-mail, my ears perked up. I thought that was cool. She wanted to set up a meeting with her at that same gas station, so I obliged.

Next morning I dropped by the gas station prior to lunch and I met with her and the co-manager. She asked the co-manager to take care of me... hehe... no, no violence. He asked if he could talk with me outside. So I said okay. He apologized to me for his behavior the other day... saying how he just had a rough day that day... plus the fact that he never encountered such a situation before... his managers never trained him on how to handle this....

So, I said that's ok. I told him he was cool to be professional about everything the other day. I told him I should have watched the pump and will do so in the future and I appreciated his apology for his attitude. He then proceeded to ask if I had my receipt so that he could refund me the ENTIRE AMOUNT. I was like... yeah, you're pretty cool after all. .

The lady supervisor was standing a bit off in the corner and said she had the money ready. She handed me the $26, and joked that I now had lunch money (which wasn't far off from the truth!). She asked if she could show me the sign to the pump that I said wasn't there. I said OK. We walked to the pump and she pointed the signs.... hmm, no signs for me... nothing really said I was suppose to be standing there watching my gas fill up.

One sign said, kids under 18 should be monitored while filling up gas or something... second said it was illegal to fill with improper bottles ... third was something else not relating to having customers stand and monitor their gases while filling up. I didn't press the issue, but she said these signs must be old signs that needed to be changed.... I was thinking to myself, ok just let this conversation end ... I want to go to lunch! haha.

Before I got into my car, she asked if that was a Protege. I said, "yes, ma'am". She said it was nice and that the Protege she bought a while back didn't look like that. I told her it was limited edition... she laughed and I just smiled and got into my car.... Some how, I don't think she believed that my car was a limited edition.....

 

[enry]

And they all lived happily ever after.

 

[rodslinger]

It usually doesn't matter where you get your gas from as long as you get it from a high volume dealer. Some backwoods low volume dealer may not pass enough through to keep moisture acuumulation down. Secondly, depending on where you live, all the stations may get it from a single source anyway. Keeping the same brand in your car for a few tankfuls is bull. Just a marketing hype to keep you coming back.