Do you mind pre-paying for gas?
By coferbox
@coferbox (298)
United States
July 20, 2007 5:39pm CST
I remember when I never had to do this but now most of the stations in my area make you pre-pay. In one way I kind of find it offensive as if they are threating me as if I am a dishonest person who will run off and not pay if they don't force me to pay first. One the other hand I am sure they have more drive-offs since the price of gas is so high. But I've never done that and I wouldn't. So sometimes I find it a little offensive as if I'm being treated like a possible crook whenever I go to buy gas.
3 responses
@wackeytiger (424)
• United States
23 Jul 07
I can see how you would think that's offensive. I actually don't mind pre-paying at all because I use a credit card. It would be really annoying paying with check or cash though because you'd have to go in and out of the gas station.
@latsmom (824)
•
20 Jul 07
I would not take it as offence, it is just a process they have had to put in order for those few dishonest people who don't pay, adn I have to say another way of looking at it is that with the tax added onto gas so frequently at least we are not paying on top in insurance for thaose dishonest people who are doing a runner therefore meaning our tax and fuel goes up in order to cover there crime.
@coferbox (298)
• United States
21 Jul 07
You have a point there and I'm sure there are more people that drive off without paying now that gas prices are at almost $3 per gallon in my area again. But I find it a little bit of a hassle anyway. The clerks want you to come in the store and pay - if you go to get a drink or look for anything else in the store they get a little attitude with you because they don't want your car just sitting and blocking the pump while you are in the store. But I'm not going in and out of the store two or three times to pay for gas and then go back to get a drink or whatever. So they are really costing themselves my business in other areas.
@cyberopjames (483)
• United States
23 Jul 07
I was an Asst. Mgr in a gas station. Just because you are not the type of person that would take off not paying for you gas dose not mean that 3 other people will. The gas station I worked at was right next to the Florida Turnpike, so they could just hop on the turnpike and be gone before I get on the phone with the police. People dont thank about all the pumps that one person has to watch at one time and all the people that come into the store. Drive-offs happen more then you think. I had one person that paid at the pump using a credit card and when the person was done, rather then putting the handle back on the pump, the person put it on the ground. I did not find this until I had to go and clean around the pumps. I thought at the time that it was funny due to the fact that this person did not think that once the handle was replaced on the pump that he would be charged for the gas. Well little did I know that the card was stolen and did not post as stolen that night. That was $60.00 that my boss was out. In the area that I am in, gas stations only make an avrage of only $0.06 per gal of gas. The rest gose to pay for the fuel and the taxes. How is it fair to the station owner to take the risk? If you dont like to pre-pay for your gas, you could get a pre-pay debit card or use your bank card at the pump. You have to just suck it up, pre-pay at the pump is here and here to stay. At one time one gas station had it where you could pay cash at the pump, but people would break into the pump and steal the money out of it. People say that the gas station has insurance, think of it this way. You have a car and should have insurance on the car, you get in a car wreck, your insurance gose up. Well, same thing in a gas station insurance keeps going up and the cost is passed along to the consumer. So that means you pay more for gas. I would rather deal with pre-pay then have to pay more for the gas?
