# "Because I'm busy waiting on the customers who are in line, Sir" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 13, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969 "2009-09-13T23:02:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/141 "2009-09-14T21:28:51Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > I might be, but by the same token so might the customer be. You’re kind of making my point, which is if _no one explains to the customer why his request is not reasonable_, from his POV it’s not going to be at all clear that the asshole in the scene is him and not the cashier. I just have a hard time imagining why we need to sit and explain to this guy why he has to stand in line in order to fucking pay for something. Yeah, it could be that he has a cognitive learning disability and doesn’t understand all the people also standing in line who are also waiting to pay for things, and that when the cashier tells him he has to wait in line to pay he may not also make the connection that gas is indeed a type of thing you might pay for in line at a gas station. Or, you know, maybe he’s just a fucking asshole, and that’s the real point of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/142 "2009-09-14T21:32:15Z")
> [@atomicbadgerrace](#): > > I think it’s becoming exceedingly clear that you’ve never had any experience working with customers in this kind of situation. It is becoming exceedingly clear that you don’t know shit about my work history. I have in fact been the lowly cashier myself, which is why I have next to no patience for shitty customer service. What is not clear is why you think your experience must be the only one. > [@](#): > > Explanations of policy are, 9 times out of 10, entirely fruitless and result in either: > > 1. The customer asking more and more questions about the policy, thus holding up the line, or > 2. The customer arguing with you, the lowly cashier, about the policy. Ah, but there’s that 10th time, isn’t there? And I’ve never said the cashier has to engage in an argument or dialogue with the customer; in fact I’ve said precisely the opposite. The explanation is given, and the cashier moves on. > [@](#): > > The customer can think whatever he wants, but no amount of questioning or discussion of the policy is going to change it _right now, for him_. You’ll have to excuse me if I decline to acknowledge you as The Arbiter Of Hypothetical Retail Transactions,. I fail to see why “I have to ring that up as a sale, so you’ll have to wait in line like everyone else who wants to make a sale” could not as easily be met with “Oh” or “Hmph” as with “Yeah but – _insert argument here_” And since we’re flashing our credentials, I too am a frequent customer of many businesses. > [@](#): > > The explanation was pretty clear – the line’s over here, this is the line for people wishing to exchange money for services or products. Again refusing to acknowledge that what the customer _thought_ he was asking for might well have been something far short of a complete exchange of money for services or products. Indeed, it seems perfectly possible, even if you would not grant likely, that at that point, the customer believed all he was asking for, was for the cashier to flip the pump on. But feel free to continue to ignore that possibility if you feel it makes your argument stronger. > [@alphaboi867](#): > > Bingo, I told him several times he needed to wait in line. He’s been told before he needs to wait in line. It’s not like I ignored him and stared into space or stocked tobacco, I was waiting on other people. He could see that I was waiting on other people. But you never told him that the reason he had to wait in line was because you had to process the gas as a transaction like every other transaction, and he couldn’t pump gas until you did. Have you never heard of the process by which a customer comes in, leaves cash on the counter and the pump gets turned on? I realize that’s not how it’s done wherever you work, but have you truly never heard of it? Because as I have said, it’s pretty common where I live – so common that this is what I assume he was trying to accomplish. In his mind, why should he wait in line? He just needed you to turn on the pump. All you had to do was flip a switch. Now, obviously he was _wrong_ about that, but how could he know that? You didn’t tell him (apparently). Other cashiers have let him do the same exact thing before. > [@](#): > > If he didn’t think he was asking for a transaction then why did he ask for a product and try to give me money for it? Because he expected you to turn the pump on so he could pump his gas. Then either he would come back in and get his change to complete the transaction (the point at which, under this system, the customer _does_ stand in line and wait his turn), or if he used all his money’s worth, he would have simply driven off leaving you to process the transaction whenever you had time. Again, it’s the _what is this custom you speak of?_ vibe that I’m not understanding. Have you never even heard of this? Because that explains why your expectations and his were so clearly at odds. > [@](#): > > It’s not like he stood outside at the pump waving his arms and waiting for me to turn the pump on. Except he did exactly that. He went back out and waited for you to turn the pump on. He _did_ come in and say “Put $20 on Three,” but by then you two were hip deep in your power struggle and you weren’t going to tell him anything except that he had to wait in line. “You need to wait in line” tells him what to do but does not tell him _why_. If you understood his confusion – and at this point in fairness it’s not clear that you did – explaining _why_ you could not easily accommodate him might have defused the situation. Or not; maybe the guy’s just a jerk. I just don’t see why you’re so certain it could not have been a mere misunderstanding. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/143 "2009-09-14T21:34:07Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > If you’re going to assume an explanation would necessarily be fruitless, then just go ahead and assume the guy’s an asshole. One assumption is as defensible as the other. Point taken, but there’s decent empirical evidence for the former; the latter’s a value judgement. > [@](#): > > Our mileage varies then. I believe the customer is entitled to a brief reasonable explanation of policy, if the policy does not on its face appear to make any sense. This forestalls (or should) what the customer would otherwise believe, which is that a cashier who is insisting on blind obedience to a seemingly ridiculous policy, is just being a jerk. I do not share your personal conviction as to the universal and automatic fruitlessness of such communications, such that I would excuse a cashier from even trying to offer an explanation to a customer who is confused as to policy and therefore incensed for the wrong reasons. > > Some people are jerks, customers and clerks. But some aren’t. All we can do is try our best to _briefly_ explain ourselves and then move on. I haven’t said the clerk owes the customer an argument; I have just said that a short explanation might have not have been amiss. My “personal conviction as to the universal and automatic fruitlessness of such communications”? Come on, now, give me more credit than _that_. I’m hardly suggesting that the cashier just give the guy the middle finger from the get-go; of course there’s room for reasonable discourse. All I’m saying is that a polite request to wait at the back of the line, which is what the OP appears to have done, qualifies as “reasonable discourse” for that purpose. Were I the cashier in that situation, my experience would tell me that getting into a “why do I have to do that” conversation with a customer was likely to start an argument that would have wasted the time of the hapless bystanders already in line — and whether or not the customer is “owed” a debate after the inital explanation, there’s not much way of avoiding one should he decide to start it, which the odds overwhelmingly favor — and I’d have done pretty much what the OP did. I’d do this not because I personally assume that every single person is an argumentative asshole, but because I believed it to be the best decision from an overall service standpoint. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/144 "2009-09-14T21:41:46Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > 1.) He was handing the cashier money to turn the pump on. If he didn’t understand that he was exchanging money for goods and services, he was a fucking retard. I’ve already explained upteen times that what he was trying to do – leave money for the pump to be turned on, with the transaction itself to be completed once the gas was pumped – is still common in some places in the U.S. and IME was very common after many stations went to “pay before you pump” but before credit/debit readers were installed at the pumps. What the guy was attempting to do was hardly a novel, or necessarily rude thing, assuming that he did not understgand that what he thought he was asking the cashier to do – turn on the pump – was not in fact what he was asking the cashier to do – complete a register transaction. Why you and others insist on acting like there’s no difference between the two things, I don’t know, except that no one’s cornered the market on fucking retardation. > [@](#): > > 2.) Taking five seconds to explain it to him almost certainly would not solve everything. Taking five seconds to explain it to him almost certainly would not solve everything. All the explanation the man should have needed was “I need you to wait in line like everyone else.” A reasonable person would be able to infer from that that the reason they are being asked to wait in line like everyone else is that they are engaging in a transaction just like everyone else. YMMV if you’re particularly thick or self-centered. You don’t know this, you just assume it. And like I said, if you’re going to assume the guy’s just a dick and no brief explanation could possibly have sufficed – well, that’s your reason for not even bothering to try, right there. But you can hardly insist I agree with you. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/145 "2009-09-14T21:47:47Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > I fail to see why “I have to ring that up as a sale, so you’ll have to wait in line like everyone else who wants to make a sale” could not as easily be met with “Oh” or “Hmph” as with “Yeah but – _insert argument here_” And since we’re flashing our credentials, I too am a frequent customer of many businesses. It shouldn’t be the responsibility of the OP to teach this guy what most everyone seems to already know[1] – that purchasing gas from a gas station is a transaction, and transactions are processed from the line that has formed. “But that’s still the way it’s done in a lot of the US; mostly in the south!” Okay, fine. How would _you_ react if the cashier directed you to the line? I think most air-breathing people would realize “oh, I have to wait in line to buy gas here. Let me go get in line.” Anything else would be kind of, well, asshole-y. [1] Empirical evidence as gathered from the majority of responses to this thread. > [@](#): > > I’ve already explained upteen times that what he was trying to do Aren’t you the one lecturing others about making assumptions regarding this man’s motive? ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/146 "2009-09-14T21:48:43Z")
> [@Roland\_Orzabal](#): > > My “personal conviction as to the universal and automatic fruitlessness of such communications”? Come on, now, give me more credit than _that_. I’m hardly suggesting that the cashier just give the guy the middle finger from the get-go; of course there’s room for reasonable discourse. All I’m saying is that a polite request to wait at the back of the line, which is what the OP appears to have done, qualifies as “reasonable discourse” for that purpose. I’m not saying the cashier was rude; he wasn’t. But the old guy clearly was frustrated by what he was asking, and when a person is frustrated by being asked to do something ordinary, it is possible the person doesn’t understand why they’re being asked to do [whatever]. So why would a one-sentence explanation be out of order? “I can’t do that for you, sir, the pumps don’t work that way, so you’ll have to wait in line, I’m sorry.” > [@](#): > > Were I the cashier in that situation, my experience would tell me that getting into a “why do I have to do that” conversation with a customer was likely to start an argument that would have wasted the time of the hapless bystanders already in line — and whether or not the customer is “owed” a debate after the inital explanation, there’s not much way of avoiding one should he decide to start it, which the odds overwhelmingly favor — and I’d have done pretty much what the OP did. Why is a debate unavoidable at that point? Just because one person wants an argument, the other person doesn’t have to accede. Heck, the cashier did a pretty good job of avoiding the argument in the OP; he did not engage and merely repeated his instruction. All I have ever said is that the situation might have been de-escalated – MIGHT have been – if the customer was given only the briefest explanation that the cashier simply could not accommodate him – not just _would_ not, but _could_ not. If there was, as I theorize, a miscommunication between what the customer thought he was asking for and what he really was asking for, maybe not just this time but in future with this customer, such a situation could be avoided. As it is, the customer has declared he’s not coming back, which is probably fine with the cashier but is not in the best interests of the store. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/147 "2009-09-14T21:49:55Z")
**Jodi** , if he were trying to get an unlimited fill-up, your argument would make some sense. Yes, back in the day and even now at the very rare station, you could just reach over and flip the switch to turn on the pump if you wanted to let someone pump however much they wanted. But that’s not what the dude was trying to do–he was trying to pre-pay a set amount, and common sense would dictate that in order for the pump to switch off at your pre-paid amount, the clerk has to do _something_ to let the pump know when to switch off. This isn’t some esoteric, nonsensical conclusion, just basic logic. So it should be patently obvious after about 5 seconds’ thought that this sort of situation _must_ be something more involved than just flipping a switch. And even if the man in question weren’t willing or able to perform that 5 seconds of thinking to reach that conclusion, there is _nothing_ about a wall up to someone’s neck that would make any reasonable human being think that trying to pass money over that to perform a transaction is a remotely appropriate thing to do. So I’m really going to have to agree with the OP’s assessment here. Dude’s a dingus. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/148 "2009-09-14T21:50:02Z")
As I opined before, the ability to just assume the guy’s a d\*ck and blowing him off is petty luxury afforded to the wage slave. If you actually owned the business, I’m guessing you’d go out of your way to offer great service even if 9 times out of 10 it doesn’t seem to pay off, 'cause it means real money to you. You can roll your eyes at that all you want, but IME that’s precisely the difference between people who find themselves stuck in peon jobs and those who don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/149 "2009-09-14T21:52:51Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > You don’t know this, you just assume it. Based on the vast accumulated experience of anyone who’s worked the register or customer service, it’s a pretty good assumption. Besides, what you think of as a brief explanation is a significant amount of time when you’re trying to process many 10-second transactions, one right after the other, and trying to get folks out the door as fast as possible. > [@Koxinga](#): > > As I opined before, the ability to just assume the guy’s a d\*ck and blowing him off is petty luxury afforded to the wage slave. If you actually owned the business, I’m guessing you’d go out of your way to offer great service even if 9 times out of 10 it doesn’t seem to pay off, 'cause it means real money to you. You can roll your eyes at that all you want, but IME that’s precisely the difference between people who find themselves stuck in peon jobs and those who don’t. I don’t ever get this. You’re saying the OP should have _halted the very long line of customers_ to attend to the one guy who jumped, because it would have been considered great service? Bull. Shit. Maybe by that one guy, but most certainly not by the people who are getting screwed for attending to etiquette and rules. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/150 "2009-09-14T21:55:10Z")
> [@atomicbadgerrace](#): > > It shouldn’t be the responsibility of the OP to teach this guy what most everyone seems to already know – that purchasing gas from a gas station is a transaction, and transactions are processed from the line that has formed. Wow, this again? Just not going to accept that the guy might in good faith have believed he was asking for something far short of a full transaction, huh? > [@](#): > > “But that’s still the way it’s done in a lot of the US; mostly in the south!” Okay, fine. Fine. If you acknowledge the hypothetical possiblity of this, perhaps we can move beyond insisting he was obviously and inargubly demanding a full register transaction at that time. > [@](#): > > How would _you_ react if the cashier directed you to the line? I think most air-breathing people would realize “oh, I have to wait in line to buy gas here. Let me go get in line.” Honestly? If I tried to give the guy money to turn the pump on and he said “You need to get in line” I would have clarified “I need to get in line just to get you to turn the pump on?” If he said yes in a way that was marginally polite, I’d apologize for the misunderstanding and get in line. If he was not marginally polite but instead acted like I was some linejumping asshole just because I didn’t know how his station ran – especially when other clerks at the _exact same station_ let me just leave money before – I would assume that the asshole in the scene was him, not me, and go buy my gas somplace else. That’s the problem with a miscommunication: Which party is the asshole is all a matter of point of view, because neither party understands why the other is acting the way they are. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/151 "2009-09-14T21:58:14Z")
Wow, I’m amazed at the number of specshul snowflakes out there, but even more amazed that **Jodi** is still trying to defend a grade A asshole! There is simply no way that this man couldn’t have known that he needed to stand in line. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/152 "2009-09-14T21:58:56Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > Honestly? If I tried to give the guy money to turn the pump on and he said “You need to get in line” I would have clarified “I need to get in line just to get you to turn the pump on?” If he said yes in a way that was marginally polite, I’d apologize for the misunderstanding and get in line. If he was not marginally polite but instead acted like I was some linejumping asshole just because I didn’t know how his station ran – especially when other clerks at the _exact same station_ let me just leave money before – I would assume that the asshole in the scene was him, not me, and go buy my gas somplace else. Well, if the OP’s transcript is anything close to accurate, the guy sure as hell wasn’t anywhere near that polite. “I just want gas! I’m not waiting in line!” Doesn’t seem like much room for misunderstanding there. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/153 "2009-09-14T22:01:10Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > Wow, this again? Just not going to accept that the guy might in good faith have believed he was asking for something far short of a full transaction, huh? Yeah, this again. Because “this” is the likeliest explanation of this man’s actions. The only person who was actually there to witness it would seem to agree. > [@](#): > > Fine. If you acknowledge the hypothetical possiblity of this, perhaps we can move beyond insisting he was obviously and inargubly demanding a full register transaction at that time. Either way, whether or not you like the cashier’s explanation (or lack thereof) of store policy, your options at that point are to either: a) Get in line as requested, or b) Leave the store quietly and calmly and make your purchase elsewhere ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/154 "2009-09-14T22:01:21Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > Honestly? If I tried to give the guy money to turn the pump on and he said “You need to get in line” I would have clarified “I need to get in line just to get you to turn the pump on?” “Which word did not make sense to you? Was it ‘You’? Was it ‘need’? Was it ‘to’? Was it ‘get’? Was it ‘in’? Or was it ‘line’? Or was it possibly that you did not understand the combination of those words, as if I had said ‘The donkey blue perfectly round baloon therapy’?” ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/155 "2009-09-14T22:04:49Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > **Jodi** , if he were trying to get an unlimited fill-up, your argument would make some sense. Yes, back in the day and even now at the very rare station, you could just reach over and flip the switch to turn on the pump if you wanted to let someone pump however much they wanted. > > But that’s not what the dude was trying to do–he was trying to pre-pay a set amount, and common sense would dictate that in order for the pump to switch off at your pre-paid amount, the clerk has to do _something_ to let the pump know when to switch off. This isn’t some esoteric, nonsensical conclusion, just basic logic. So it should be patently obvious after about 5 seconds’ thought that this sort of situation _must_ be something more involved than just flipping a switch. Yes, in fact what is required is that you punch in the pump number (“3”), the amount (“20.00”) and “ON.” This is done on a machine that is NOT the register. Again, what the guy was trying to do is not uncommon – walk in, wait for a break in the dialogue to get the cashier’s attention (say, between transactions), say “$20 on 3” and put your money down, and walk out to pump your gas. It is by no means clear or universal that this requires you to stand in the same line as the people buying Cheetos and Pall Malls. Because _you’re not trying to buy something at the register; you’re just trying to get the pump turned on_. Seriously, have you people NEVER heard of this, such that the guy could not POSSIBLY have been under a misunderstanding, he MUST have been being an asshole? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/156 "2009-09-14T22:07:23Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I don’t ever get this. You’re saying the OP should have _halted the very long line of customers_ to attend to the one guy who jumped, because it would have been considered great service? Bull. Shit. Maybe by that one guy, but most certainly not by the people who are getting screwed for attending to etiquette and rules. No, he should have smiled and explained politely instead barking at the customer to stand in line and then pointedly ignoring him. I’ve also worked in customer service and behind a cash register, and I understand how easily one slips into an us vs. them mentality where taking a few extra moments to be courteous means _I can’t get all these people out the door fast enough and that’ll cut into my 30 minute break dammit_! If you’re working toward your break, then you’ll get your break, congratulations. If you’re working toward increasing business, and going the extra mile to do so, then it won’t be too long that you won’t have to be a wage slave anymore. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/157 "2009-09-14T22:08:11Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > Yes, in fact what is required is that you punch in the pump number (“3”), the amount (“20.00”) and “ON.” This is done on a machine that is NOT the register. Again, what the guy was trying to do is not uncommon – walk in, wait for a break in the dialogue to get the cashier’s attention (say, between transactions), say “$20 on 3” and put your money down, and walk out to pump your gas. Will you please STOP pretending like you know how this shit works? It’s been explained to you repeatedly that your perception of how this works is totally off-base. You HAVE to input the money before the pump turns on and allows a certain dollar amount on, and that MUST BE DONE ON THE REGISTER. Or, you turn the pump on so that people can steal your gas. End of story. ETA: It works like this: Someone lifts up the pump. Register starts to flash showing you which pump is picked up. You can allow the pump to fuel, and risk them stealing gas and running away by allowing it access. Or, you prepay the pump for $20. Which is a transaction. Which is done on the register. Nothing you say is true now. It may have been true 15 years ago, but it is not now. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/158 "2009-09-14T22:11:13Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > “Which word did not make sense to you? Was it ‘You’? Was it ‘need’? Was it ‘to’? Was it ‘get’? Was it ‘in’? Or was it ‘line’? Or was it possibly that you did not understand the combination of those words, as if I had said ‘The donkey blue perfectly round baloon therapy’?” I’m seriously not sure if this is you being an asshole cashier or you just being an asshole. If the former, any response akin to the above means I’m next speaking to your manager and unless he or she is your blood or marital relative, you’re about to have a very bad day. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/159 "2009-09-14T22:11:13Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > Yes, in fact what is required is that you punch in the pump number (“3”), the amount (“20.00”) and “ON.” This is done on a machine that is NOT the register. Actually, it is. Or was when I worked at a gas station a few years back. > [@Koxinga](#): > > I understand how easily one slips into an us vs. them mentality where taking a few extra moments to be courteous means _I can’t get all these people out the door fast enough and that’ll cut into my 30 minute break dammit_! Clearly you _don’t_ understand. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/160 "2009-09-14T22:13:36Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > Yes, in fact what is required is that you punch in the pump number (“3”), the amount (“20.00”) and “ON.” **This is done on a machine that is NOT the register** … (bolding mine) [QUOTE=Alphaboi] Our pumps do not work that way. We control them through the POS display; we cannot turn a pump on without entering a dollar amount and ringing the sale through… [/QUOTE] **Jodi** I wrote that sentence in post #116. You quoted in in post #121. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969.md?page=9)