Nice.
Gotcha–I read “the people who are getting screwed for attending to etiquette and rules” as “by attending to,” so where you meant “they’re getting screwed for not being assholes” I read “they’re getting screwed 'cause you’re being nice to the asshole.”
In a related note, some local gas stations (mostly ARCO stations) now have outside paypoints, sort of like an ATM where you can pay for gas with cash, credit or debit. You only go inside if you paid cash and are due cash back after pumping.
I noticed something here – “corporate policy”, not the individual, is at fault. There is a line waiting – why? Because alphaboi is the only clerk on duty, other than a woman eight months pregnant who spends most of her time in the bathroom. He cannot activate the pumps – why? Because they have decided that the only way a clerk can turn on a pump is by ringing up a sale for that pump. In short, some executive somewhere has decided that it’s more profitable to inconvenience the paying customers. That’s not alphaboi’s fault, nor the would-be line jumper’s. (Does anyone notice that this discourages fill-ups, potentially the most profitable gas sales? There is literally no way to authorize the pumping of $32.44 that would be the cost to fill one’s gass tank, without knowing ahead of time to the penny how much gas it will take.)
A few days ago, we were in a Walmart with 24 registers. There were two clerks running check-out, plus a third going off shift, handling the last customer before closing her register as we went up to go on line. There were easily 30 people waiting in line to check out.
I am quite aware of drive-offs. This can be handled by a relatively cheap security camera aimed at where the rear bumper of any car or truck buying gas would be located as they stand at the pump, with a wipe-after-24-hours digital file recording those images. This turns it into a single transaction per customer – either pay then pump or get authorization for a fill-up (Without standing on line) then paying when done.
And hire more clerks for busy times. IF Sundays are dead at a given outlet except the Noon-to-2PM period when people are buying stuff on their way home after leaving church, have someone come in for an 11-3 shift, giving the clerk on duty a break before the rush, helping with the rush, then straightening shelves and restocking before going home. This is purely common sense – if I have to wait in line for a half hour, I may forego a purchase and make it later elsewhere. If I know I’ll be waited on promptly with a minimal delay, I’ll take my business to that store. Most people think like this, I believe – the second clerk will pay for himself several times over in increased sales, and make for increased employee morale as well – nobody likes being ‘slammed’ by a mass of customers awaiting service and frustrated with the delays.
Why is she vomiting so much?
And tracking down the drive off in order to get your money, then enforcing getting your money from him (filing charges, making court appearances) costs what?
Its cheaper to inconvenience your customers. And that means you can competitively price your product. As anyone who has been on an airplane knows - we all WANT the world to run at our convenience, yet few of us want to pay for it. So the well staffed independent camera store with knowledgeable employees can’t stay in business because in order to have that staff, they have to upcharge their cameras by 20% - and what happens is people shop at BestBuy and complain that they don’t get any help - but they DO get a camera for less than the independent shop.
There is a reason that outside of New Jersey, finding a full service gas station is tough. I avoid WalMart because of the lines, Target seems better staffed - if a little pricier. But the Wal-Mart parking lot is full.
Because she’s drinking while working and pregnant. I certainly can’t think of another simple explanation off the top of my head.
It has probably been 15 years since I paid cash for gas but when I did, the standard practice was to walk in the store and if there was a line just set the money down on the counter, say how much and the pump number and walk out. The cashier finished the person they were doing and then spent the 3 seconds it took to set the pump. Then when/if you returned for change you went to the front of the line and were helped next.
I have no idea if things have changed a lot as cash gas sales become rarer (and gas stations become more about selling Haagen Dazs then gas) or if it was a regional behavior (I probably only ever used five stations in total).
But regardless, once the guy was told to wait in line that’s the reasonable thing to do.
I think he’s referring to the fact that she’s eight months along. Morning sickness usually stops before then, as said at the end of the first paragraph in the link.
No, no, no…a single clerk is perfectly able to serve five customers at once, while restocking and straightening the store, and cleaning it too. Any clerk who tries to tell you differently is just a slacker. Or so the people in corporate HQ seem to believe.
It’s true that many people will decide which station to patronize based on the posted gas prices, for at least the first few times. I think that some people will wise up after having to wait 10 minutes in line, and find another station to buy gas and goodies from.
As for the person upthread, who said it was OK to put down a quarter to pay for a newspaper, either your local newspaper consists of 24 sheets, or you haven’t bought a single issue lately. Both* our daily papers will cost $1 for a Mon-Sat issue, and $2 for a Sunday issue, last time I checked. It’s NOT OK to just leave what you assume to be the right price, as prices rise rapidly these days.
Waiting in line to pay for gas is just a fact of life. If you want a shorter wait, go at a less busy time, or pay using a card at the pump. Paying at the pump saves a lot of money, as there are no impulse buy items just begging to be purchased. I’m really rather surprised that the gas stations haven’t caught on to this. Maybe they have, and they figure that the higher volume of sales for pay at the pump makes up for the lost impulse buys.
*In Fort Worth, any place that offers the Fort Worth paper, the Star-Telegram, will almost certainly offer the Dallas Morning News as well.
Usually, but not always. Since the woman in question is breathing in gas fumes for at least 8 hours a day, she’s probably more susceptible to morning sickness. Standing constantly for 8 hours a day is also not good for a pregnant woman. But she probably doesn’t have much of a choice when it comes to jobs. Very few people will pick “convenience store clerk” as their desired career.
Not only that, but in some places newspapers attract tax, so that $1 paper might actually require you to fork over $1.08, or something similar.
You might. And I probably would (I do shop at Target in part because their lanes are staffed - there are a few other stores I avoid because they are usually poorly staffed - JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts comes to mind). But if there are five people in line - and a clerk eight months pregnant did not become pregnant and bathroom busy yesterday - these gas station patrons haven’t. Notably, Mr. Line Jumper, who does this with some frequency, hasn’t. Of course, the other clerks have been enabling him.
I’ll admit I’ve parked my car, walked into McDonalds, looked at the line, and walked out. I’ve picked up books at Barnes and Noble and then realized that the line was too long, reshelved them and left. But since Barnes and Noble does not seem to be lacking for business, it seems that either I’m alone in walking out, or the loss of business at high use times isn’t enough to make them regret not having more staffing.
Exactly, “usually.” I.e., **not **100% of the time. You seriously can’t see any reason to poke fun at someone for asking why on earth a **pregnant woman **would be vomiting? I mean, what answer was the person expecting, other than “she’s pregnant”?
My guess would’ve been “huffing,” but I tend to assume the worst of people.
All the gas you want for huffing is one of the few perks of the job.
…with ‘blowing’ the house down being a whole seperate (and longer) line.
Yes, that’s exactly it. I am the sarcasm police, and must interpret everything literally. :rolleyes: It’s not entirely for your benefit, you know.
Isle of Man. Next door to, but technically not part of, Britain.
You want these companies to hire more staff and deal with drive offs thru security cameras - and all of us pay more for their products - just so assholes don’t have to stand in line? Are there so many assholes in the world that the loss of their business makes that much impact??