# I have to say, I don't get it..... \[cars by gas pumps that are not being filled\] **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 17, 2019, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651 "2019-06-17T19:23:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sjankis630](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ea924/32.png) [@sjankis630](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjankis630)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/41 "2019-06-21T21:16:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Seemingly far more problematic are the people who fail to pull through to the furthest pump. I see this a lot more. I would love to know where some of you guys live that you don’t regularly see full gas stations. I live and work in and around the Northern VA area and most of the time I get gas in the evening - any night - there are cars double stacked. now I do usually go to a low priced gas station - Wawa - but there you go. I always pay via credit card and sometimes go in to buy a soda etc while my car is filling up. I don’t do this if there are people waiting or if it is crowded. I just wait at the pump until done. I am one of those persnickety persons who records all of his gas mileage and how many miles I go. ([fuelly.com](http://fuelly.com)) I sometimes do this at the pump after I am finished but only the rare times it isn’t crowded. All other times i pull off to the side. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/42 "2019-07-05T18:18:04Z")
> [@sjankis630](#): > > I see this a lot more. I would love to know where some of you guys live that you don’t regularly see full gas stations. I live and work in and around the Northern VA area and most of the time I get gas in the evening - any night - there are cars double stacked. Detroit metro area. On the off chance I see a full gas station, I go to the next one. Gas stations are all over the place, so there’s no need to wait in line to get gas. The only exception is Costco, which regularly has a backup. Although I’m a member, I prefer to go to a gas station with no lines. It already takes too long to fill the tank; I’m not going to wait for others to fill theirs. ---
**Author:** ![HaroldDix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HaroldDix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HaroldDix)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/43 "2019-07-06T23:28:10Z")
You guys must shop at the most half-assed run gas stations/ convenience stores. I manage a multi-million dollar a year store. Unless it’s stupid panicked sheep (Hurricane Katrina gas panic, or Lottey is a huge jackpot comes to mind) you can easily run people in and out with simple scheduling. My business gets mauled between 7 and 8 in the morning and 4 to 6 in the afternoon. I always have all my registers open at these times and an extra person floating for side work and customer assistance. I know my customers and I know my business model. You have ice bags, medicine, beer, or sunglasses come on down. Gas sales and cigarettes mean next to nothing to me because that’s not where I make my money. Especially if you pay with a card at the pump. You take care of your local customers because they keep you whole throughout the year. The funny irony is the Lottery customers most of you scoff at makes me far more than your gas fill up ever does. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/44 "2019-07-06T23:43:41Z")
> [@pool](#): > > Well most of the gas stations I go to the cashiers and or the customers are incompetent buffoons so the line inside can get really backed up with a long wait, you know granny needs her cigarettes and scratch-offs, and the card reader is down. > > Seriously though I usually buy a drink or something before or after I get gas, does anyone really pump gas, and then move their car to a parking space and then go inside and buy whatever they need? Not all stations around here are prepay. At those stations, I’m not moving the car away from the pump until I’ve payed for the gas. I figure I probably could move to a parking spot and then go pay, but I’m not exactly itching for the cashier to misinterpret it and call the cops to report a “drive-off,” so better safe than sorry there. Pre-pay stations, I move away after pumping since I’ve already paid, but I try my damnedest not to have to use pre-pay stations, because the whole process is just a pain in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/45 "2019-07-08T15:26:44Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > In almost twenty years of driving around the greater Chicago area, I can maybe recall half a dozen times I’ve ever had to wait for an open pump at a gas station, period. It surprises me that this is apparently a common enough occurrence to cause outrage. Unless I’m dangerously close to empty (IOW, just about never), if I see that all the pumps at a gas station are occupied, I keep driving. Even out in the boonies, there’s another gas station ten or fifteen miles down the road. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/46 "2019-07-08T15:39:10Z")
I’ve started paying at the pump. I rarely go inside the store. I move my vehicle and park by the store if I do go inside to buy something. Usually it’s for bread or milk. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/47 "2019-07-08T15:44:33Z")
> [@StraightTalk](#): > > In this day and age, are there really that many people that have to pre-pay? 1. Prepaying and paying by card but trying to fill it up. Which sometimes means going to the clerk and paying for 20 gallons, gassing, going back to the clerk so he can process the refund/difference, and otherwise jumping through hoops and being pained. 2. Shopping for a couple things - snacks or food - after gassing. I use Speedway a lot and sometimes get my lunch there. Depending on how many people have ordered before me it can take a bit. Yeah - I could move the car but — sometimes I don’t. 3. Having my morning dump. 4. Non-pump parking being full and empty spots at the pumps. 5. Sometimes I am just a dick and don’t really care. The pump is covered from the rain and I can make a fast dash inside. And if you have to wait 5 minutes I may just not care. Not often – but it happens. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/48 "2019-07-08T16:31:49Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > 1. Sometimes I am just a dick and don’t really care. The pump is covered from the rain and I can make a fast dash inside. And if you have to wait 5 minutes I may just not care. Not often – but it happens. I may just pee on your car. I am a dick. It doesn’t happen often, but it happens. Welcome to America! I got mine! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/49 "2019-07-08T17:06:03Z")
I only park at the pump if I am getting gas. but no, I dont move it until after I have taken my piss and gotten my drink and change from inside. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/50 "2019-07-08T19:25:46Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I may just pee on your car. I am a dick. It doesn’t happen often, but it happens. > > Welcome to America! I got mine! Having parked on the South Side flats it wouldn’t be the first time my car was used as a toilet/outhouse. Sometimes we either accept that people can be people sometimes or we go live in a cave with wolves. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/51 "2019-07-09T06:01:26Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > 1. Having my morning dump. > [@DrDeth](#): > > I only park at the pump if I am getting gas. but no, I dont move it until after I have taken my piss and gotten my drink and change from inside. These posts caught my attention. In 50-something years, I’ve never used a gas station bathroom. Perhaps related to the fact I’ve never had a Super Big Gulp or other half-gallon soda. On road trips, I tend to use rest stops. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/52 "2019-07-09T06:08:29Z")
Curious, are you male or female? Women tend to go to the bathroom more often, apparently; it’s one of those things which seem to be more a matter of “culturally assumed” than anybody having done actual studies. I know someone who used to brag about driving 8h with no bio stops (pump gas yes, bio no), until the day his pregnant wife threatened with peeing on the leather seat if he didn’t stop at the next civilized bathroom. “Civilized” excludes those stops where the bathroom is unheated, unheatable, may look like it was last cleaned the day it was built and the throne may be metal or nonexistent. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/53 "2019-07-09T12:26:42Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > These posts caught my attention. In 50-something years, I’ve never used a gas station bathroom. Perhaps related to the fact I’ve never had a Super Big Gulp or other half-gallon soda. On road trips, I tend to use rest stops. I’ve been on diuretics for over 30 years; I know every gas station bathroom from here to Scranton! 😃 Well, sort of. I never had any qualms about hitting a gas station head and even in my teens years it seemed more polite than using some fast food joint when I’m not buying anything. And I usually tend to avoid the super-slabs and their rest stops unless I really have to burn for speed on a trip; I am more the secondary highway sort of person. Combine that with the fact that I’ve ridden mostly motorcycles with a high vibration factor and the meds and I am stopping to at least pee say every hour or so (male in case you wondered). Gas station rest rooms used to be a (sorry about this) crap shoot but since the Sheetz/Speedway/one-stop-rip-off-center came to be they tend to be really clean and not badly set up. And some actually become almost a tradition. There was a Hess station on Rte 11 at Larksville summit that actually achieved a sort of fame for being the cleanest, nicest gas station rest rooms anyone ever saw. It was almost like this odd tourist attraction – which goes to show just how far down the foodchain Larksville is. 😃 But I lost count of the number of friends and such I amazed by sending them past that place. Sadly to say it changed hands, brands, fell into a lack of care and I believe last time I was past it had closed. Ah, but I still have the memories. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/54 "2019-07-09T16:18:53Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > These posts caught my attention. In 50-something years, I’ve never used a gas station bathroom. Perhaps related to the fact I’ve never had a Super Big Gulp or other half-gallon soda. On road trips, I tend to use rest stops. In CA, they tend to close those down at random, and they are never in built up areas. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/55 "2019-07-10T02:51:13Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Curious, are you male or female? Women tend to go to the bathroom more often, apparently; it’s one of those things which seem to be more a matter of “culturally assumed” than anybody having done actual studies. Male. It’s not something where I’m gritting my teeth and powering through - it’s just not something that has come up. On road trips, I more likely to use the restaurant washroom when I stop for food - they’re typically nicer and I’ve got more time since I eat in (I don’t eat and drive). ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651/56 "2019-07-10T14:43:06Z")
If the pumps are mostly or completely not being used and the store doesn’t look crowded, I will leave my car at the pumps for a quick run inside. Otherwise I move to a parking spot. Gas station bathrooms, don’t bother me at all depending on the station. The Sheetz chain generally is clean, and there is a small chain near me that has a good deli inside in addition to clean restrooms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-to-say-i-dont-get-it-cars-by-gas-pumps-that-are-not-being-filled/835651.md?page=2)