# is anyone else getting annoyed at the pay-at-the-pump quiz shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 5, 2012, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889 "2012-04-05T04:52:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/61 "2012-04-07T02:14:35Z")
The OP is highly praiseworthy. Two panda’s thumbs up. Back home, alas, the pumps have apparently all the hardware needed for pay-at-the-pump but it seems like nobody has implemented it or I just happen to not find the ones who did. So I stand in line with the people buying RedBull and recharging their TollPass 65 cents at a time… ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/62 "2012-04-07T04:15:25Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I get my gasoline at Costco, and the only question I ever have to answer is whether I want a receipt. > > And it always prints the receipt out just fine. To be fair we also have to swipe our membership cards and put in a PIN if using debit, but it’s all so straightforward and the pumps and the stations are clean, never gunk on the pumps or overflowing trash cans or spills. It’s just such a superior experience, the gas alone is worth the annual fee. Though I miss the squeegee bucket, I will admit. And the pandas. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/63 "2012-04-07T05:23:02Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Not to mention a panda also “…eats shoots and leaves.” Well, that explains the increase in ‘pump and run’ incidents… ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/64 "2012-04-07T14:00:20Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > You go inside with the rest of the proletariat. Then you listen to the people in front of you complain about gas, despite the fact that gas in the US is dirt cheap by Canadian and European standards. > > Then you explain to the clerk how Canada isn’t part of the US, and we don’t have zip codes. Then you explain how you have letters as well as numbers in your postal code. Then you explain how we have our own money, complete with Queen, but that the credit card will still work - it’s magic! > > Then you say thank you (or ‘_merci_’ if you’re feeling cosmopolitan) when the she compliments you on the fact that you speak English, despite the fact that you have the same accent as Michael J. Fox. Then you buy your gas, and walk out. Maybe you hold the door for some other poor member of the proletariat on your way out, and perhaps they thank you. You might say ‘_de rien_’, so as to complete the experience for the clerk. Perhaps she’ll be inspired to move to Paris and ride a bicycle to the bakery every morning. Maybe she’ll meet **Dag Otto** at the bakery, and they’ll go for a bike ride along the Seine for a picnic with the baguette poking out from the basket and then they’ll fall in love and have a little baby they dress up in a panda jumper. > > You never know. This is exactly true for every Canadian who has ever filled up at an American gas station, ever. Except I don’t think all of the inspired gas station clerks moving to Paris will be able to have babies with Dag Otto, but hey, it’s Europe, so who knows. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/65 "2012-04-07T17:47:06Z")
That would be a lot of kids in panda jumpers ---
**Author:** ![Bemused](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/46a35a/32.png) [@Bemused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bemused)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/66 "2012-04-07T18:59:11Z")
I used to pay at the pump. Then my card info got swiped by someone - presumably at a gas pump - and people tried to access my account. The bank caught 'em and I didn’t lose anything. Got a new card. Now I almost always pay inside. ---
**Author:** ![jkirkman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac8455/32.png) [@jkirkman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jkirkman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/67 "2012-04-07T19:30:41Z")
> [@Bemused](#): > > I used to pay at the pump. > > Then my card info got swiped by someone - presumably at a gas pump - and people tried to access my account. The bank caught 'em and I didn’t lose anything. > > Got a new card. Now I almost always pay inside. I hope they weren’t trying to buy bamboo shoots… ---
**Author:** ![Normal\_Phase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Normal\_Phase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Normal_Phase)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/68 "2012-04-07T23:01:58Z")
See how lucky you are, complaining guy from New Jersey? Personally I love filling up there. Who cares if it takes an extra minute or two sometimes for the attendant to wander by, I get to stay in my car and relax and not breath gas fumes for any longer than it takes to sign a credit card receipt. It is bliss, I tell you. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/69 "2012-04-07T23:05:26Z")
> [@Bemused](#): > > I used to pay at the pump. > > Then my card info got swiped by someone - presumably at a gas pump - and people tried to access my account. The bank caught 'em and I didn’t lose anything. > > Got a new card. Now I almost always pay inside. I don’t see how the pump would be any _less_ secure than the cashier’s station… ---
**Author:** ![Normal\_Phase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Normal\_Phase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Normal_Phase)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/70 "2012-04-07T23:06:28Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > To be fair we also have to swipe our membership cards and put in a PIN if using debit, but it’s all so straightforward and the pumps and the stations are clean, never gunk on the pumps or overflowing trash cans or spills. It’s just such a superior experience, the gas alone is worth the annual fee. > > Though I miss the squeegee bucket, I will admit. > > And the pandas. Oh except you HAVE to use debit, because unlike every other gas pump ever, Costco doesn’t take any credit card that has ever seen the inside of my wallet, so there’s always that extra little step of “that’s not a debit card dumbass” to ruin the flow. But otherwise not too bad. And it’s almost as cheap as New Jersey. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/71 "2012-04-09T02:04:09Z")
> [@Normal\_Phase](#): > > Oh except you HAVE to use debit, because unlike every other gas pump ever, Costco doesn’t take any credit card that has ever seen the inside of my wallet, so there’s always that extra little step of “that’s not a debit card dumbass” to ruin the flow. But otherwise not too bad. And it’s almost as cheap as New Jersey. But Costco overall only accepts debit, except for their co-branded Costco Amex, so it’s not that unusual if you’re used to shopping in the store itself. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/72 "2012-04-09T02:55:21Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > But Costco overall only accepts debit, except for their co-branded Costco Amex, so it’s not that unusual if you’re used to shopping in the store itself. Interesting. I’ll have to see whether that holds in Canadian Costcos as well. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/73 "2012-04-09T04:41:54Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > Except I don’t think all of the inspired gas station clerks moving to Paris will be able to have babies with Dag Otto, but hey, it’s Europe, so who knows. Looks like I may need to update my summer plans. I’d hate to disappoint an inspired gas station clerk who made it all the way to Paris. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/74 "2012-04-09T05:06:59Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Looks like I may need to update my summer plans. I’d hate to disappoint an inspired gas station clerk who made it all the way to Paris. You could always gain their forgiveness with a panda… ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/75 "2012-04-09T05:23:28Z")
I just chanced on [a news item](http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-57400247-48/need-gas-in-the-uk-make-sure-your-car-insurance-is-paid-up/) with relevance to OP: > [@](#): > > In an effort to crack down on auto insurance scofflaws, the British government wants to team up with gas stations … > Vehicles with records that show they have not paid their auto insurance or are untaxed will be prevented from filling up. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/76 "2012-04-09T16:02:21Z")
> [@mcgato](#): > > I live in New Jersey with no self-serve gas. I can only wish that I had some of these problems. > > Yes, I would prefer self-serve gas. I hate waiting for a guy to meander over to start filling the car, then disappear for ages before reappearing to let me get on my way. Which is why I love the _reality_ of Jersey-style self-service. If the guy takes longer to get to the pump than I do, then I’ll do it myself. “It’s ok, I’ve got it” is all it takes, and I’ve never gotten a response worse than “Uhhhh…” before they walk away. Most of 'em are happy not to have to bother when they have other customers they can be helping. Of course, if it’s crappy weather, then I’ll let them do it, but most of time I’m happy to be Mr. Gas Pump Scofflaw. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/77 "2012-04-09T16:39:38Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I just chanced on [a news item](http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-57400247-48/need-gas-in-the-uk-make-sure-your-car-insurance-is-paid-up/) with relevance to OP: Oh, that’ll go smoothly. The only people profiting will be towtruck drivers. ---
**Author:** ![Orionizer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orionizer/32/4442_2.png) [@Orionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orionizer)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/78 "2012-04-09T17:39:06Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Enter zip code to prove the card is yours. And this is the problem… If I lose my wallet with my debit card AND my DL in it, they’ve already got my zip code! Keep it a PIN (plus it’s generally 1 digit shorter, anyway). ---
**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:** [April 11, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/79 "2012-04-11T15:55:54Z")
Now I’m scared, the local BP station is getting new pumps, hopefully I’m not in for a multimedia experience while pumping gas. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889/80 "2012-04-11T20:37:47Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Musicat drives up to gas pump and waves his Mobil Speedpass at the red horsie. Light goes on. Nozzle goes into tank, gas follows. Nozzle gets replaced, receipt rolls out, Musicat takes receipt ($4 total, it’s a scooter) and leaves. No quiz show, no panda, no problem. > > I miss the panda. But you got a red horsie!! Not just a horsie, but a Pegasus!! Better than some dumb old panda any day. No Pegaguses or pandas around here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-getting-annoyed-at-the-pay-at-the-pump-quiz-shows/617889.md?page=5)