Are there lots of gas stations that still exist where the employees pump gas for you?

The woman in today’s story seems to assume that’s how gas stations work, but every gas station I’ve ever seen has been self service where you pump the gas yourself.

This crazy woman causes a long line at the gas station trying to convince another customer to pump gas for her because she thinks the customer is an employee.

Let’s read this whole crazy story.

‘You’re in the wrong country if you think people are going to do that for you’

Here’s your important background on me.

I’m a British national who has been working in another country for a couple of years.

I haven’t been home at all during this time, so this year I saved up all my holiday, okayed it with my bosses, and decided to use it all on coming home from now until the new year.

My flight touched down mid-afternoon yesterday at Big International Airport.

She got her rental car.

I had opted to hire a car to use since I’m planning a couple of day trips to visit friends who now live across the country.

It just so happened that the company I was going with had an ’empty to empty’ fuel policy – there was just enough fuel in the car to get you to the nearest petrol station, and you didn’t have to bring it back with any specific amount of fuel in the tank.

This all begins at the petrol station about 5 minutes down the road from the car hire place.

She explains how gas stations in the UK operate.

I feel like this isn’t a surprise to anyone reading (apart from the antagonist of this story, but she appears in a minute) but in the UK, on the whole, we fill up our own petrol tanks.

People paid to pump your petrol for you are not a thing – if you go into really rural areas with no other petrol stations for miles around you might get a hand from the one member of staff there, but that’s it.

This is the same in my country of work also.

You mostly pay over the counter in the shop connected to the station, but for some of the chain petrol stations you can pay at the pump itself via a PIN machine (sorry if this is like teaching your grandmother to suck eggs and you know this already).

She was waiting for an open gas pump.

It just so happens that this petrol station in question had the ‘pay at pump’ option.

The queue for paying behind the counter was massive, so I decided when I pulled in to pay at the pump.

There was a bit of a wait to get to a free pump, and while waiting I noticed out of my window that a car just turning into the petrol station was a hire car by the same company as mine.

At the time it was just something to spot, but I didn’t realize that I would be front and centre in their cross-hairs.

There’s an open pump.

I eventually pull into a space, get out the car, and start filling it up.

I finish and reach into my pocket to get my card out to pay when there’s a tap on my shoulder.

I look across and there’s an, I would guess, mid-30s woman standing there looking angry.

I should note that I myself am a woman in my late 20s, and was wearing the jogging bottoms and university hoodie that I had travelled in, so definitely in no discernable uniform at all.

I’ll be calling her Shouty American (SA) for short –

SA seemed to think OP worked for the car hire company.

SA: Finally someone appears. Can you tell these other cars to move so we can get into this space next?

Me (tired because flying is draining, and confused): Um, no. They were here before you.

SA: But they’re not with Car Hire Company! You are because your car says so! Get them to move and then get pumping our gas!

Me: I’m not employed by anyone, I just hired the car. Also no one’s going to pull any petrol in your car other than yourself. [At this point I turned away from her so I could pay, and she did not like that]

SA is really making Americans look bad. I promise we’re not all like this.

SA: [Pulling my arm away from the screen] I don’t want ‘pet-roll’ [The fact that she was trying to make fun of my accent was just odd], I want gas! We were told to fill up here, and if you don’t do it I will drag you to that office and watch as you get fired!

Obviously, because she is on the verge of shrieking at me and has created a scene, a member of staff comes over and asks what is happening.

I was going to politely explain that the woman just seemed to be a little bit confused over what she’s been told by the car hire company, but she gets in there first:

SA: This employee of your partner firm Care Hire Company is terrible, she’s refusing to pump my gas!

The staff member tries to clear up the situation.

Staff Member (SM): [To me] Do you work for Car Hire Company?

Me: No, I just hired the car and needed to fill it up, and now I need to pay.

SA: NO! She works for them! Look at the stickers on her car! (They’re the same stickers on every hire car)

SM: [To her] Madam, I don’t think this lady works for Car Hire Company, I think we just need to let her move on so she can leave and we can keep everyone moving. We also don’t have any contracts with Car Hire Company to begin with.

She seriously need to just pull up to an open pump.

At this point there are about 8 cars parked behind the car that she was in, since the driver hadn’t thought to move into one of the now many free spaces next to the pumps, and many more indicating that they want to enter the petrol station.

But SA seemed oblivious to this:

SA: I want someone to fill up my car NOW! I son’t care if you fill it up with ‘pet-roll’ and not gas! (She seemed to have no clue that petrol and gasoline are literally the same thing) You’re all lucky that I don’t film this and stick it on Facebook so you all get shamed and fired!

The manager finally got through to her.

SM: [getting annoyed as there were people shouting and car horns blaring because of the blockage] You’re in the wrong country if you think people are going to do that for you.

Please tell the driver of your car to move, or we will have to have the car towed for an illegal obstruction (I’m pretty sure this isn’t a thing, but I sense the guy was just hedging his bets that Shouty had no clue what the law was).

She eventually signaled for the driver to move into a space (to the wonderful sound of British sarcastic cheers – it’s good to be home!) while the staff member apologized profusely for what had happened and offered me anything in the shop on the house.

I went home with a tank full of petrol, a deluxe Christmas sandwich, and a good story to tell to my family.

That probably wasn’t the welcome to the UK that Shouty expected, but it was the one she deserved.

SA doesn’t sound all the bright.

I’m American, and I’ve never seen a gas station that isn’t self service.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

This is my experience too.

Really? I guess I’ve never been to those states.

Saaaame!!!

I was wondering this too.

Exactly! She could’ve turned it back on her!

Doesn’t everyone pump their own gas?

I think most of us do.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.