What do you think of this?

[cliffdunedin 8]

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/7182...tion-forecourt/

Seems fricken Riddiculous if you ask me!! Down here MOST service stations still have people on the forecourts or are willing to help if they see you checking oil or water under the hood and i have found the same around most of the south island when i travel!

Not to sound North vs South but is no service a common practise up north?

[*Glenn* 854]

Service stations are just dairies that happen to serve petrol as well. Most are staffed by rude or unfreindly people.

[pjay 8]

Pretty filthy.

Shell Lincoln Road still has the good oil.

[Driftit 2078]

Shell on the Pakuranga Highway still has forecourt staff. It is a huge station. During winter they have a guy just for filling up gas bottles. And one or two filling up peoples cars so they don't have to stand in the cold.

I have noticed they always go and help the older people first, then the ladies. Thats good practice. I hardly ever have to stand by my car waiting for it to finish.

[bellicose 9]

Down here MOST service stations still have people on the forecourts or are willing to help if they see you checking oil or water under the hood and i have found the same around most of the south island when i travel!

Not to sound North vs South but is no service a common practise up north?

Mate, i just did 3400kms around the S.I and not once when i stopped for petrol did anyone even look remotely like they were interested in giving any kind of service.

[cliffdunedin 8]

Mate, i just did 3400kms around the S.I and not once when i stopped for petrol did anyone even look remotely like they were interested in giving any kind of service.

Not once!! I find that very hard to believe esp in the smaller towns where they may only have one car every 10mins, in chch or somewhere that is far busier that could be the case.

I travel through to chch quite regularly and 9 out of 10 times there is always someone asking what i need or whether they can finish filling my tank same thing goes for central otago during ski season!

In Dunedin it's the norm unless they are busy helping someone else..

[e30ftw 410]

I think its more elderly and women (not being sexist or discriminative) that require the help at service stations. I'm sure most of you guys are big enough and ugly enough to fill our own gas.

I'm sure the BP karamu road here has a sign that says

"as of X this service station is now self service, if you require any assistance please ask at counter" or something. Seems fair enough...

[pureboiracer 0]

now that is just stupid.... some people....

[OLLIE 26]

don't even get me started ... pre-pay drives me insane, let alone the lack of service and rude attendants.

[briancol 3]

I went to my local Gasolene Alley for petrol the other day and they do have forecourt service,

Stupid woman who served me smashed the nozzle into the bodywork of C0SM0S just above the fuel cap and left a nasty dent.

All I got was an apology and told it was just an accident. When I asked for compensation for the damage, I was refused and told to claim it on my insurance.

I would rather stay with self service now and know my car won't be damaged.

[Guest Ari Gold]

I hate pre pay with every fibre of my being!

Most of us are able bodied, I'd rather pump my own gas thanks.

[Driftit 2078]

Also hate prepay. Especially when you want to fill the tank. But your not allowed.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

^+1

Though if you use a credit/debit card you can. They wont do it for eftpos though

[mark247 39]

Every time I've gone in and asked them to turn off the prepay so i can full my car up they have always said yes.

[Top Secret 2]

I usually fill my own gas up anyway. It's the masochistic part of me that wants to know how much I'll be stung before I get to the counter.

I hate prepay, but I manage to be able to fill up. All I have to do is walk in, wait in the line, tell them I want to fill up, then walk outside again. Annoying? Yes.

[mark247 39]

They are a bit more shady about bikers sometimes, I just handed them my helmet and told them it was worth $400 and that I'm not going to leave it behind just so i can steal $25 gas lol.

[Guest Ari Gold]

They are a bit more shady about bikers sometimes, I just handed them my helmet and told them it was worth $400 and that I'm not going to leave it behind just so i can steal $25 gas lol.

My old man leaves the nozzle on the ground when he fills up his bike after pre pay

[mark247 39]

My old man leaves the nozzle on the ground when he fills up his bike after pre pay

I've heard of a few bikers getting angry about prepay. I know one guy who decided to not get gas because they said no to filling his bike up, did a burnout beside the petrol pump and then went across the road to the petrol station opposite

It's honestly crazy for bikes, they hold such little gas.

[huff3r 347]

I prefer to fill my car up myself personally. Mostly because they seem to teach service station attendants that they should full the car right up, to the brim of the filler. So that it just spills out the vent hole in the cap/the overflow on the very first corner!!! There is a reason the pumps click off when they do, but for some reason the people who use them all day dont know this?

[Braeden320 0]

Im a Mobil Fuelcard user, My pet hate is when the swipe at the pump isn't working, Prepaid is just annoying but I can see why they do it. A minority of people ruin it for the majority.

Prefer to pump my own and avoid actually going into the store when possible.

[antil33t 90]

On the radio the other day, they said that people had been complianing that petrol stations don't check their oil and water anymore..

If I was a gas station guy f**k taking some dudes radiator cap off only a few minutes after the car had been running :0

Also, I hate pack-n-save fuel... no locking tab on the fuel gun so you have to hold it the whole time <.<

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

I prefer to fill my car up myself personally. Mostly because they seem to teach service station attendants that they should full the car right up, to the brim of the filler. So that it just spills out the vent hole in the cap/the overflow on the very first corner!!! There is a reason the pumps click off when they do, but for some reason the people who use them all day dont know this?

Yeah i got that too the one time i let the guy fill it up. was in auckland nearish to Queen street (only know that because we stayed on Queen) on a corner shaped like a V and the forecourt was on a huge lean. was a Shell iirc. anyway pulled out and then got back onto the flat an spilled everywhere all along the road. If hed left it when it clicked it would have been fine!

Edit: they did that in my Nissan before i got my bimmer (a station in lower hutt) and it made the inside of the car all fumey for some reason.

Edited May 7, 2010 by ethrty320

[nath 134]

Mmm yes i agree with most peoples' pre-pay sentiments..... In fact, I am not a rude person ever to service- industry workers, but a while ago i was so mad about the circumstances of the pre- pay at whatever station- that i literally threw the money at the man behind the counter....

[3 SERIES 93]

My old man leaves the nozzle on the ground when he fills up his bike after pre pay

That is brilliant!

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2957]

don't even get me started ... pre-pay drives me insane, let alone the lack of service and rude attendants.

Ollie, you really do seem to have a lot of anger for one so young? You should wait until you are a miserable old git like me to have such issues (please don't give me another warning oh powerful one!!)

I refuse to go to my nearest petrol station (Gull) as their pumps are always on pre-paid, even during the middle of the day. Late on a saturday night, fair enough, middle of the day on a Wednesday, why??

My worst pre-paid nightmare - wanted to fill the tank on a Land Cruiser - can only go up to $100, but I need more than that, well you''ll have to do it in two lots (wtf??) For the second fill, I had over estimated how much room was left, so had to go back AGAIN to get a refund of the difference, so in total three trips to the cashier for one fill of fuel, excellent

Funniest / scariest moment at the service station, looking for the cashier so I could pay and leave, eventually found her outside by the pumps having a fag! "Do you think that's a good idea?" says me, "But I don't get any breaks and can't smoke inside" says her. Well Ok then, go ahead and risk blowing us all to bits!