Intercom

So I'm doing my Graveyard "training" {May 4/5 2004} (the necessity of me training is beyond me, but I obliged none the less). I was working with Adrian (if you knew him you would understand the pain with which it was to spend 7 hours near locked in a gas station with him).

Anyways, due to the price of gas, we have had a lot of drive-offs (the technical industry term for people who fill up their tanks and then leave without proper money transfers).

To combat this plague during the graveyard shifts, our store policy is now prepay after 2230... no exceptions.

Enter- the Intercom

Now this isn't your fancy office intercom, but it is an intercom none the less, and as such there is a level of respect which is not only polite, but demanded.

But due to the ignorance of the gas consuming population (I hope this stupidity becomes apparent over the next few months-- and just because you are reading this and aware of the stupidity does not mean you are immune) this machine is often ignored.

Insert Idiot #1 (Stereotype: the Ignorant Immigrant)

He pulls up to the pump and removes the nosal. The buzzer goes off telling me I have a customer, I go to the intercome and give my speech**, and then politely wait for him to come in. He does not. I got again to the intercome, recite my speech** and he looks at me giving me a "Ok me and then I'll come in and pay, look". I give him the "I have nowhere to go, sir" look. He taps his watch. I glare, go to the intercom, give the speech a third time. He comes inside. He asks me why im not clearing him. I tell him it's because it's prepay only at this hour. He tells me he "doesn't want to put his credit card in our pump for fear of it reading his information". Apparently his mistook prepay for pay at the pump, but thats okay. He then starts raging about how if had just told me to come inside he could have been on his way home already. (please refer to speech**). He leaves without further incident.

But it isn't long before we meet up with-
Insert Idiot #2 (Stereotype- Berserk Bitch)
She comes inside after hearing my prepay intercom message and begins to try to tear a strip off of me. Apparently it inconveniences her to come inside and pay with cash prior to pumping her gas, rather than coming in to pay for her gas after she has pumped her gas. (This logic is illogical for 95% of peopleas most put in an even amount (such as $5, $20 or $45 etc) regardless of how much their car can take. Not to mention that when you pay cash (like this woman was) you have! to come in anyways. Not to mention that prepaying stops you from overshooting, so you only get the pre designated amount.

Now I would have let b.b. get off with only an honourable mention in my blog had it not been for the lie she then told me. She claimed that she came in at night all the time, and has been for years and has never been asked to prepay (as if that ads any validty to her arguement anyways). But I can say for a fact that all of the current graveyard wors are resposible and asides from the occasional forgetful clearance would follow protocol and get everyone to prepay. So inevitably (even if they recognise her-- and I didn't, neither did adrian) she would ahve been asked. Anyways, she bought her cigarettes and left.


There were more idiots that night but I won't continue as this blog is getting quite long as it is, but I promise I will be getting more stories up as they occur as well as stories from my fellow industry workers.



**My intercome speech is quite consistent and follows this basic guidline--

"Sorry for any inconvenience, but due to the recent increase in drive offs we require that all patrons prepay prior to pumping gas. Please hang up your pump and either prepay inside or proceed with the instructions on the display to pay at the pump"

under normal circum stances the people will satrt to move as soon as I start talking over the intercom, so I'll cut it short, and not finish the entire message, but that is dependent upon the circumstances.