[NA]Observations from the Costco gas line[NR]

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asicer

Touchdown! Greaser!
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asicer
[NR]=Not a Rant.

The people in front of me:
  • Won't go around the person in the back pump to use the middle pump but waits instead for the back pump to clear
  • Won't get off the phone and does everything one-handed
  • Waits until everything is authorized before opening the fuel door
  • Dangles the gas cap against the fender instead of using the holster
  • Drags the hose across the bodywork and rests it on the paint
  • Gets back in the car when it's a beautiful day out
  • Waits until the receipt is done printing before closing up
  • Why do these people not hit "no receipt", BTW?
  • Keeps turning the gas cap until it clicks 247 times
  • Won't go around the person in the front pump to leave but waits instead for the front pump to clear
  • Forgets to close the fuel door
 
One of my observations from the local Costco is that the fuel prices aren’t that much cheaper than anywhere else (~.10c if that.)
 
Dang - only $0.10 difference in your area? Costco is $0.40 a gallon difference than the other major brands here in SoCal.

At my Costco, there’s only one way to get into the area where the line queues up at each of the pumps. I notice people will line up at the closest one and block the entrance to the queuing area. Good thing I have a 4x4 SUV to crawl over the curb when people do that.
 
My Costco is usually 15¢-20¢ cheaper than the Top Tier gas sources around the area.

Cheers
 
We were in line to buy gas at a busy station off the interstate. The car in front of us was empty, we thought they’d run in to pay. No, they’d run in ( while every other pump had a line two cars deep) to get dinner. They then proceeded to pump gas. We’ll, at least try. Took two more trips to figure that out. Then someone set up the pump and got back in the car.

I don’t recall seeing such otterly inconsiderate and witless people.
 
10 cents lower for Costco in my area and I get 5 cents off Shell anyway with some silly promo. card.
 
asicer said:
[NR]=Not a Rant.

The people in front of me:
  • Won't go around the person in the back pump to use the middle pump but waits instead for the back pump to clear
  • Won't get off the phone and does everything one-handed
  • Waits until everything is authorized before opening the fuel door
  • Dangles the gas cap against the fender instead of using the holster
  • Drags the hose across the bodywork and rests it on the paint
  • Gets back in the car when it's a beautiful day out
  • Waits until the receipt is done printing before closing up
  • Why do these people not hit "no receipt", BTW?
  • Keeps turning the gas cap until it clicks 247 times
  • Won't go around the person in the front pump to leave but waits instead for the front pump to clear
  • Forgets to close the fuel door
Click to expand...
Was this typed while you were waiting to pump gas???
 
steingar said:
We were in line to buy gas at a busy station off the interstate. The car in front of us was empty, we thought they’d run in to pay. No, they’d run in ( while every other pump had a line two cars deep) to get dinner. They then proceeded to pump gas. We’ll, at least try. Took two more trips to figure that out. Then someone set up the pump and got back in the car.

I don’t recall seeing such otterly inconsiderate and witless people.
Click to expand...

People like that deserve to return to four flat tires...with the valve stem assemblies missing.
 
Less than .05 cents difference here.

Yeah that buck fifty dog is cheap and very good. Ours started carrying Italian sausage w/ onions n peppers for around three bucks. Good groceries.
 
In our area, bith Costco and Sams are a little cheaper (.10-.20/gal) on regular, but Super can be 0.50 or more per gallon savings. I have one vehicle that requires at least 92 octane, it knicks bad on 89.
 
Hey, but at least at Costco they can't finish fueling then go pay at the cashier, grab a few snacks, check the scratcher, use the head, open and discard wrapper of said snacks, THEN move the car...so it is not all bad.
 
Don't have a Costco nor a Sams. And we're not in too much of a hurry. We fill up before we drive to the city, usually Mount Pilot, occasionally Raleigh. Glad to have gas and a car.
 
Timbeck2 said:
In my experience, it doesn't matter who owns the fuel pump. People are stupid and have no situational awareness.
Click to expand...
^^^^^This! I constantly point out to my wife people that are oblivious to the world around them.
 
MtPJimB said:
^^^^^This! I constantly point out to my wife people that are oblivious to the world around them.
Click to expand...
Especially when the little cars insist on taking the outside pumps that have diesel, as I sit outside the line with my truck and trailer, waiting to pull in ... and looking at the empty gas only pumps ...
 
Pulled into line at the local Costco, and the woman at the pump in front of me is just sitting in the car, head down (I assumed she was, dunno, putting away her credit card, writing down gas purchase for expenses, something like that), but after a reasonable time (30-45 seconds?), I just tooted the horn as a basic "...someone's waiting, so pull on out now" message.

She looked up, finished her texting, then got out to buy her gas.

"Oblivious" is the word.

I was able to pull up to the pump in front of her, filled my Suburban, in the middle of which process the pump on her car cut off (she had climbed back into her running car to be in the air conditioning; her running car, into which she was pumping gas). I was gone before she emerged from her cocoon of indifference, someone else's problem.
 
asicer said:
[NR]
  • Why do these people not hit "no receipt", BTW?
Click to expand...

Always get the receipt when paying at the pump. If there is ever a question of whether you paid or drove off at a gas station, this is your get out of jail free card. I have seen where the clueless attendant misidentifies a drive-off to law enforcement, and the wrong car gets pulled over. Sure it will all get worked out in due time, but without a receipt, it is your word versus theirs and people have wound up in handcuffs.

Granted the club places there is no other way to get gas since they don't have traditional cash registers and employees at the gas station, but it is my habit.
 
I have always believed, and practiced, that you should NOT open and close the car door whilst pumping gas. Sparks, or something. Am I standing out in the heat, cold and wind unnecessarily?
 
Becky said:
I have always believed, and practiced, that you should NOT open and close the car door whilst pumping gas. Sparks, or something. Am I standing out in the heat, cold and wind unnecessarily?
Click to expand...

Getting in and out, especially in winter with the heat on, can cause a static charge to build on your person. It can cause a spark the first time you touch something metallic on the car, just like rubbing your feet on carpet then touching a doorknob. If the first thing you touch is the fuel nozzle, it is possible to create a spark and ignite any escaping fuel vapors. There are videos out there of this happening to people. If you do go inside, make sure to touch something metal on the vehicle away from the filler nozzle.

The other side of it, you should always be near the nozzle monitoring the fueling. If you are in the car, especially with the door closed, you may not hear or notice fuel pouring out of your vehicle. Do not rely on the automatic nozzle to shutoff, they do fail.

Or as in the OP's posts, you may not notice your car is full, and you continue to sit in your car taking up a pump oblivious to the outside world.
 
I always get good people watching time in while pumping gas. My Evap System is clogged and I'm to cheap to fix it so it takes a solid 10/15 minutes to do a full tank of gas.

A lot of people have no idea what's going on around them or what they're doing. I watch one lady try to force a diesel nozzle into her gas only tank. She finally gave up and drove off in disgust after yelling at the poor attendant.
 
I bought gas at Costco frequently with my BMW, as that car wanted premium. Costco is only $0.15/gal cheaper for regular, but is $0.35/gal cheaper for premium right now.

Even better is when I can get a $50 gas card at Publix for only $40.
 
gkainz said:
Especially when the little cars insist on taking the outside pumps that have diesel, as I sit outside the line with my truck and trailer, waiting to pull in ... and looking at the empty gas only pumps ...
Click to expand...

It's nice to have a narrow-ish car. With my recently purchased Honda Fit, it doesn't matter whether the pump is on the driver or passenger side...the hose is long enough to reach across if need be, so I can pick either aisle.

It used to be really convenient with the older cars (1950s through 1970s) where the fuel filler was either behind a hinged taillight or license plate. Wouldn't fly today because of safety regs.
 
Oregon doesn't let people pump their own gas. It definitely makes things slower than if you're competent at pumping your own gas, but as this thread demonstrates, maybe the 'safety' difference is worth it.

Personally I got a Diesel and a card-lock account(can pump your own diesel, but most stations don't allow it if they have diesel on the same pumps as gas), so now I get to use the stations no one else is at, unless there's a log truck convention in town.
 
Buy a Tesla!
 
chartbundle said:
Oregon doesn't let people pump their own gas.
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Great, the nanny state protecting you from yourself. Is Oregon a huge union state like NJ, where only dues-paying union members working at the station can pump gas? It's such a dangerous thing that in the other 48 states it must be done by someone age 16 or older . . . No training or union dues required.
 
Mike Smith said:
You’re buying gas at Costco, you get what you deserve.
Click to expand...

I get gas at Costco primarily in Hawaii. 90 cents a gallon less than every other station on Maui a couple years ago and 50 cents a gallon less on Kauai. Why wouldn't I get gas there?
 
No reason not to, but when you are typically dealing with the lowest common denominator, don’t complain. Water is wet. Get gas at Costco, might be less than Mensa folks buying gas.
 
I see the same behavior where I buy gas. It's operated by the Tom Thumb (Safeway owned) grocery in the same location.

The gas is only ten or fifteen cents cheaper than QuikTrip or RaceTrac, but one of my vehicles is an Excursion. With a 44 gallon tank and the awareness (despair? :D ) a fill-up of the truck creates, that ten cents per gallon seems more important. :D
 
I find my time more valuable than the two cent saving per gallon when the Arco across the street from Costco isn't nearly as long.

Also... the description by the op is universal for Costco it seems.

Last time I fueled there (a year ago) I used the center lane to hop into a pump. I got chewed out by some dumb ***** for cutting the line. I told her it was the price she paid for her stupidity. And also told her I wasn't going to let HER stupidity waste another moment of MY time.

Sent from my BBB100-3 using Tapatalk
 
Skip the gas, go straight for hotdog.

I go inside and buy the dog, and then go back out and claim the dog at the pickup window instead of waiting in a forty person line.
asicer said:
But that $1.50 hot dog and soda...:)
Click to expand...

Sent from my BBB100-3 using Tapatalk
 
chartbundle said:
Oregon doesn't let people pump their own gas. It definitely makes things slower than if you're competent at pumping your own gas, but as this thread demonstrates, maybe the 'safety' difference is worth it.
Click to expand...

Doubful, but it depends on whether you think Oregonians are stupider or smarter than average. :)

chartbundle said:
Personally I got a Diesel and a card-lock account(can pump your own diesel, but most stations don't allow it if they have diesel on the same pumps as gas), so now I get to use the stations no one else is at, unless there's a log truck convention in town.
Click to expand...

So strange.

Costco around here is higher than the cheapest privately operated gas stations, if you pay attention. It's also typically higher than what you'll end up with if you fuel at the grocery stores that do the "points" thing on groceries you're already going to buy, and aren't actually any more expensive than the WalMart groceries. How they do that, I dunno, but I'll take it.

The somehow-connected-to-WalMart Maverick gas stations have come to town, and a number of them have ethanol-free gas which upped our places to get airplane MoGas by an order of magnitude or two, overnight. Their prices aren't that bad either.

The big rig drivers for Maverick however, are terrifying. Never seen any of the other common gasoline tanker companies cutting people off in traffic, and generally driving like maniacs, as the Maverick gas truck drivers in Denver Metro. They're insane. After watching three different near-collisions by them, I give them a very wide berth. Something is very wrong at whoever the contractor is who's driving those branded trucks.
 
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