Don’t Steal Gas If You Don’t Want To Be Called A Thief

(I work at a gas station that will allow customers to fuel up and then pay when they are done. Since we’re the only one that does it in town, we have a few people drive off without paying, so I watch the customers like a hawk.)

Customer: *presses button to fuel then pay*

Me: “Welcome to [Company]. In the gray [Car], you are now set to fill, then pay. Please come inside and pay when you are finished. Thank you.”

(A few moments pass, and I hear someone rapidly pressing the intercom button. I look down and see that the lady has pumped $33 worth of gas so far.)

Customer: “THE PUMP WON’T STOP!”

(I hit the pump off button and go outside to inspect the pump. Nothing is wrong with it. The lady follows me inside, talking about how the pump wouldn’t stop.)

Me: “Okay, miss, it looks like your total comes to $37.22. Do you have a rewards card with us?”

Customer: “I only meant to pump $25 of gas.”

Me: “Well, you got $37 worth. Unfortunately, you have to pay for the gas you got.”

Customer: “Well I didn’t mean to. I only budgeted for $25 worth of gas.”

Me: *very confused* “Why didn’t you prepay for $25 so you wouldn’t go over?”

Customer: “Because when you do that, the pump won’t give you the full $25. There is a method to my madness.”

Me: “Well, you still need to pay the full $37. Is there any way you could get the money?”

Customer: “If I could give the gas back, I would. But I can’t, and I don’t have enough to pay for it; I only budgeted for $25. It’s also not my fault the pump was broken.”

Me: “Miss, the pump wasn’t broken.”

Customer: “YES, IT WAS!”

Me: “Okay, miss, the only thing left we can do is take down your ID info.”

(We do this to every customer that can’t pay for their gas.)

Customer: “YOU’RE TREATING ME LIKE A CRIMINAL!”

Me: “No, miss, we do this to everyone that can’t pay for their gas. I can give you a week to pay it, if you need.”

Customer: “I only budgeted for $25; I’m not paying any more than that. You need to fix your pumps.”

Me: “Miss, our pumps are serviced frequently to make sure they work properly. And if you leave without paying the full price for your gas, I’ll have to call the police.”

Customer: “FINE, HERE!”

(She opens her wallet, revealing a large sum of cash, then proceeds to throw it at my face — the 22 cents included.)

Customer: *walks away*

Me: *to coworker* “What an a**.”

Customer: “YOU KNOW WHAT?! YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO BE THE FACE OF [COMPANY]! YOU HAVE TREATED ME LIKE A CRIMINAL AND I WILL NEVER COME BACK HERE!”

(The customer leaves and proceeds to call every store in our chain, trying to get me fired. I call my general manager and tell her what happened. She says that she and the regional manager will review the tape and call me back.)

General Manager: “That lady you had that argument with — did she ever cut your hair?”

Me: “No? I’ve never seen her before in my life.”

General Manager: *laughs* “She called [General Manager at the store in the next town over] and said she used to cut your hair when you were a boy. Anyway, I reviewed the tape, and you held yourself very well. I wouldn’t have called her an a** while she was still in the store, though. Honestly, I probably would have punched her when she threw the money at my face. Anyway, you’re not going to be fired. Just don’t call anyone an a** out loud, understand?”

Me: “Yes, I won’t do that again.”

(The lady never returned, and we never had a problem with the pump not shutting off since. My manager said she was probably trying to con us out of gas, anyway.)