Unfiltered Story #56673

My second job pays me a decent hourly wage, but I also get tips. It’s usually only a few dollars, so I just put it right in the gas tank on the way home. Today (Saturday after Thanksgiving), I prepaid the attendant for four dollars worth of gas. I then went out to the pump, confirmed that the screen said “remove nozzle,” selected my gas, and proceeded to use the pump. The handle had no resistance when I tried to squeeze it, and the pump did not show I had pumped anything. After a moment, the screen went back to the welcome message. I walked back inside to get some help, since this particular gas station doesn’t have an intercom. It should be noted that the temperature dropped nearly thirty degrees over the last few days and there are scattered patches of ice everywhere.

Me: Hi! I just bought four dollars worth of gas on Pump 17. It never pumped anything, then it went back to the welcome screen.

Employee 1: Ok! *Turns to other employee* Pump 17 is broken. Can you you fix it?

Employee 2: *Says nothing, but punches some buttons at a register and then turns and walks outside.

Employee 1: He’ll help you. Go with him.

Me: Ok. *Dodging ice and trying to catch Employee 2*

Me: The screen said “Remove Nozzle” and I did. Then it said “Select Gas” and I did. Then, it never pumped anything and went right back to the “Welcome Screen.”

Employee 2: *Grunts something that sounds remotely like “I know.”*

Me: *Continues trying to explain, a bit flustered that he apparently either doesn’t want to hear it or thinks I don’t know what I am doing*

Employee 2: *Punches the spot where the nozzle rests when hanging on the tank several times, the squeezes the handle a few times, punches a few buttons, and walks away.*

Me: *Noting that, surprisingly, whatever he did appears to have worked.* Thank you!

Employee 2: …

Maybe it was the cold. Maybe it was the hundredth time he had beaten that pump into submission. Maybe he just thought I was an idiot and not worth his time. Maybe he was mute. Regardless, a smile, a wave, eye contact, something to acknowledge I was a human being would have, at the very least, made this story not worth telling.