Convincing Them To Clean Up Their Act (And Their Signs)
I am running low on gas and pull into a small gas station on the west side of the island of Oahu. This is the kind of gas station that’s obviously owned either by a family or a small local company and is simply sponsored and branded by a large oil company. I pull in, swipe my card, and then attempt to take the handle off the gas pump only to find that it is padlocked to the pump.
I go in and talk to the woman at the register. She seems very irritated with me and tells me that I’m not allowed to pump gas there and I should have “read the sign” indicating that it was a “full service” lane.
I go outside and look around. The sign to which she was referring is connected to the crash bollard that protects the pumps. Being at nearly ground level, it is black with grime, dirt, and old sludge that has been kicked up by people’s tires. The words that should be white lettering on an orange and blue background are completely illegible. Still, I go back inside to talk to her again.
Me: “Sorry, I didn’t notice the sign because of how dirty it is. Do you mind canceling the transaction for me?”
Employee: “No, just leave it running. The pump will shut off eventually.”
Me: “I’m not going to leave a pump in an active transaction for my credentials.”
Employee: “It’s locked.”
Me: “I’m not going to leave a pump in an active transaction with my credentials. Can you please turn it off?”
Employee: “Why? Because you can’t read?”
Me: “No, because you can’t clean.”
She looked dumbfounded at this remark but woke up her computer and turned the pump off. I thanked her and left the store, verified at the pump that it was back in “Please insert card to begin transaction” mode, and left.
A few days later, I was passing the location on my way further west, and the signage at the pumps indicating which lane was which was so clean that I could see it from the road, a beacon of color against the worn and dirty gas station. The signage has never been allowed to go back to the state that it was in that day; every time I pass that station, even if the signs are dirty, they are still clearly readable.
I have even gone back to the station a few times on my way in and out of the west side of the island, and I’ve never had a problem with them again.