Take The Gas Out Of Her Balloon

I’m in line at a warehouse chain’s gas station. The lines are nuts because gas prices are nuts and this chain’s gas is cheap and convenient. Everyone is on edge. The gas employees have to periodically sweep the lanes and clean up spilled gas. Just like at the registers when they close a line, they stop people from lining up in that lane. They finish the people currently in the queue and direct other customers into different lanes so they can cone off the lane and sweep.

I’m pumping gas and see this go down. A woman drives around the cones and into the lane they are sweeping like she’s exempt from the process and is going to get gas. An employee jogs over.

Employee: “Sorry, ma’am, this lane is closed for the moment. Can you please pull around into a different line?”

Woman: “Why?”

Employee: “This lane is closed.”

He sees an empty spot not yet filled in the adjacent lane and points.

Employee: “You can go there.”

She starts screeching.

Woman: “You don’t have to talk to me that way! I don’t appreciate it!”

Screech, screech, screech!

A guy gets out of the passenger seat. The employee is babbling, pointing, and waving. He points at the cones, the empty lane, and the broom. Screeching Lady turns into Cursing Lady and starts dropping expletives about how you can’t treat me this, and effing that, and so on. The passenger gives the employee the finger. The employee is looking around because he’s in over his head.

Woman: “Your manager is going to hear about this! You just lost your job!

Screech, screech! She and the passenger get back in the car and peel out, leaving.

I finish pumping and go find a place to park. I Google the store phone number and call. I hit the number to speak with a manager.

Me: “Can I speak to the manager of the gas station, please?”

Store Manager: “Sorry, he’s gone for the day. Can I leave a message?”

Me: “Okay, can I tell you, then? I just saw this whole thing go down. In a minute, you’re going to get a call from a lady claiming she was just disrespected by a gas employee and complaining up a storm. Let me tell you what actually happened from an objective observer, because there’s no way this guy did anything wrong, and it’s going to come down to his word versus that crazy lady.”

Store Manager: “Okay, thank you for the heads-up. It’s nice to hear that he was doing the right thing. Oh, actually, your lady is on the phone with this other manager right here it sounds like. I’ll pass along your message. Thanks for calling!”