A woman was left feeling really ‘uncomfortable’ and wondering whether the cashier at the petrol station was telling the truth when she told her about a ‘new rule’
Refilling your car is nobody’s favourite task, but one woman was left feeling ‘uncomfortable’ when she was confronted by an angry worker who got “too close for comfort” at a petrol station.
The woman explained that she was driving, and her “husband got out of the passenger side” to refuel her car for her, explaining that “every time” he does this for her. But this time, they were confronted by the cashier about a “new rule”. They claimed the passenger wasn’t allowed to fill up – it had to be the driver.
The woman wasn’t convinced about the supposed rule, however, and she felt the cashier had just pre-judged her, assuming she was going to be “dodgy”.
The woman, who lives in Brisbane, Australia, took to Reddit to ask others whether they’d experienced the same thing. She wrote: “I went to put petrol in the car this morning, and like every time I get petrol my husband got out of the passenger side and went to fill up for me. We were taking our time, talking a bit (I was sat in the driver seat with the door half open, the fuel tank is on that side) and messing around transferring money to pay for it (the petrol station was empty, we weren’t holding anyone up), when the cashier suddenly appeared, way too close for comfort.”
The woman explained that the cashier said there was a “rule that the passenger can’t fill up, it has to be the driver”, and the original poster said she asked, “Since when?” The woman said “for a while now to try and stop drive-offs”, and the pair “pushed back a little, but quickly just gave up, not wanting to fight with an old woman”. The driver of the car, who posted on Reddit then “got out and refuelled.”
She continued: “What the f**k? Surely this isn’t an actual rule? I assume that she saw us in my beat-up old s**t box, d**king around trying to find money (it’s the day before payday, alright?!) so she assumed we were dodgy. The rule doesn’t even make any sense if preventing drive-offs is the reason. I can jump back into my driver’s seat and drive off far quicker than hubby could race around to the passenger side and jump in.
“Anyways, it made me feel SUPER uncomfortable, and I’d like to know if this is an actual rule or if this old biddy is about to get an email to her supervisor calling her out for being a d**k.”
The woman confirmed in the comments that she was wearing pyjamas and her hair was messy, but she “hadn’t planned on getting out of the car”, which was part of the reason she was made at the cashier for making her fill up the car.
In the comments, a former petrol station attendant confirmed that the woman working at the petrol station must’ve thought she looked “dodgy”, writing: “Former petrol station attendant, you looked dodgy AF unfortunately. It’s a s**t job, she wasn’t right to discriminate against you.”
Someone suggested: “I’d jump in the passenger seat, let my husband fill up and pay, then get back in the driver’s seat and leave. If people look that dodgy just make them prepay. No reason to get on a power trip.”
Another said that they were a “former console operator and my old bosses would come up with bulls**t ‘rules’ like this all of the time.” They said: “If it’s one of the big corporate chains there’s no way it’s an official company policy. But does it sound like something an idiot supervisor would concoct and verbally tell their staff to enforce? Absolutely. I’m sure they don’t even particularly care about the cost of drive-offs, it’s usually not very significant.”
According to Coventry Live, the only official petrol station rules are:
- Turn off your engine while filling your tank – it’s illegal not to
- Never use your mobile phone at the pump as there is a small chance it could spark an explosion. You could also be distracted
- Never light a cigarette (or anything else) or smoke at the petrol station as flammable vapours could be ignited
- Follow safety warnings provided – including staying inside your car when in machine car washes
- It’s illegal for anyone under 16 to use a fuel pump, so don’t let your kids fill up
- It’s also illegal to fill a non-approved container with petrol or diesel
- If you’re in a vehicle with a pilot light (small gas flames that light larger ones in ovens and fridges in vehicles such as campervans, caravans, food vans and boats) they must be switched off before you enter the petrol station
- Park close to the pumps when refuelling so as not to cause a hazard
- Rejoin the road in the correct location – and only after giving way
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