One of my relatives quit a job this past week.

[Archae]

She worked in a mini-mart/gas station, and the owner was demanding that she (and three others) pay $250 EACH for people who had driven off without paying for their gas.

4 workers, including my relative told the owner to fuck off and quit.

The worst part is the owner is too cheap to put in cameras outside so the gas thieves could have their license plate on camera.

Not sure now what my relative is going to do.

[MADem]

1. Where I live, that can't happen.

If you want to pay cash for gas you have to pre-pay. You give your money to the clerk and the clerk turns the pump on--it stops at the amount you've paid. If you gave too much money, and your car is filled before you reach the amount you have given to the clerk, you go back to the clerk and get your change.

[Violet_Crumble]

26. Where I live, there's no pre-pay...

I guess it'll happen eventually, but even in Sydney when I was there a few weeks ago, you pay after you've got the petrol.

It doesn't surprise me that there's parts of the US where an owner/operator would try to inflict onerous conditions of employment on their staff rather than installing surveillance footage, which not only helps when it comes to the pump and flee crowd, but provides some assistance to the police if the petrol station is robbed, and sometimes, like in the case below, gives people the opportunity to have a laugh at a fleeing criminal face-planting real hard on the petrol station forecourt (the footage I saw originally on a local site was much longer than this, and they did catch the ones who did it a few days later)

[Recursion]

36. Is he whipping the robber with his own belt?

Ah, aussies...

[Violet_Crumble]

43. It was a dog leash...

It was about 5am and he was taking his dog for an early morning walk off the leash. In the full version of the clip you see him walk past the door, do a double take, push the look-out of the way, and then charge in. His dog ran off, but turned up later that day.

He earned the nickname of Dogman from locals for that one. He was awesome...

[HiPointDem]

2. what state? i haven't been to a gas station where you can pump before paying for years.

but good for her for quitting.

[Archae]

4. Wisconsin.

[HiPointDem]

5. are there still lots of stations where you don't have to pre-pay there?

[KansDem]

9. Oregon: You can't pump your own gas...

Two years ago I was driving from Idaho to California by way of Oregon and discovered I couldn't pump my own gas. Quite a culture "shock."

I found this site to help explain why:

Oregon State Code lays it all out in black and white: only trained employees of service stations are allowed to put so-called “Class 1 Flammable Liquids” into cars.

Not only is the prohibition the law of the land, but legislators in Salem put a laundry list of reasons why the ban was prudent into state code. The list isn’t a short one:

-People with training in pumping are better at keeping down fire risk
-It is nearly impossible to enforce safety standards on the driving public
-Seniors and disabled drivers can’t get adequate help at self-serve stations, and are instead forced to find a full-service outlet and pay a higher price
-Oregon’s rainy climate leads to more slick spots at gas stations, meaning higher liability insurance rates
-Decreased maintenance of pumps because they aren’t regularly monitored
-Self-service contributes to unemployment – especially among young people
-Exposure to toxic fumes is a health hazard
-Toxic fume exposure is heightened for pregnant women
-Gas drive-off thefts are cut down with the law
-Children are sometimes left unattended when customers go to make payment

Oregon law also makes it clear that just because it works in places like Idaho or most of the rest of the country, doesn’t mean it is the right call for them. Reference is made to “other states” four separate times in the law – including notes on the inability to enforce safety standards, lack of support for senior citizens and even the disappearance of auto-repair shops at gas stations.

http://www.ktvb.com/news/i-wonder/I-Wonder-Why-cant-you-pump-your-own-gas-in-Oregon-82256587.html

[HiPointDem]

10. but you still have to pay before they'll pump it. (i live on the wa/ore border).

[KansDem]

13. Don't remember when I paid...

All I remember is pulling into a station, getting out of my car out of habit and going into the office to pay before I pumped only to be told the employees there did the pumping. Perhaps I paid then while the employee went outside to pump.

Much different than KS/MO.

I only had to stop a time or two to fill up between Idaho and California, so I don't remember too much about that part of the trip.

But I do remember the scenery was beautiful!

(I also remember 65mph is the maximum speed limit)

[TexasTowelie]

12. That also seems reasonable with the increased usage of cell phones and other electrical equipment.

While the likelihood of ignition is minimal with the use of those devices, the inattentiveness of those people can actually lead to fuel spills.

What is truly foolish though is the number of people that I see smoking cigarettes while pumping gas. Those people should be thrown in jail for 30 days for public endangerment.

[hobbit709]

24. Actually the cell phone one is a myth.

Static discharge from someone getting in an out of the car while pumping gas is the single greatest cause of fires.

[hollysmom]

14. Still true in N J,.

they keep trying to pass laws for pump your own, but the one rationale - that the gas would be cheaper - is not true at all. We have pretty cheap gas here. And on miserable winter or stormy days, I would rather sit in my car. I traveled south and could not get more than a few gallons of gas in my tank for the longest time, finally some woman took pity on me and showed me how to get the gas in there. The signs kept saying to depress that handle - so I kept my hand on the pump, but they meant the handle cradle. Sheesh. If you don't hold on to it, it is not a handle to me.

[AngryOldDem]

17. That's the way it should be everywhere.

I've never understood why this was ever considered to be a good idea, especially with all the morons around.

[dballance]

18. I Live in OR and find this law really stupid and annoying.

I've been pumping gas since the oil crisis during Carter's term when gas stations started making self-service an option. I was not even a teenager yet then. So far I've managed not to spill fuel or blow up a gas station.

[davidpdx]

20. I lived in Oregon the majority of my life

up until I moved to Korea in 2004. I liked having my gas pumped. When I went to Idaho or another state I just looked at the pump like what the *bleep*? I guess in a way we are spoiled.

[WinkyDink]

22. Why would a 12-year-old pump gas?

[dballance]

29. Because my mom told me to.

I grew up on a farm. It wouldn't be all that unusual to do things like till and plant the fields along with my older brother and father. Which meant handling some nasty pesticides too. I don't think it's all that odd that I might have been doing things and given responsibilities at a younger age than "city kids" were. So pumping gas was NBD.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

27. They are so smart in Oregon...and NJ

Moved to FL from NJ 25 years ago...still hate pumping my own gas.

[Recursion]

37. You could really cut unemployment by requiring one attendant to pump and another to open the gascap

Meh. That's always something I hated about passing through NJ, too.

[RC]

38. "-Exposure to toxic fumes is a health hazard"

So the station hires someone to breath the fumes for 8 hours. The customer has the car window down and/or get out to pay or to talk to the pumper, so they still breath the fumes.

That's ok, the United States has the best cradle to grave health care system in the world.
Well, at least the grave part is true.

[MADem]

41. Crazy logic, there...

Exposure to toxic fumes is a health hazard, so instead of individuals pumping their gas once every week or so, we'll let unemployed teens do it, and be exposed to those fumes, all day long?

In my state there's usually a mix of full/self serve in fairly well populated areas, and there's not much, if any, price differential. Most full serve places also do a little auto repair as well, I've noticed. The self-serve joints usually sell donuts/have a convenience store.

If I go to a full serve, I always tip.

[msanthrope]

42. I love having gas pumped when I travel through NJ--and I always tip. nt

[defacto7]

3. There are better jobs than that.

Any job would be better that working for that guy.

[Matariki]

6. That can't possibly be legal

She needs to contact her state labor board.

[Skittles]

7. that employer needs to be reported

what he is doing is illegal

[Sherman A1]

8. Precisely

She should file complaints with every Federal & State Agency that has any possibility of jurisdiction. Also a complaint with the supplier of his gasoline if he is a named brand station.

[safeinOhio]

11. Retail gas companies in the mid-west

try to squeeze every penny out a gallon of gas and every drop of blood out of their minimum wage workers.

Try to never purchase anything other than gas at these stations until they change their business model.

I worked mid-nights at a Marathon station, would haul in 5 or 6 thousand a night working alone. After an armed robbery, I suggested putting up a light behind the store and was told they couldn't afford it. Plus they had cameras in the store to monitor the employes from a central location.

I quit and found a much better job.

[AngryOldDem]

19. Couldn't afford it = didn't want to spend the money to do it

Typical business model. Workers are expendible. That's why at the very least there should be laws mandating certain safety features at gas stations/convenience stores. When I lived in Ohio, I'd go to some stores where the clerks were behind some kind of plexiglass shield that I assumed was bulletproof. You handed your money over through a slot.

I can't imagine what it takes to be able to work at such a place, especially at night or overnight.

Glad you found another job.

[zabet]

15. Back in the early 1990s....

I owned a small service station/convienenve store. Store owners only make a FEW PENNIES on each gallon of gas. The profit margin comes from the store goods that always cost more at a station than in a box store. The gas is just a draw to get customers in to spend on other things like cigs, drinks, etc.

That being said.....the idiot who lost that much selliing gas.....is stupid for not installing security cameras OR...possibly he is wanting the employees to pay for the gas he and his family get when no one is looking. Seen this happen in our town before the 'pay before you pump' became the norm. A station owner trying to hide the free gas he was letting his mistress and her son use from his wife who did the accounting for his station. Needless to say....station closed...divorce...etc etc.

[Notafraidtoo]

16. What's he expect them to do.

Run out in front of cars risking life and limb? I mean their job isn't only watching the cars but they have to wait on customers, cant have your eyes looking at two things at once. and wtf if hes so worried why isn't he pre pay this guy is a moron.

[davidpdx]

21. I think it would have been better if the owner had fired the person

I guess it depends on what the state law is. The thing is she might have been able to at least get unemployment for a bit.

Feel free to post the guy's number and I'll call him and give him a bad time (he couldn't do much about it either since I'm not in the US).

[WinkyDink]

23. Uh....no.

[davidpdx]

30. No, on which one

It would kind of be nice if you were a little more specific.

[Mopar151]

33. Depending on the state, you can receive U/C if you quit for cause

I know, I did for similar reasons. (Gas station, unpaid "cashup" time, extortion attempts over "shortages&quot

[Morning Dew]

25. As long as it doesn't put the employee below minimum wage,

it looks like Wisconsin still allows employers to deduct cash register shortages. A bad employer could seriously abuse that.

I researched this a bit a few years ago when my Minnesota employer wanted to institute a policy like this - it's mostly not legal in Minnesota.

[Shankapotomus]

28. Sounds like a con game

A way to pay his employees less while he has his friends pull in and drive away without paying.

Either that or he's really paranoid about his employees stealing gas. Why $250, though? Why not just the amount stolen? Yep. Sounds like he wants to short change his employees.

[davidpdx]

31. I tend to agree

I'd love to see a news reporter go under cover and work there and see what's going on.

[djean111]

32. A long time ago, here in Florida, before pre-pay gas,

my son worked in a convenience store. He was liable for stolen gas and shoplifting.
This is a guy who took a job cleaning high-rise windows, a guy who collected aquarium-bound tiny crabs in the Crystal River, dodging alligators, a guy who rehabbed houses in the bad part of Ybor City and had to carry a gun to ward off people who wanted to steal and pawn his tools.
He said when he was working in the convenience store, he had to assume that every single person who came in wanted to rob him or shoplift and even little kids might be decoys to attract his attention.
So - he quit; too stressful. Right before we moved here, someone kidnapped a female clerk from a store down the road and killed her.
I understand that the store owner doesn't get much of the actual gas money, but the clerk job should pay a lot more than minimum wage.

[raccoon]

34. Tell her to contact local TV stations. Sometimes they'll investigate things like that and expose

the employer for the jerk he is.

[OwnedByCats]

35. I worked at a gas station/convenience store

when I graduated high school. If someone drove off without paying, my boss was understanding. As someone said earlier, wtf are you supposed to do? Out run and stop a car? I mean they don't exactly take their time when they leave lol. Sometimes I was able to get a plate number and I was very familiar with makes and models of cars, but man getting the plate numbers is pretty damn hard as they're driving away! I also often worked alone so there was no way my boss would have wanted me to leave the store unattended while I try to catch some jerk in a Mustang who thought he was somehow entitled to free gas lol
Thankfully, these drive offs didn't happen very often.

Anyone who expects their employees to pay for something like that is really low. Damn, get some fricken cameras!

[Safetykitten]

39. Tell the assclown owner to staff the store properly. Of course not having enough people there is

never the problem.

[ThomThom]

40. how could the clerk possibly stop someone from stealing

gas? shoot at them? chase them?
It is a cost of doing business especially if there are no cameras.
I would not work there either

[Cleita]

44. I think it's illegal in a lot of places to make workers pay for theft by

customers. They should check it out.

[Initech]

45. Hey I would have done the same thing.