# Shopping at petrol stations



## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

If you want to do to do your weeks shopping at the petrol station don't fill your car at the pumps first and leave it parked there for 20 minuets will you do it 
:evil:


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## Skeee (Jun 9, 2009)

YELLOW_TT said:


> If you want to do to do your weeks shopping at the petrol station don't fill your car at the pumps first and leave it parked there for 20 minutes whilst you do it.
> :evil:


:lol: :lol:

well, :twisted: really!


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## T3RBO (Dec 9, 2003)

Who ever decided that garages should sell more than motor oil and porn mags was a fucking idiot :x


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## Callum-TT (Jun 3, 2013)

T3RBO said:


> Who ever decided that garages should sell more than motor oil and porn mags was a fucking idiot :x


Nah the addition of red bull on a long drive was a godsend.


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## jamman (May 6, 2002)

Callum-TT said:


> T3RBO said:
> 
> 
> > Who ever decided that garages should sell more than motor oil and porn mags was a fucking idiot :x
> ...


You must be loaded to afford Red Bull from a station :lol: :lol: RIP OFF


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## Skeee (Jun 9, 2009)

T3RBO said:


> Who ever decided that garages should sell more than motor oil and porn mags was a fucking idiot :x


 Porn Mags? Get with the times!


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## Arbees (Jul 11, 2012)

Agree.Real PITA. At least have one dedicated till open for fuel only.


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## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

YELLOW_TT said:


> If you want to do to do your weeks shopping at the petrol station don't fill your car at the pumps first and leave it parked there for 20 minuets will you do it
> :evil:


Unfortunately the garages are their own worst enemy. There are spaces provide for people who want to make use of the facilities but most petrol stations insist you pay for the fuel before moving the vehicle.

Far worse are those checkout assistants who try and flog some tat to you at the till. :evil:


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## Shug750S (Feb 6, 2012)

Arbees said:


> Agree.Real PITA. At least have one dedicated till open for fuel only.


+1 on that. Queued at a BP / M&S place last week. 10 bloody minutes. I was the only one just buying petrol. 
Why can't we have more automated stations like the US? Put your credit card or cash in the slot, fill up, either bills card or stops when cash limit reached. Simple!


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## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

Shug750S said:


> Arbees said:
> 
> 
> > Agree.Real PITA. At least have one dedicated till open for fuel only.
> ...


My local Shell station has had the systems installed for months but so far it hasn't been up and running. Give it 10 years and we'll catch up. :lol:


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

I think there's more profit margin in selling sweets and what not. If the public refused to buy other stuff it would all go away but they don't. Them again if the sweets and what not went some garages might close through lack of profit. They obviously need to work on making queues and payment quicker. The flogging of sweets at you when you pay is annoying.


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

This guy filled his car up left it at the pump blocking only exit from that pump while he picked up his nick nacks for the week before paying :evil:


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

Hmmm... some people.

I saw someone topping up all the fluids in their car with a line of waiting cars. He got horns blown at him and someone shouting there's a queue here! He moved out of the way. If they're in the shop you can't do much though.

Another anoying one is someone in a fat 4x4 not keeping over to one side between the lines of pumps preventing anyone else getting to the pumps on the other side - unless they squeeze past and scrape their alloys. Happened to me once. The metal edges on the kerb was very unforgiving :?


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

John-H said:


> Hmmm... some people.
> 
> I saw someone topping up all the fluids in their car with a line of waiting cars. He got horns blown at him and someone shouting there's a queue here! He moved out of the way. If they're in the shop you can't do much though.
> 
> Another anoying one is someone in a fat 4x4 not keeping over to one side between the lines of pumps preventing anyone else getting to the pumps on the other side - unless they squeeze past and scrape their alloys. Happened to me once. The metal edges on the kerb was very unforgiving :?


Don't even get me started on wankers in 4x4s


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## Spandex (Feb 20, 2009)

YELLOW_TT said:


> Don't even get me started on wankers in 4x4s


Heh. I'm a wanker in a 4x4. Don't even get me started on people in little Noddy cars. Have to spend half an hour picking them out my tyre treads when I get home... :wink:


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

Spandex said:


> YELLOW_TT said:
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> 
> > Don't even get me started on wankers in 4x4s
> ...


Glad you are willing to admit it :wink:


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

No Andy, quick hide! :-o [smiley=oops.gif]


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## Spandex (Feb 20, 2009)

YELLOW_TT said:


> Spandex said:
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> 
> > YELLOW_TT said:
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If wit fails you, don't be shy about just triumphantly repeating someone's self-deprecating joke back at them in the hope it counts as a come-back.


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## YoungOldUn (Apr 12, 2011)

[


YELLOW_TT said:


> Spandex said:
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> 
> > YELLOW_TT said:
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Could have said "How 'come' you spend so much time on the TT forum then"


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## simno44 (Aug 25, 2012)

having worked for ExxonMobil for a long period of time in the forecourt industry... (abuse welcome)

it's really quite simple. 
No site in its right Mind would welcome pay at pump technology, Unless supermarket branded.

There is little to no profit in fuel on a branded forecourt. Meaning fuel is simply a means of foot fall at the till. 
The impulse purchase is what keeps these sites afloat. That bottle of pop strategically placed on a gondola end just where your stood for 2 minuets while joe public rummages through his wallet looking for the wife's PIN number.. That mars bar staring at you at eye level with the 2 for 1 offer coaxing you to spend the extra 30p 
That's where the game is.

And for those who don't understand or care much for retail. When I as a Territory manager instruct my teams to "up sell" the deal of the week to each and very customer. That banks me an extra 4 to 6 grand PER SITE dependant on the offer, the size of the site and its customer turn over.

On a site patch of say 16 sites?? That's an injection of up to £96,000 possible margin on my bottom line for the week.

No brainer.

My advise? 
Just deal with it. Or expect to see fuel prices reach double what they are today when pay at pump technology takes the customer away from the till and profit margins fall to the dogs.

You will have noticed recently that shell is putting more and more "forecourt aids" at its pumps. You know? That wanker that walks towards you and before you know it he's pored fuel all over your boot and he's holding the standard grade with a wankers smile on his face asking you how much you want.. At witch point you ask him to step away and let you dispense your own fuel.. Thank you kindly.

Shells theory behind this is that this puts you as the customer in the shop for longer.. Yet saves time in the sense that your not filling and shopping, final outcome? 
Higher customer turn over. 
Less time on forecourt - more time in shop - and on to the next customer.

They are also selling us more "shell points" that equate to feck all unless your doing 1.3 million miles a day.

And this is all before we talk of service prices exceeding the corner shop by over a 3rd in most cases. 
Gone are the days when a curly-wurly was 20p.

Out.


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

simno44 said:


> having worked for ExxonMobil for a long period of time in the forecourt industry... (abuse welcome)
> 
> it's really quite simple.
> No site in its right Mind would welcome pay at pump technology, Unless supermarket branded.
> ...


This was a Shell station and it had the option of paying at the pumps :evil:


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

Spandex said:


> YELLOW_TT said:
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> 
> > Don't even get me started on wankers in 4x4s
> ...


will in that case I will have to beg forgiveness from the great Spandex lord and master of wit and sarcasm all hale the master


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## Pugwash69 (Jun 12, 2012)

I have no impulse to buy shit at the tills usually, although red bull at a supermarket fuel station is normal supermarket prices.


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## simno44 (Aug 25, 2012)

YELLOW_TT said:


> simno44 said:
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> 
> > having worked for ExxonMobil for a long period of time in the forecourt industry... (abuse welcome)
> ...


Are they in a location of great competition?

Say with in close proximity to a supermarket forecourt? Or a small express convenience supermarket that will take away its store foot fall?

If that's the case they enter into loss prevention. Pay at pump in some cases (as above) is a further invite advantage to a customers convenience. Any customer into the shop having seen good product advertisement on the forecourt exterior plays as a bonus.

You tend to find those shop prices to be far more reasonable in order to attract more shop sales. Bit of a gamble if you ask me.

I would never wave a flag for pay at pump on my patch.


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## PaulS (Jun 15, 2002)

I hate visiting petrol stations now days for all the reasons mentioned.

Very rarely are all the pumps working. You pull up at a vacant pump stand to find that either diesel or petrol isn't available on that stand which means you have faff about moving the car to another stand which is dispensing the fuel you require. Once you get to a pump you have to wait ages for the staff behind the till to activate the pump as they are too busy selling barbeque charcoal, bottles of vodka, and cheap sunglasses to a long queue of casual shoppers.

People are increasingly thick now days I pulled up behind someone at a pump recently and waited patiently whilst they went off to the shop to pay. Ages later they wondered back with a bag full of shopping, put it in the car, and then went back to the shop for something else!

Want to buy some oil, a bulb or some screen wash for your car? Unlikely you'll find what you want on the one shelf out of 50 dedicated to motoring consumables. The rest now contain food or general tat. 
Want to put some air in your tyres? You've got to be lucky to find an airline that works now days and that's assuming you can get to the airline because every time I try usually some lazy bastard has parked across it whilst they do their barbeque charcoal, vodka, and cheap sunglasses shopping.

I always try and use pay at the pump if it is available, but you're lucky if it's working and even luckier if it prints a receipt. 
The marketing managers have won with their master plan to turn all petrol stations into 'convenience' stores. They are anything but, and have become highly inconvenient in my opinion. My local station has recently been converted into a (in)convenience 'shop and go' store despite there being a Tescos Metro store not 20 meters away on the other side of the road!

Wouldn't it be nice if Petrol retailers could get their act together and concentrate on selling fuel and consumables for the car, quickly and efficiently. Having all the pumps working would be a start. When I buy fuel I don't want to queue up with the rest of the population whilst they faff about buying their tat. There are plenty of other outlets for that.


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## alexi7 (Aug 30, 2011)

The garage I use has the world's biggest "please move forward from the pumps after filling" Its on the wall and every pump, and yet they still do shopping ,lottery, coffee and FCUK knows what else !!!


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## phil3012 (Jul 25, 2008)

Reading this whilst say here eating my lunch bought from Sainsburys Petrol Station...

Absolutely appreciate the need to sell things to make a profit and don't mind petrol stations that sell a few things often buy my lunch after filling up.

What gets me is the one where they build a Tesco Express or Metro or whatever they are as the shop.

I was at one up in Middlesbrough a few months back, needed fuel for the trip back to Leeds, must have taken almost 30 mins to fill up and be on my way due to.

Queuing to get a pump (there are about 12 or more pumps on this site)

Filling up took a few mins as usual

Queue to actually get to pay about 10 people deep, they only had one person on for 12 pumps, plus people buying their weeks shopping, which was the main cause of the queues.

It was so bad. people were turning away otherwise it would have caused a traffic jam on the main road.

I've actually stopped going there for fuel now, never again...


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

I don't mine people doing there shopping there what I mind is them leaving there cars at the pumps while they are doing it


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## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

YELLOW_TT said:


> I don't mine people doing there shopping there what I mind is them leaving there cars at the pumps while they are doing it


As I said at the beginning, it's the requirement of the garage that you leave the car at the pump until you pay. So it's that idiocy that needs to change. Just get the pay-at-pump systems working so you pay before filling and it's easy.

But being the UK we have to test, re-test, check, get government involved, pass health and safety, make it disabled usable and give it a hi-viz jacket before enabling it.

PITA. :roll:


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

rustyintegrale said:


> YELLOW_TT said:
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> > I don't mine people doing there shopping there what I mind is them leaving there cars at the pumps while they are doing it
> ...


Do your shopping first pay then fill up and pay or fill up pay move your car then do your shopping its not hard to work out unless you think you are better than everyone else and they should all wait for you to do what is easiest for you


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## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

YELLOW_TT said:


> rustyintegrale said:
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> > YELLOW_TT said:
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Just do your fucking shopping at a shop.


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

rustyintegrale said:


> YELLOW_TT said:
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> 
> > I don't mine people doing there shopping there what I mind is them leaving there cars at the pumps while they are doing it
> ...


 :lol: that would work also


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## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

YELLOW_TT said:


> rustyintegrale said:
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It's my approach to life and also the TTOC. But I would never interfere with complication.


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## PaulS (Jun 15, 2002)

YELLOW_TT said:


> I don't mine people doing there shopping there what I mind is them leaving there cars at the pumps while they are doing it


Trouble is thick people use the pump stands as a parking space whilst they do their weekly shopping. Took ages to get some super unleaded today as the BMW X5 driver that I Followed into a petrol station pulled up on the only free pump stand, and the only pump dispensing super, and then got out and wondered off into the shop!

Later on at Tescos I'm queing behind some one putting their stuff through a self service till they're piling all the shopping up on the shelf and then spend the next 3 minutes transferring it all into bags. Could you not open some bags up beforehand and drop your shopping in them as you put it through the scanner!

Inconvenience stores. Avoid. Retailers are shooting themselves in the foot.


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## roddy (Dec 25, 2008)

Tip,,, when you see someone parked / abandoned in the tyre bay, park as close as possible to prevent them leaving,, lock your car and wander into the store, spend 30 minutes viewing the porn mags, buy 1/2 pint of milk and wander back out ,,,


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

roddy said:


> Tip,,, when you see someone parked / abandoned in the tyre bay, park as close as possible to prevent them leaving,, lock your car and wander into the store, spend 30 minutes viewing the porn mags, buy 1/2 pint of milk and wander back out ,,,


Excuse me I am not cutting my free porn reading tome down to 30 mins just so they can get home early


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