We are so spoiled in Ontario. There are not many gas stations (yet) that force you to pay in advance of filling up. And if you want the convenience of paying at the pump, that is pretty painless.
As much as I love driving/travelling in the states, there is one frustration I have when stopping for gas! Have you ever tried to fill up your gas tank at a station in the states? Arrgggghhhhh!!!
In theory, most gas stations have the “pay at the pump” option where you simply slide your credit card through and away you go. Unfortunately, the reality is that at a number of stations, this option is NOT available to you unless you are a U.S. resident. Once you’ve inserted your card, you get prompted to enter your zip code. Being a non-U.S. resident, one obviously doesn’t have a zip code. Sure, I tried entering “90210” but quickly got the message that the zip code entered does not match that associated with my credit card. So much for the convenience of paying at the pump! Because of the “pre-pay” policies at almost EVERY station in the US, I now have to go inside to the cashier. And THIS is where my real frustration gets amped up.
Here was an actual conversation I had with one cashier.
Cashier:
“How much do you want?”
Me:
“I want to fill up.”
Cashier:
“How much will it cost to fill up?”
Me:
“I don’t know. I’ve never actually been able to guess the exact amount. Here’s my credit card, we’ll run it through when I’ve filled up.”
Cashier:
“Sir, I cannot hold your card. It is against company policy. Please tell me how much you want!”
Me:
“I want to fill it up. I don’t know how much it’s going to be!”
Cashier:
“Well sir, you’re just going to have to guess and pre-pay that amount. If it turns out that you paid too much, we’ll apply a credit against your card.”
Me:
“So you mean to say, not only am I inconvenienced through the fact that I have to come in here to pay initially, because the pump does not allow foreigners to use their credit cards, I now have to come back inside a second time if, by chance, I haven’t been able to accurately guess the exact amount I’m going to put into my tank.”
Cashier:
“I’m sorry sir but yes, that is correct.”
Well…at least this person was very polite. Bottom line. Carry lots of cash, forget about using your credit card and accept the fact that you can never actually get a full tank of gas !!!
