As I was taking photos of the E/M pumps, I noticed a customer pulling into the lot, parking his expensive German made vehicle, then getting out and approaching me.
"Do you work here!" he asks, somewhat angrily.
"Well," I said, "I am doing a site inspection for the company". I did not say who that company was, nor was I about to.
"They are charging too much for their gas," he sputters.
Pleasantly, I offered, "Perhaps you should go inside to discuss that with the employee, not me".
He is angry! "I will not buy gas here, it is too much! I spend $400 a month on fuel to run my car," he rattles on, pointing to his sleek German made sedan.
"Oh, it is a very nice car," I say innocently, "because it must take premium?"
"Yes!, it must take premium. The premium here is almost $6 a gallon! The gasoline here is too expensive! I go to (he names a competitor). I buy my gas there!"
As he is blabbering on, complaining about the cost of gas at this E/M station, I continue taking my photos, nodding and rolling my eyes.
Finally, I've had enough. As a rule, I don't discuss my job or interact with customers, other than a hello or something else innocuous.
So I just say, "sir, I am trying to do my job, you are interfering with that. You do know as well as I do that I cannot lower the price of gas. Gas prices are high worldwide, in Europe and Canada and probably even in China." I say this calmly and evenly.
He furiously counters with, "I am from India, I am a Chiropractor, I am building a new office here."
"Oh," I say, "that is very nice sir. I hope you do well! with your practice"
"Not with the high gas prices!"
"Well sir, perhaps you should consider getting an electric car. Have a good day sir," I add and smile as I get into my car.

He gapes at me for a few seconds, turns around and goes into the C-store.

I think to myself, I can only imagine what the station employees must put up with when gas prices are so high.

Not sure why complaining to you or even the minimum wage employee inside is even worth the time. This person is not using their time wisely. Venting at anyone over the price of something is pointless. Go buy it somewhere else if it's cheaper somewhere else. Going to the expensive place and telling them you don't like their prices is not worth the effort. If they see their revenue drop enough and their competitors seem busier, maybe they will do something to attract more business. Until then....why @#$%& and moan and people who can't do a thing about it?

This obviously is an EMOTIONAL issue so it stirs up more frustration. But most gas stations are small businesses (not corporate run) and they struggle with costs too. The margin on gas is much less than it is on their candy bars, soda, beer, etc. That is where they make their real money.

That is quite the story ! Good for you for holding your composure !

Personally, I keep it short and sweet. "Do you work here?" "Why are you taking photos?" "Did you take my photo?"

No, I do not work here. There is an employee in the store. Further, you betcha, cost me a bundle to drive here.

It's part of my job. Ask the employee in the store.

No. I cannot take photos with people in them.

Anything past that might risk a complaint getting back on me and exclusion from the programs.

@whosear wrote:

Anything past that might risk a complaint getting back on me and exclusion from the programs.

This. Most people who ask questions are very nice, and I am nice in return. Some are rude, and only fear of being excluded keeps me from being rude back.

Yesterday in a very high crime neighborhood where I do NOT blend in at all....
Me taking pictures

Customer: are you taking photos of me?

Me: nope! Just of everything that says Marathon, I'm working.

Customer: what's your name? I wouldn't mind if you took a few photos of me to remember me.

Me: no people allowed in my photos, and I'm married

Customer: well I'm single and don't mind if you're married

Thankfully he left it at that... I've definitely had a few times where it kept going till I finished, got in my car & left. I've never had anyone complain to me about the gas prices or stations, and I've only had one person irritated that they thought they were in my photos. I do get asked out on dates pretty much every route I do.

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

Yesterday in a very high crime neighborhood where I do NOT blend in at all....
Me taking pictures

Customer: are you taking photos of me?

Me: nope! Just of everything that says Marathon, I'm working.

Customer: what's your name? I wouldn't mind if you took a few photos of me to remember me.

Me: no people allowed in my photos, and I'm married

Customer: well I'm single and don't mind if you're married

Thankfully he left it at that... I've definitely had a few times where it kept going till I finished, got in my car & left. I've never had anyone complain to me about the gas prices or stations, and I've only had one person irritated that they thought they were in my photos. I do get asked out on dates pretty much every route I do.

That guy's two-timing you! He said the exact same thing to me! Or someone just like him. I want to say, "Are you delirious? LOOK AT ME! I'm like 200 years old and sure as heck won't be on the cover of Vogue any time soon! Away with you, mongrel!"

I read your post soon after I woke up with a headache and my vision was blurry. I thought the quote began with, "Are you delicious?" As I read on, I thought for a few seconds that you were telling him you were an ancient witch who ate people to stay alive!

@sestrahelena wrote:

That guy's two-timing you! He said the exact same thing to me! Or someone just like him. I want to say, "Are you delirious? LOOK AT ME! I'm like 200 years old and sure as heck won't be on the cover of Vogue any time soon! Away with you, mongrel!"

I get complaints about the price of gas all the time. Usually I just say, “I *wish* I could change the prices, but I’m just a subcontractor doing a photo inspection.”

When someone says buy an electric car, my mind flashes to that horrible DOE secretary making almost $200K laughing and sarcastically saying to buy an electric car. Its not just the cost of the car but the cost of the home charging station, the disposal of all the dead batteries and costs of new ones, the environmental hazards all to make the left political cronies rich. Its one of the rudest comments tossed around by people who have not thought thru the entire problem of where is all of the electricity coming from to power the cars, the environmental impact of mining minerals to make batteries and the disposal of dead batteries. Even with all the Federal (our) dollars dumped into research, the kWh for renewable energy is 20x that of oil and NG even more when wood is excluded from renewables. Its just so sad when people parrot not understanding the entire problem.

That happened with disposable vs cloth diapers. When it was examined, disposable beat cloth in 5 of 6 environmental factors. The only area was biodegradable. And that could be accomplished by making them biodegradable.

@tstewart3 wrote:

When someone says buy an electric car, my mind flashes to that horrible DOE secretary making almost $200K laughing and sarcastically saying to buy an electric car. Its not just the cost of the car but the cost of the home charging station, the disposal of all the dead batteries and costs of new ones, the environmental hazards all to make the left political cronies rich. Its one of the rudest comments tossed around by people who have not thought thru the entire problem of where is all of the electricity coming from to power the cars, the environmental impact of mining minerals to make batteries and the disposal of dead batteries. Even with all the Federal (our) dollars dumped into research, the kWh for renewable energy is 20x that of oil and NG even more when wood is excluded from renewables. Its just so sad when people parrot not understanding the entire problem.

Oh, Good Grief! I was relating an experience I had in simply performing a gas station shop, not some political adventurism.

I am so sick and tired of those who have to turn any conversation turning into a pointless, political "Us versus "Them" conversation.

@French Farmer wrote:

@tstewart3 wrote:

When someone says buy an electric car, my mind flashes to that horrible DOE secretary making almost $200K laughing and sarcastically saying to buy an electric car. Its not just the cost of the car but the cost of the home charging station, the disposal of all the dead batteries and costs of new ones, the environmental hazards all to make the left political cronies rich. Its one of the rudest comments tossed around by people who have not thought thru the entire problem of where is all of the electricity coming from to power the cars, the environmental impact of mining minerals to make batteries and the disposal of dead batteries. Even with all the Federal (our) dollars dumped into research, the kWh for renewable energy is 20x that of oil and NG even more when wood is excluded from renewables. Its just so sad when people parrot not understanding the entire problem.

Oh, Good Grief! I was relating an experience I had in simply performing a gas station shop, not some political adventurism.

I am so sick and tired of those who have to turn any conversation turning into a pointless, political "Us versus "Them" conversation.

Too bad. You say something rude and insensitive to another person obviously in distress and then brag about it you are going to get called on it.

Every once in a while I get asked what I'm doing. I've found stating "brand imaging check for xxx brand" is usually sufficient. Of course, I'm typically doing 10-15 stations per day so maybe they just can't catch up with me to ask...

?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2022 02:08AM by French Farmer.

I had one of those customer interactions today that just made me want to throw up my hands.

I was doing the portion of a gas station shop where I am taking pictures of the pumps. The station has 12 pumps, it's co-located with a major fast food chain restaurant, and it's lunchtime, so it's crazy busy. I'm staying out of the way of customers on the pump island until a pumping position vacates, and then I take my pictures as fast as possible and then get out of the way. I'm down to the last pump. The woman finishes pumping and gets into her car, so I stand about 6 feet behind her car, thinking she's about to pull out....but no.

She rolls down her window and says in a voice dripping with attitude, "What do you think you are doing?" I politely explain that I'm doing a brand standards audit and give a brief explanation. Usually, that's enough for more people, but not this woman. She tells me that I'm "acting suspiciously", "lurking", "behaving oddly", and "making her uncomfortable." I tell her that I am sorry, but that I'm doing the job that the company contracted for me to do. She then tells me, "I don't like it. I'm going to complain to the store about it." I am still waiting for her to vacate the pump, so she when she pulls up a few feet, I start walking to the pump to *finally* take my picture and get out of the 95 degree heat. She slams on her brakes, rolls down the window, and tells me that if I take a picture of any part of her or her car she is going to call the police on me.

What the heck? This woman and I are the same ethnicity and age. Whether she knows it or not, I'd bet we have a similar socio-economic status. I have no visible tattoos or piercings. I am wearing a bright orange hi-visibility vest, so it's not like I'm sneaking around trying not to be noticed.

Do some people wake up in the morning just waiting to be a jerk to someone else?

I always want to say, but don't, "If I were up to no good, would I be wearing a hi-vis vest and hanging around this long? Duh."

I have had customer sit at the pump and watch me to keep me from finishing. It was always women, and it wasn't just one time. Seems like its always a miserable hot day when I have a long route and I'm running late.

Yes. They sit, and it feels like they are daring you to interfere with their gas pump experience as if it is a holy communion. Most times I take a photo on the sly from an angle, and when I am finished with everything else, I drive off without giving them a second glance, imagining them fuming at not being able to foil my evil plans. (Hey, it can get boring sometimes.) Other times, when I have less patience, I march up ready for confrontation and give them my best smile, usually to find out they are the friendliest folk and were just hanging around kind of waiting out of curiosity hoping to strike up a conversation. Of course, there are the rare times this has the opposite result, but I always carry my camera at chest level facing forward, and I can usually sneak the pic anyways while they are crazily yelling, although it might take some cropping.

In my defense of suggesting to the customer of purchasing and electric car. Perhaps I misjudged the person who assailed me about the price of gasoline at this station. He was driving a sleek German made car and said he was a doctor. In my mind, I think he could afford an electric car.
Also, he obviously was not a customer (he said he would not buy gas at this station and said he bought it at XXX station). He wanted to vent his anger at someone, who if he had any intelligence at all, could not do anything about the price of gas.
At some point, the time comes when one must say "enough".
That is what I did and it saddens me that one would think I was being inconsiderate of an obvious bully's feelings..

@Morledzep wrote:

I have had customer sit at the pump and watch me to keep me from finishing. It was always women, and it wasn't just one time. Seems like its always a miserable hot day when I have a long route and I'm running late.

Whenever this happens to me, I go back inside the convenience store. Very often, they pull off within a minute of doing that.

@KA047 wrote:

Whenever this happens to me, I go back inside the convenience store. Very often, they pull off within a minute of doing that.

KA, I usually go back to my vehicle, start it, and drive around the station as if I'm trying to leave. Most of them move at that point. The ones that don't, I park in another location where I can see them clearly, but they might not be able to see me without considerable effort. And I start doing the report while I wait. None have ever waited more than 5 more minutes.. then I just drive to the pump, take the picture, and park again while I finish the report. I don't like going back inside, not a fan of C-stores to begin with.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2022 05:47PM by Morledzep.

@tstewart3 wrote:

When someone says buy an electric car, my mind flashes to that horrible DOE secretary making almost $200K laughing and sarcastically saying to buy an electric car. Its not just the cost of the car but the cost of the home charging station, the disposal of all the dead batteries and costs of new ones, the environmental hazards all to make the left political cronies rich. Its one of the rudest comments tossed around by people who have not thought thru the entire problem of where is all of the electricity coming from to power the cars, the environmental impact of mining minerals to make batteries and the disposal of dead batteries. Even with all the Federal (our) dollars dumped into research, the kWh for renewable energy is 20x that of oil and NG even more when wood is excluded from renewables. Its just so sad when people parrot not understanding the entire problem.

[citation needed]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2022 01:30AM by chrisg0619.

IMO your first mistake was giving the wrong answer to the question "Do you work here?" Your answer should have been "No, I do not work here."