Wow. There is a lot of misconception here, but also a lot of good points.
I worked at a gas station for 4 months. Plenty long enough to get to know things like this. Of course all of the information with regards to these statistics depends on the size of the gas station or which corporation it is.
That being said, from what I know.
1. Some states force pre-pay. When drive-off's usually get particularly bad in a certain area, most companies will switch to pre-pay only.
2. For states that don't force pre-pay of some sort, most state that they you will loose your liscencse:
This is not exactly true. Most (at least corporate) gas stations will not report you, period. The one that I worked for is this way.
If you drive off after pumping a tank of gas, we would record the loss and move on. We would NOT approach you about it, not chase you down, and not call the police (unless, perhaps, you had done it multiple times at one location).
Consider the scenario: Two people pull up to two different pumps (seperated by perhaps 2 or 3 minutes) and start pumping gas. One person drives off and we call the police (as if they really care). Then, the second person comes into the store and says "Hey - i'll pay for me and my wife."
Instant lawsuit.
3. Many (perhaps even most) gas stations do not make money off of gas (due to a number of reasons, including gas). They make money off of what they sell inside the store, though - which is why pre-pay isn't nationwide. Pre-pay discourages people buying things other than gas because of the longer waits. Either way, gas isn't that profitable for the station.
4. Most corporations get stipends for a certain amount of drive-offs (it's an assumed cost of running a gas station). The place I worked at has measures to reduce drive off.
I worked at a gas station for 4 months. Plenty long enough to get to know things like this. Of course all of the information with regards to these statistics depends on the size of the gas station or which corporation it is.
That being said, from what I know.
1. Some states force pre-pay. When drive-off's usually get particularly bad in a certain area, most companies will switch to pre-pay only.
2. For states that don't force pre-pay of some sort, most state that they you will loose your liscencse:
This is not exactly true. Most (at least corporate) gas stations will not report you, period. The one that I worked for is this way.
If you drive off after pumping a tank of gas, we would record the loss and move on. We would NOT approach you about it, not chase you down, and not call the police (unless, perhaps, you had done it multiple times at one location).
Consider the scenario: Two people pull up to two different pumps (seperated by perhaps 2 or 3 minutes) and start pumping gas. One person drives off and we call the police (as if they really care). Then, the second person comes into the store and says "Hey - i'll pay for me and my wife."
Instant lawsuit.
3. Many (perhaps even most) gas stations do not make money off of gas (due to a number of reasons, including gas). They make money off of what they sell inside the store, though - which is why pre-pay isn't nationwide. Pre-pay discourages people buying things other than gas because of the longer waits. Either way, gas isn't that profitable for the station.
4. Most corporations get stipends for a certain amount of drive-offs (it's an assumed cost of running a gas station). The place I worked at has measures to reduce drive off.
yeah seriously, it's your own fault for setting up your pumps so people can steal.
edit: obviously it's not his fault. what i should have said was: "you're making it very easy for people to steal from you."
I don't believe that the wholesale price includes the state and federal taxes that are added on at the point of sale. Unless I missed something I think the profit margin is much less that what you stated.
i thought everyone knew that gas stations don't make much money on gas, its all on lottery tickets, food, and cigarettes and other crap.
yes,that is what i would guess,
if my credit/debit card was approved,it would allow me to pump the gas,
i do not always hit the yes button,when it asks if i want a reciept.
so it is possible,that i maybe,could have pumped my fuel,and then just left.
Under those circumstances, I probably wouldn't go inside. I generally don't get a receipt, and don't really pay attention to the pump display, so I would just put the nozzle back and drive off without seeing the message.
Doesn't the system (pump/POS/whatever) batch up the failed transactions and retry them once once it's back online?
Vi -
I hope your company wasn't actually considering prosecuting people who drove off. If I stick my CC in a pump, and it lets me pump gas - I don't care what it does, I'm leaving when I'm done pumping gas. 1/3 of the time I don't think I even read what the pump has to say when it's done.. and typically when I see an error it's usually something that seems like it's trying to say "The receipt printer isn't working"....
I hope your company wasn't actually considering prosecuting people who drove off. If I stick my CC in a pump, and it lets me pump gas - I don't care what it does, I'm leaving when I'm done pumping gas. 1/3 of the time I don't think I even read what the pump has to say when it's done.. and typically when I see an error it's usually something that seems like it's trying to say "The receipt printer isn't working"....
It really sucks on a motorcycle to have to pay before you pump. mmmm, lets see, I've gone 110 miles, I usually get 37 miles a gallon, so thats 2.97 gallons gone from my tank, so...2.97 gallons times $1.579/gallon is.....I'LL NEED $4.68 worth of gas please!
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes + WCL Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 23K
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 23K
-
-
Facebook
Twitter