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Why dont gas stations require prepay or use of credit card for gas?

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You people are backward. Here all the gas stations require you to slide your card in the pump, select your octane, pump it, and then it charges your card for however much you got.
 
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: toyota
well on the white side of town there is no prepay. on the black side of town there is and the gas station attendants have to be in a bullet proof glass enclosure. wonder why.
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Because all black people are criminals.
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you said it not me.

 
What I don't understand is why the dollar bill takers like on Coke machines aren't there on the pumps? I mean there were many times when I was younger (like when I was in school, you know pre debit card days, aka the olden days), that I'd be putting $5 or $10 in gas in the car. It would have been handy to pull up to the pump and put the money in without having to go inside to pay first.

My gripe is why some stations will not have a sign up, but just let you sit there twiddling your thumbs waiting for them to turn on the pump only to find out that they want you to prepay.
 
Originally posted by: labgeek
What I don't understand is why the dollar bill takers like on Coke machines aren't there on the pumps? I mean there were many times when I was younger (like when I was in school, you know pre debit card days, aka the olden days), that I'd be putting $5 or $10 in gas in the car. It would have been handy to pull up to the pump and put the money in without having to go inside to pay first.

My gripe is why some stations will not have a sign up, but just let you sit there twiddling your thumbs waiting for them to turn on the pump only to find out that they want you to prepay.
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when i first moved here the Shell station by my house took money AT THE PUMP. it was kind of cool to stick cash in just like a drink machine. i dont know why they stopped. i always wondered if you gave the machine $20 but only pumped $19 how would you get change back. i guess you would have to go inside if that happened. you must be from the south because you said Coke machine.

 
Originally posted by: mcvickj
How does prepay work? If your on E you have no idea how much it is going to cost to fill your tank. Around here you pump before you pay.
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how do you have no idea? you'd think after filling up 50 or 60 times from empty you'd realize what the average cost was.
 
Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
pre-pay works by you giving them X amount of cash and they set thepump to only give out X amount worth of gas. When you're done you go get your change.

What pisses me off is pay at the pump, but then it says to see the cashier. I never do. I just drive off.
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that's the american way!
 
Originally posted by: Chiropteran
Originally posted by: toyota
you must be from the south because you said Coke machine.
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You don't have coke in the north?
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i actually live in the south (Birmingham, Alabama). everybody i know says Coke no matter what type of soda it is. people in the south say "do you want a Coke". i just thought it was funny that he said Coke machine instead of soda or pop.
 
Originally posted by: miri
There have been a increase in drive offs due to higher gas prices. Why not just make customers prepay or use a credit card? I used to see gas stations use this in the past but rarely anymore.
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Yeah here in IN and IL if your using cash you must walk in and pay first no matter what. If you have a card you can gas and go but make sure to use a stolen card so then it is free 🙂
 
Originally posted by: toyota
Originally posted by: Chiropteran
Originally posted by: toyota
you must be from the south because you said Coke machine.
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You don't have coke in the north?
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i actually live in the south (Birmingham, Alabama). everybody i know says Coke no matter what type of soda it is. people in the south say "do you want a Coke". i just thought it was funny that he said Coke machine instead of soda or pop.
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because the machines will have all coke products in them. or pepsi.
 
Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
Originally posted by: toyota
Originally posted by: Chiropteran
Originally posted by: toyota
you must be from the south because you said Coke machine.
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You don't have coke in the north?
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i actually live in the south (Birmingham, Alabama). everybody i know says Coke no matter what type of soda it is. people in the south say "do you want a Coke". i just thought it was funny that he said Coke machine instead of soda or pop.
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because the machines will have all coke products in them. or pepsi.
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I heard "Coke machine" all the time. Its just a machine that only sells coke products. People need to get more cultured 😉

 
Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
You people are backward. Here all the gas stations require you to slide your card in the pump, select your octane, pump it, and then it charges your card for however much you got.
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yup, I can't believe how long it took for someone to say this. It is only if you want to pay cash that you have to get hassled into going inside and "guess how much" first...
 
Originally posted by: rh71
Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
You people are backward. Here all the gas stations require you to slide your card in the pump, select your octane, pump it, and then it charges your card for however much you got.
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yup, I can't believe how long it took for someone to say this. It is only if you want to pay cash that you have to get hassled into going inside and "guess how much" first...
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I thought that was implied that this was only talking about paying with cash
 
Originally posted by: Spencer278
If I'm paying cash and a pump is pre-pay I will just keep on driving. It isn't worht the hasel.
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I agree.. Its a pain in the ass to go in twice to give them money, then to get your change.
although I pay with CC 99% of the time anyways.

I remember years back when most, but not all stations had credit card pay at the pump systems.. and this one station required "Pay First"... so, if I wanted gas and was going to pay by credit card they would demand to hold my credit card while I pumped. What a crock. No business from me.



 
Most of Canada do not sell gas in this manner. Which, many moons ago was fortunate for me. I drove about 10 000Km. on stolen gas. Alberta to Quebec and halfway back with lots of driving in the middle. Never got inquiries through the DMV. Nada. I don't condone this but if you gotta go, you gotta go.
 
A lot of them around here are pre-pay at all times, a lot of them are pre-pay at night, and a lot of them are pump first. I prefer the pump first stations if I'm paying cash, or if I need to pick up something else with my gasoline, but if I'm going to pay at the pump with a card, it doesn't matter.
 
Originally posted by: rleemhui
Originally posted by: rh71
Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
You people are backward. Here all the gas stations require you to slide your card in the pump, select your octane, pump it, and then it charges your card for however much you got.
Click to expand...
yup, I can't believe how long it took for someone to say this. It is only if you want to pay cash that you have to get hassled into going inside and "guess how much" first...
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I thought that was implied that this was only talking about paying with cash
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you're right... my mistake. I have a hard time believing so many people actually want to pay cash for gas though - seeing that it's easily $30-$40 at once. That means more trips to the ATM and less credit card rewards.
 
The BP that I used to go to all the time requires prepay from dusk to dawn. There was about a week when they required full prepay, but I saw almost nobody going there that week... so I assume they dropped that requirement to get business back. Very few gas stations around here require prepay, unless it's dark out.
 
I skimmed and didn't see the answer to the CC question. Most gas stations have profits which are pennies on the dollar (especially now when their costs have soared). Credit cards charge about 4 cents on the dollar. So basically a gas station loses most of its profits on all CC orders. Yes there is still some profit, but not much.

As for prepay, no customer wants that. It is annoying. If I can get it without prepay across the street, why would I shop at your station? It is a losing battle unless you can convince your state to make it a requirement.
 
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