Dishonest people at the Z gas station, Mt. Wellington

[davereid]

$88.88 on a seven segment LCD display...

Processor has had a glitch ?

Urban legend has it that in the early days of electronic pumps, a decent blast of R.F. energy from the High Frequency radio in the work truck would reset the pumps. I couldn't possibly comment.

[p.dath]

Heya folks,
guess who is back.
Ran into a really unpleasant situation last week.
Was fueling my cage at Mt.Wellington Z (Ellerslie-Panmure Hwy). Checked the meter - $79. Went in to pay - the cashier asks for $88. Went out to check - sure enough the meter now reads $88.
My wife was in the car and she saw the meter reading jump while I was inside. Apparently that's what the dishonest attendants do to protect themselves from having
to pay out of pocket if someone drives off without paying. They simply key in extra 5-10%.
My suggestion, snap the meter with a cameraphone before walking in. If they will pull that trick on you, the police station is right around the corner.

My guess is this was a simple mistake.

I don't know anything about the pumps or their internal systems. But one thing is immediately obvious, and that there is no way a large fuel retailer would be making staff pay for drive offs out of their own pocket.

My personal guess is that you looked at the litres delivered, or that the pump that two or more meters and you looked at the wrong one. If your wife saw the meter jump I would be even more suspicious that you were looking at the wrong meter.

[willytheekid]

To be honest...I don't really care if you got ripped off or not (Shit happens...its called life!...AND Ive only had ONE coffee this morning!!)

your sig says it all:

""People are stupid ... almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People's heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true ... they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so all are easier to fool."
-- Wizard's First Rule

A wizard huh?

[avgas]

Urban legend has it that in the early days of electronic pumps, a decent blast of R.F. energy from the High Frequency radio in the work truck would reset the pumps. I couldn't possibly comment.

I can only forsee that working if they were wireless.
5w of CB radio does jack shit to something sitting in a metal box.
Now 20 tons of crap rattling itself to bits 2m from the pump electronics is plausable.

[Maha]

Interesting though...on a recent group ride, we fueled up at Te Kuiti Z.
I went into pay and was suprised that, what I thought I had put in the bike, was in fact several dollars higher when charged.
Got back to the bike and looked at the pump and thought , na somethings not right here, did I pay for someone else?
They can't 00.00 a pump until the previous user has paid right?

[Clockwork]

Don't petrol pumps need to be periodically tested and certified as accurate? Because if so, any ability to over-ride their reading would render the certification process redundant.

[superman]

Interesting though...on a recent group ride, we fueled up at Te Kuiti Z.
I went into pay and was suprised that, what I thought I had put in the bike, was in fact several dollars higher when charged.
Got back to the bike and looked at the pump and thought , na somethings not right here, did I pay for someone else?
They can't 00.00 a pump until the previous user has paid right?

I didn't think so the other day... but then I managed to give a honeymooning couple a full tank of gas for my $30.

[TrentNz]

Interesting though...on a recent group ride, we fueled up at Te Kuiti Z.
I went into pay and was suprised that, what I thought I had put in the bike, was in fact several dollars higher when charged.
Got back to the bike and looked at the pump and thought , na somethings not right here, did I pay for someone else?
They can't 00.00 a pump until the previous user has paid right?

Ahhh you see, group ride. while you went in someone topped up their bike

[avgas]

Interesting though...on a recent group ride, we fueled up at Te Kuiti Z.
I went into pay and was suprised that, what I thought I had put in the bike, was in fact several dollars higher when charged.
Got back to the bike and looked at the pump and thought , na somethings not right here, did I pay for someone else?
They can't 00.00 a pump until the previous user has paid right?

Yep - previous person to you did a runner.
They can zero at any time. They cant change the value however.

[Devil]

Interesting though...on a recent group ride, we fueled up at Te Kuiti Z.
I went into pay and was suprised that, what I thought I had put in the bike, was in fact several dollars higher when charged.
Got back to the bike and looked at the pump and thought , na somethings not right here, did I pay for someone else?
They can't 00.00 a pump until the previous user has paid right?

Pumps usually remember two fills. So if you're first, after you've put the nozzle back another person can grab it and it'll start a seperate transaction. Dont think they can remember more than two though.

[hellokitty]

Ahhh you see, group ride. while you went in someone topped up their bike

Lol was Mr Hellokitty there? - he does this to me

[Edbear]

Lol was Mr Hellokitty there? - he does this to me

Smart chap...

Not quite the same, but Mrs. Bear often pops into the shop for the "Ladies" and by the time I go in to pay for the fuel, she's placed a few items on the counter. Trouble is I pay fuel out of my business account which means a bit of adjusting back in the office...

[slofox]

A couple of years ago there was a servo in The Tron who used to "round up" their charges to the nearest whole dollar when you went in to pay. So if the pump read $46.33, they'd charge you $47.00. When challenged, they'd say "Oh it's the rounding!" Business was run by persons of Asiatic extraction with "second language" English. Which didn't work if any arguments were entered into.

Funny thing though, they only lasted a couple of months...I didn't even get a chance to go in there and call the LEO's in.

[tigertim20]

With this kind of attitude, I am not surprised that you have to write about your employment in the past tense.
Apparently the technology at the pump has advanced enough to compress 42 litres of gas
into a 40 liter gas tank which was not even completely empty.


Nope, Trent, I never do that. I always fill the tank to the brim. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but convenient.
As for Alzheimer's, hopefully it is about half a century away.

The pumps will have a certificate of accuracy on them, which says at what time they were tested, and when they are due to be tested again. If you cannot see the sticker, either ask to see where it is, or do not go there.
If the sticker is out of date, dont use the pump, and let them know.

Remember, that pumps do wear out, and the meters require retesting over time - its just as important for the servo owner to have them accurate, as it is equally possible that an error will be in your favour rather than theirs if its innaccurate.

Your wife saying she saw it jump I call bullshit on, for several reasons, one, because i do not beleive it can be done, but secodnly, you said that she was sitting in the car. unless she is a russian contortionist, I dont see how she could see the display from the front passenger seat, when the filler is at the rear of the vehicle, and he seat would be some way forward of the pump .. .

[Crasherfromwayback]

Mmmmmm...