Propriety at the Gas Pump

I was at the Shell gas station up by Dixie Trucker’s Home yesterday and there was a serious human failure happening. There were four or five double-sided pumps. Every pump was occupied with a vehicle, but that wasn’t the problem.

Only about three of the pumps were actually in use. There were two vehicles sitting at pumps, either empty or with just a waiting passenger. It’s understandable that some people prefer paying with cash so they must leave their vehicle to go pay. If they tried to move their car out of the way they might alarm someone into thinking they were about to just “pump-and-dash.”

Then something happened that irked me. A woman approached one of the cars sitting at a pump, but she didn’t have just her keys and a receipt in her hand, she had a foot-long sandwich from the next door Subway restaurant. Instead of moving the car to one of the many empty parking spots in front of the building, she decided she would save herself some time and go get a sandwich.

Oh, that’s not all. She then got into her car which was still sitting at the pump, and proceeded to eat her sandwich, without a second thought about the other people waiting for a pump.

Meanwhile, I was finally able to pull up to another pump where a man had just finished filling plastic gas containers. He was driving a pickup with a large trailer that would not fit well next to the pump. At least he had the decency to keep his larger vehicle and trailer from blocking the access.

But, it was not only the woman who lacked the courtesy to move her car out of the way between the time she paid for their gas and going to eat lunch or browse the convenience store. There were at least two other people who failed to grasp the basic details of the situation, and it takes all genders, classes and races.

Some people assume a right of personal property to where ever they park their car. Wrong. Its okay to leave your car to go pay for the gas, but you better be right back to move your car to a parking spot if you’re going to stay and eat lunch at the restaurant next door.