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| Thread ID: 91175 | 2008-06-28 08:41:00 | Service Stations - Pros/Cons | Bantu (52) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 683265 | 2008-06-28 08:41:00 | Seems like the service stations are getting more fill and run crooks than they would like. People putting on stolen plates to go get their petrol without paying (about $100 bucks a time hardly worth it) What can the Service Stations do? In my area they have pay first then get your petrol. In Waiuku one service station has a loyalty card that customers swipe at the pump and it activates the pump. In USA in parts (SurferJoe can possibly confirm this) some places you swipe your Credit Card to activate the pump, so at least the service station has your card details if you do a runner. (or a stolen card possibly in some cases) The report of a service station attendant getting beaten up and then the car doing a runner is not very comforting for service station staff. In my younger days people used to just siphon your tank if your car was parked on the side of the road, but now they tend to be a bit more blatant about it. |
Bantu (52) | ||
| 683266 | 2008-06-28 10:21:00 | I think service stations might have to get some sort of barriers that come down in front of and behind the cars, and are lifted after the customer has paid for there petrol. :) |
Trev (427) | ||
| 683267 | 2008-06-28 10:44:00 | a bit of a problem that getting worse is the theft of number plates. 4x4's seem to be favorites as offender simply drives behind the vehicle in the car park, leans out the window and unscrews plate with battery drill. 4x4 number plates are often at a nice easy height. anti theft devices for number plates are becoming more common. tho this latest lot of thefts with simply no plates or just plain old violence is disturbing :( |
tweak'e (69) | ||
| 683268 | 2008-06-28 11:01:00 | On the TV a couple of weeks ago - England I think it was some service stations have "spike rails" built into the forecourts, What happens is a service station attendant has to watch the customers - if any one tries a runner they hit the switch and instantly I think it was either 2 or 3 rows of these spikes pop up in that lane, blowing the cars tyres, bit like the ones the cops use to blow the tyres to stop a "runners". These spikes were about 4 inches in length, that's about 100 mm for those who cant read inches.;) right across the Lane. Gives someone a job I spose - and the car wouldn't get far on four flats. Mind you they had better be certain it was a runner other wise could be expensive exercise. |
wainuitech (129) | ||
| 683269 | 2008-06-28 11:41:00 | While you're in paying for your petrol be careful that the Gas and Go types aren't stealing anything valuable left in your car. Better security cameras would help, most seem to take very poor images of the tops of peoples heads. |
PaulD (232) | ||
| 683270 | 2008-06-28 11:47:00 | See here.... www.guardian.co.uk Last paragraph mentions the success of installed spikes/blocks at the gas stations. |
Scouse (83) | ||
| 683271 | 2008-06-28 13:51:00 | The word "service" in service stations appears to me to be a misnomer in this day and age. At one time you could get some service and quite a few had mechanics around to help with any problems. Now it is all self help and it would appear that thieves are doing just that! Perhaps we should go to running a scanner over the registration sticker and WOF/COF before you can get fuel. No Reg or WOF then no fuel. This will not help with a stolen vehicle but maybe scan the driver licence as well. I do realise this would be quite an inconvenience to the honest people but what would you have to do to stop theft? |
Sweep (90) | ||
| 683272 | 2008-06-28 15:06:00 | What can the Service Stations do? In my area they have pay first then get your petrol. In Waiuku one service station has a loyalty card that customers swipe at the pump and it activates the pump. In USA in parts (SurferJoe can possibly confirm this) some places you swipe your Credit Card to activate the pump, so at least the service station has your card details if you do a runner. (or a stolen card possibly in some cases) WARNING: MORE THAN 30 WORDS! Most stations here in the US are pre-pay. In that, you give the clerk your credit card or ATM card first...cash if you don't have or want to use a card, and they then electronically enter either the amount you want or just let the pump run until you quit or hit your cash amount. Then you return to the clerk for your bill or voucher and sign the invoice or get any change you are due. You don't bother going in if you have hit your limit when using cash unless you need a receipt. Many pumps print a receipt at the pump now anyway. That way they have the $$ up front and you can't get out of paying. Pumping gas and then driving off without paying is "defrauding an innkeeper" and is very punishable by law. It's a throwback from the Olde English days when skipping out on a charge for an overnight's stay at an inn was punishable by severe penalties if you got caught. Interestingly in the US and with most major credit card companies is the 2-3% refund at the end of the year that you receive for using their credit card. If the bank was the card issuer, then the bank collects an extra 4% from the service station or oil company and then sends you the 2-3% as a refund. Somehow the American card users don't understand that this extra refund and the 1% "handling fee" by the card companies comes outta the pocket of the station owner. No matter if the station is a major franchise, owned by the oil company or a mom-n-pop candy store with a few gas pumps; they all are hit for the small refund to the customers. Problem is: the stations are operating on a very small margin...like 1-2% in the first place. So any costs have to be passed on to the consumer..who gets it in the neck anyway no matter how they swipe a card. It shows in higher gas prices to all..even the cash-payers. Many independents now will not accept credit cards for transactions because of this extra charge to them. It is also illegal to have a two-tiered price arrangement. In that I mean that credit card users are charged an extra few percentage points to cover the dealer's losses by the station itself. In days past, we had signs that read: "Credit card purchases are charged an extra 3% for oil product rebates". That was made illegal and all prices must be the same...but a station does NOT have to accept credit cards if they don't want. One interesting marketing ploy: There are "Pass-n-Pay" stations that can read a chip that is implanted in a card or a key fob, and your pump turns on automatically as you walk near it. You can just pick up the nozzle and start filling immediately. There's NO signing a ticket for the transaction. Mobil stations have you wave the card/fob near a receiver plate on each pump head to get the same effect. This is rife with theft possibilities though. Now...criminals are capable of reading your card/fob in a crowd of people as they pass within a few feet of you to steal your PIN and get some free credit. It is the newest crime going. People are trying all sorts of things to foil the possibility of getting "crowd-read" by literally wrapping those fobs or cards in foil to keep the RF-ID from being read. |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 683273 | 2008-06-28 20:53:00 | While you're in paying for your petrol be careful that the Gas and Go types aren't stealing anything valuable left in your car. Better security cameras would help, most seem to take very poor images of the tops of peoples heads. I've a habit of locking my doors when I go in to pay the petrol... and talking about security cameras, I do agree they're all crap, every time I watch Police Ten 7's security footage I could hardly a clear capture. Why does it have to be so degraded ? |
SKT174 (1319) | ||
| 683274 | 2008-06-28 22:14:00 | Pity I only read thirty or less,along with rest of NZ. | Cicero (40) | ||
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