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Thread ID: 67188	2006-03-20 07:48:00	Prepay petrol	legod (4626)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
439508	2006-03-20 07:48:00	How do you feel about prepaying for petrol? Personally, I don't mind it. Just as long as when you drive into the pump bay, it's clear whether it's prepay or not. It's frustrating holding a petrol hose to your tank with nothing coming out, only to be told the pump that you have pulled up to is prepay (whereas none of the others are).	legod (4626)
439509	2006-03-20 07:57:00	Issue does not bother me but hey why not. Why not make the machines that accept EFTPOS on each pump and it also accepts flybuys as well. A prepay card can be an option too, bit like how a student may use their student ID card for the photocopier.	Nomad (952)
439510	2006-03-20 08:18:00	its fine. its standard on night shift for a lot of the fuel stations. what annoys the hell out of me is the EFTPOS at he pumps on the local gas stations won't read my bank card and there is only 1 deisel pump :( prepay is fine IF the darn eftpos actually works.	tweak'e (69)
439511	2006-03-20 09:36:00	The only problem with pre pay is how are you supposed to know how much your tank will take. I always just fill it right up and I can only guess in advance how much it will hold.	JJJJJ (528)
439512	2006-03-20 09:48:00	I sometimes use remote Truckstops, which are unattended anyway . Swipe my Mobil card, select the pump and its enabled until I stop filling and hang it up . Then it charges the amount used . I would have assumed eftpos at the pump would be the same?	godfather (25)
439513	2006-03-20 10:37:00	I sometimes use remote Truckstops, which are unattended anyway . Swipe my Mobil card, select the pump and its enabled until I stop filling and hang it up . Then it charges the amount used . I would have assumed eftpos at the pump would be the same? Most EFTPOS at pump arrangements require an amount to be set . The transaction is then completed, and the appropriate quantity of fuel is delivered . If you want to fill your car up, the trick is to overestimate the amount you need (i . e . pay for, in this day and age, about $80 - depending on the size of your tank . You should know roughly how much this will be, if you've filled it before . ) Fill your car, and any amount you don't use is refunded by the cashier through the cashier's window (presuming this is an attended station, rather than a remote truckstop or a supermarket fuel station . ) For example, you've "locked in" $80, your car takes $78 to fill, you go to the cashier after hanging up the nozzle, and their screen will show a $2 refund, which they give you in cash . A couple of cautions though - don't overestimate too much . Night and graveyard shifts dump cash regularly so won't have the extra $100 you typed in, and that'll cause a headache arranging for a refund at a later date (for both you and the cashier) . Also, if it's not your "regular" station, you may want to check that the Cashier knows what they're doing . A lot of people, particularly where the station doesn't regularly use prepay, don't know how to perform a prepay refund . There is also, usually, a timeout for the refund, between 2 and 5 minutes - so don't hang around chatting to the rubbish bin for half and hour, or you'll annoy the cashier (speaking from, regrettably, vast experience here . . . ) Prepay is fine, provided the staff know what they're doing . But the general public need to pull their head out and see it from the station and staff's point of view - they see, on average, anything from 3 to 30 deliberate thefts a week, ranging from $20 to $60 worth of fuel on each attempt . Staff, usually one but sometimes two, are required to constantly monitor the shop and forecourt for such suspicious activity, and react within seconds when they spot it (and hope to god it's not a false alarm, to avoid looking like an idiot) . In addition, they have to (note,"have to" usually don't "want to") flog off the "weekly specials" to meet sales quotas set by disconnected senior management who need to measure site performance by easily identifiable indicators . Working night shift in a petrol station can be a freakin' nightmare for anyone who gives a damn about giving a damn, so the last thing they want is a customer complaining about a very reasonable approach (prepay), citing everything from incompetence ("why can't you just keep an eye on everyone?", "you've got cameras, don't you?") to suspicion ("Are you suggesting I would steal from you?", "But everyone knows me round here, what are you, the new boy?") The staff don't make the rules, they just have to follow them . /rant Apologies to everyone for going on . . . and on . . . and on .	Lizard (2409)
439514	2006-03-20 12:14:00	"Most EFTPOS at pump arrangements require an amount to be set. The transaction is then completed, and the appropriate quantity of fuel is delivered." With all the EFTPOS at pumps I have used you do not set an amount. You swipe your card put in account and pin and then fill up or put in say $20 at the Pump not at the EFTPOS.	wmoore (6009)
439515	2006-03-20 12:36:00	I run my van for business purposes. I need to keep a cashbook & get receipts etc. If I prepay then I either have to underfill each time ( a pain !) or overfill then have a receipt for more than I actually spent or else stuff around making entries in the cash book to explain the withdrawal & redeposit of the change.( also a pain) Now, I refuse to prepay. If I drive in and the pumps are on prepay then I drive straight out and go down the road to the next station. 1st one loses the sale. There are other options open to them besides prepay pumps. Just that it is the easiest & cheapest option. They don't give a stuff about the customer inconvenience.	Peter M (852)
439516	2006-03-20 13:15:00	Every time I have used the Mobil eft-pos at pump, you swipe your card enter your pin, and it tells you how much money you have left in your account, and will only give you up to that amount. So even if you put in $23.87 worth of fuel, provided you have that much in your account thats all you pay.	Rob99 (151)
439517	2006-03-20 13:59:00	....I have a fuel card.... Muhahahahahahah.	Metla (12)
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