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Old 03-17-2022, 08:39 AM   #401
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Instead you would rather put your credit card into the "manky" hand of the attendant, who has handled everyone else's credit card, and the manky gas nozzle?

I probably go to the wrong areas of NJ, but I have never had an attendant at a station there that didn't make me think for a second that I was about to get panhandled when he approached.

For many years before the recent changes, Oregon had an unofficial (and later official) carve-out in the "no self service" laws for motorcycles and boats. So many people raised so much hell about attendants damaging their toys, or not knowing where to put the fuel at all, that they decided that it was "safe" for those people to pump their own.

Several years ago I had an attendant *insist* that he was going to fill my motorcycle for me. He was apparently holding the trigger as he pressed the button and turned toward my bike - so he hosed me from the knees down with gasoline, and the bike from the tail light to the base of the handlebars. Completely drenched a one-week-old custom made leather Corbin saddle in gas, and didn't even apologize. I lost it when the store manager denied that the guy did it at all.

No thanks. I'll just fill up before I leave Washington, or in PA or NY on your side of the country.
I bought gas at a station near Hermiston, OR years ago. The attendant put the nozzle in the gas fill port, locked the nozzle on, then took a few steps back and lit a cigarette.

Based on what happened to you, anything you might have done to the attendant at that time would probably fall under "self defense".
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Old 03-17-2022, 08:51 AM   #402
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Gas theft is on the rise around here, apparently.

I always put a locking cap on my trucks, mainly because I don't want some enviro nut pouring sugar down the tank because they think I'm killing the planet.

Now the cost of the cap makes more sense. Especially since it's parked at the train station all day
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Old 03-17-2022, 08:54 AM   #403
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Gas theft is on the rise around here, apparently.

I always put a locking cap on my trucks, mainly because I don't want some enviro nut pouring sugar down the tank because they think I'm killing the planet.

Now the cost of the cap makes more sense. Especially since it's parked at the train station all day
In another 'gas cap' thread, I noted they caught the guy in Atlanta drilling holes in gas tanks to drain them into jugs. Was actually drilling holes in gas tanks, I can't even imagine the repair cost.
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Old 03-17-2022, 08:59 AM   #404
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Gas theft is on the rise around here, apparently.

I always put a locking cap on my trucks, mainly because I don't want some enviro nut pouring sugar down the tank because they think I'm killing the planet.

Now the cost of the cap makes more sense. Especially since it's parked at the train station all day

You're not alone for those that don't have doors to their fuel tank that don't open from inside the vehicle. Locking gas caps are the only alternative and I'm seriously considering doing the same with my 38 gallon diesel that's an attractive target. The only problem with that deterrent is the dumb ass thieves are now drilling holes in the gas tanks and siphoning off to 5 gallon buckets or gas cans. Nevermind how stupid and dangerous that could be when a spark occurs when drilling into a steel tank full of gas. We'll hear about it on the news when it happens to some dumb fool one of these days soon.
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Old 03-17-2022, 09:01 AM   #405
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Well, as long as they're stealing gas underneath, they might as well steal the cats, too.
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Old 03-17-2022, 09:13 AM   #406
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Old 03-17-2022, 11:00 AM   #407
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So this is where the fire started!.....after reading this, there's no way anyone can argue a change to self-service = cost savings to drivers, since gas station owners need less employees. They'll simply pocket the extra few cents per gallon they otherwise could give to motorists. Everyone knows convenience stores with gas stations don't make hardly anything on fuel sales, they make bank by getting motorists inside to buy food, smokes, beer, etc.

Hell, its probably bad enough they can't find people to man the registers in this extra tight labor market, let alone trying to find enough people to pump gas in all kinds of weather, good and bad. If they didn't have enough attendants pumping gas, it'd be too long a wait for me and I'd move on to another place to fill up.

Plus, I have to believe the quality of employees pumping gas is questionable. Likely many younger, school aged kids, or sketchy looking individuals resembling panhandlers who really don't want to be there and hate their jobs. I certainly wouldn't trust them to pump gas into the right nozzle in my diesel truck. I could only imagine the mess it would cause to my truck if, oops!, sorry, they put gas in my def tank by mistake. Plus, I'm anal about the care and maintenance of my truck and put diesel cetane additives in the fuel tank every other fill up. NO WAY I'm letting a gas pump attendant do it.
I am personal friends with two different convenience store owners who do quite nicely on the profits of the sale of fuel. Does the in-store sales account for a greater portion of their profit?... of course... but both have told me if they didn't have to compete with other stores nearby and having to provide those other things to sell, (and consequently putting up with the hassle and expense) they could make a living on gas sales alone.
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Old 03-17-2022, 11:02 AM   #408
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I am personal friends with two different convenience store owners who do quite nicely on the profits of the sale of fuel. Does the in-store sales account for a greater portion of their profit?... of course... but both have told me if they didn't have to compete with other stores nearby and having to provide those other things to sell, (and consequently putting up with the hassle and expense) they could make a living on gas sales alone.
I'm sure. The cost to fill up my truck alone probably would get their kid through a semester of college.
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Old 03-17-2022, 11:02 AM   #409
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I am personal friends with two different convenience store owners who do quite nicely on the profits of the sale of fuel. Does the in-store sales account for a greater portion of their profit?... of course... but both have told me if they didn't have to compete with other stores nearby and having to provide those other things to sell, (and consequently putting up with the hassle and expense) they could make a living on gas sales alone.
That's interesting. From what I've been told, gas station owners make pennies on every gallon of gas sold and the real money comes from all the over-priced stuff they sell inside.

It's the same way with movie theaters. They barely make any money off the ticket sales. That's why the concession prices are so high.
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Old 03-17-2022, 12:31 PM   #410
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That's interesting. From what I've been told, gas station owners make pennies on every gallon of gas sold and the real money comes from all the over-priced stuff they sell inside.



It's the same way with movie theaters. They barely make any money off the ticket sales. That's why the concession prices are so high.
The average convenience store in the US realizes only 3 cents per gallon on fuel sales. That's after credit card fees and operating costs.

Convenience stores reportedly sell 80% of all non-commercial fuel in the US.

FWIW anyone with underground storage tanks is required to show they have the financial ability to clean up after any leakage. Most carry insurance ranging from 1 Million and UP. That can add thousands to their overhead and the double-walled non-metallic tanks arent exactly cheap.

MOST of the money collected from fuel sales doesn't stay with the owner long.
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Old 03-17-2022, 04:01 PM   #411
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..........As for getting covid from touching stuff, was never a concern because it couldn't happen. The unknown science apparently changed. Knew people keeping their delivery packages outside for days and then spraying Lysol on the box when the UV rays killed something. They also sprayed whatever was inside. Know people that sprayed themselves and shoes before getting back inside. No wonder I couldn't find a damn can for 1.5 years after the panic buying.
Reminds me of a newspaper story here in Anchorage back in March 2020. A woman went to an ATM wearing latex gloves and withdrew several hundred dollars. When she got home she commenced to spraying each $20 bill with bleach to "disinfect" it. About 2 hours later she had a pile of worthless paper. Take Note: Do not spray U.S. Currency with bleach!
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Old 03-17-2022, 04:24 PM   #412
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Old 03-17-2022, 05:03 PM   #413
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I am personal friends with two different convenience store owners who do quite nicely on the profits of the sale of fuel. Does the in-store sales account for a greater portion of their profit?... of course... but both have told me if they didn't have to compete with other stores nearby and having to provide those other things to sell, (and consequently putting up with the hassle and expense) they could make a living on gas sales alone.

I'll be the first to step up and put money on it he'd not make a very good living on selling gas exclusively and is inflating his appraisal of how much he makes on those sales alone. Certainly not enough when you consider all the expenses associated with that type of business. Either that, or he's charging a premium per gallon more than the others in the area. There's a reason we don't see gas stations in todays day and age without some type of store, or convenience center with food and beverage sales to go with it. Some do exist, but there's very few of them anymore, otherwise, we'd see significantly more if this were the case (see below).

https://www.convenience.org/Media/co...ey-Selling-Gas
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Old 03-17-2022, 05:51 PM   #414
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That's interesting. From what I've been told, gas station owners make pennies on every gallon of gas sold and the real money comes from all the over-priced stuff they sell inside.

It's the same way with movie theaters. They barely make any money off the ticket sales. That's why the concession prices are so high.
There is another significant factor at play with movie theater pricing - most of the money that they pay to studios and distributors are based on a percentage of ticket sales - the big ones, like Disney, can command 60% or more of ticket sales from a theater, with a price floor built in. If they charge more for their tickets, they just pay more to the studio. As an example, if they sell a ticket for $10 and have to pay $6 of that to the studio, they keep 4 bucks. If they raise their ticket price to $15, they now pay $9 to the studio and only get to keep two bucks out of their $5 price increase. Easier to pay the minimum required and make up the difference with overpriced concessions.

On that note, I have read recently that some studios are trying to renegotiate their agreements to get access to that money, too. Never underestimate the power of greed!
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Old 03-18-2022, 06:09 AM   #415
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I have read recently that some studios are trying to renegotiate their agreements to get access to that money, too. Never underestimate the power of greed!
Why is it always reduced to greed?

Running and maintaining a business is difficult, complicated and is rarely driven by unadulterated greed. How about looking at it from the standpoint of just trying to stay open and providing jobs to those with families that want to work?
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Old 03-18-2022, 07:59 AM   #416
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Why is it always reduced to greed?

Running and maintaining a business is difficult, complicated and is rarely driven by unadulterated greed. How about looking at it from the standpoint of just trying to stay open and providing jobs to those with families that want to work?
We are talking about movie studios that already make millions or billions of dollars every year. I don't think they are exactly hurting for money at the moment.
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Old 03-18-2022, 08:15 AM   #417
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We are talking about movie studios that already make millions or billions of dollars every year. I don't think they are exactly hurting for money at the moment.

Overnight, Amazon just purchased MGM Studios for $8.5 billion.....somebody's making some serious Bank, but it obviously ain't me.
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Old 03-18-2022, 08:29 AM   #418
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Oh boy, here we go again.....just close down the thread now and get it over with.
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Old 03-18-2022, 08:43 AM   #419
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Oh boy, here we go again.....just close down the thread now and get it over with.
Yep its time to close this one as it is consuming too much site team time to keep the posts within the guidelines. ...and is a subject matter that has no solution here.

Thread closed.
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