CitGo: Don't Go
I still can't hear thunder. Never mind that it isn't thundering. And praise be, I'll be hearing again before the day is over. How do you measure the strength of a friendship? By the fact that one of them (professionally qualified) is willing to see you in their home with a turkey-baster-sized syringe to give you back your hearing. However, this remedy comes only after paying the price (per gallon) for temporary deafness.
The "new" Subaru needed its first fill up on Monday as I passed from Christiansburg toward my final patient close to home. I just happened to be at the intersection where Mud Pike intersects Route 8 when I realized I needed gas, so crossed over to the Citgo station. I'd never stopped there before, but it was convenient and I had the time. I unlocked the gas cap, pushed the low-octane button, and clicked the nozzle on pump, and commenced to daydream for the minute it would take for a half-tank of regular unleaded. I stood gazing off south, toward Floyd, watching the clouds drift across the late afternoon sun.
Next thing I knew, the young man at the pump opposite mine was nudging my right shoulder. "You'd better check that" he said, as I turned to see gasoline was and had been gushing down the side of the car, pooling underneath, spattering on the asphalt in all directions. Crap! I leaned to avoid the splatter and clicked the nozzle off. My socks were soaked. The left leg of my pants were speckled with oily spots. I suppose it could have been worse, had not a person with good hearing heard the geyser. I didn't hear a blessed thing.
I held my gaseous hands far to my side as I walked into the station, waiting my turn behind some day laborer buying raffle tickets.
"Hi. I need some help deciding how much gas is on the ground that I don't intend to pay for. Your pump did not shut off and my car is soaked, my socks are soaked and my slacks will have to be professionally dry-cleaned." The young man behind the counter was accommodating, offering me a place to wash my hands and had me drive around back to wash off the car. I can't fault him. But he couldn't tell me how my bill would be adjusted for the gas on the ground that was the fault of their pump nozzle. "You'll have to see the manager" he said, pointing to a non-descript closed door in the back corner of the building.
"We expect our customers to be able to pump gas right" said the man who looked like you'd expect. "And ain't no way I can tell you how much gas is on the ground. Not much. Coupla quarts maybe. You shoulda been watching it."
"Hello? I've been pumping gas for more than forty years and this is the first time a pump has failed to shut off when the tank was full. Your nozzle had the clip so it would pump continuously and unlike every other pump I've ever used in a dozen states, this one just kept on pumping continuously when the tank was full. The fault is with your pump. I have work yet to do today, and unless I drive with my pants strapped to the roof of my car, the smell of gasoline will be so strong it will make me swimmy-headed. I'm asking you what you think needs to be done to set this right."
More blame, no culpability or responsibility accepted.
Moral: Citgo in Christiansburg on Route 8: Don't Go there.
Comments
You haven't had a gas pump nozzle stick before? You've been extremely lucky. I've had them fail and overflow more times than I can count at stations from here to California. They are mechanical devices and mechanical devices can, and do, fail. That's one of the reasons whey they advise you to stay with the car while filling.
I have to tell you, my friend, that I think you are overreacting to this one. Gazing at the sky is not something anyone should do when dealing with a substance that can explode. The best you can argue is shared neglect. They may have neglected to keep their gas nozzles in working order but you neglected to pay attention to the gas going into your car.
With that said, the Citgo station on Rte. 8 is often more expensive than other stations in and around C'Burg. Try the Sunoco station on Rte. 11 or the BP on Roanoke Street. Both offer gas at several cents a gallon below the others and, so far, I haven't had any nozzles stick at either.
Posted by: Doug Thompson | August 16, 2006 7:42 AM
Point taken! I never use the automatic clips when I pump gas, so that has never happened to me - I hope it never does!.
Posted by: kenju | August 16, 2006 8:24 AM
I also like to fix the pump handle to pump without holding it, but I am always a little nervous that what happened to you will happen as I had a similar experience once before. A sigh of relief usually accompanies the comforting click that signals "all full" and "pump off". It is amazing how strong gas can smell once it's on your clothes, and God forbid you get near a flame or spark afterwards = Flaming Fragments from Floyd!
As for responsibility, the manager made a call to not accomodate you betting that his business would not suffer. I wonder if he'll fix the faulty pump handle.
Posted by: Jim | August 16, 2006 9:44 AM
Hey Fred, I think a quick phone call to the Virginia Department of Consumer Services
(1-800-552-9963)
will solve your problem. I'm fairly certain that gas pump maintenance/safety is regulated by the state, and if that shut off is not working, that pump is quite illegal...
Posted by: ronbailey | August 16, 2006 1:24 PM
In the late nineties I was restoring a 1985.5 Porsche 944 (anyone else besides Doug probably thinks I just made a typo). The gas cap was mounted high on the right rear quarter panel and oriented more upwards than was usual. I always had to pump gas with one ear pointed at the nozzle because many station pumps would fail to sense a full tank. I'd have to listen for the foam building up in the neck and then stop the pump myself. Of course, my method only works if you can HEAR THE FOAM, haha.
Sean
Posted by: Sean Pecor | August 16, 2006 5:42 PM
Count your blessings Fred...
1) You don't smoke
2) You weren't one of those fools who smoke while pumping
3) You don't smoke
Posted by: Carl | August 16, 2006 9:56 PM
sorry your day was so weird, fred...that happened to me one too many times and i never used the auto clips again...now i live in oregon where you are not allowed to pump your own gas...your chantrelle photo is stunning.
Posted by: luz | August 17, 2006 12:32 AM
Thanks for the warning about the Citgo gas pumnps. It will be interesting to see if they get the pumps fixed.
As to who is responsible, who was holding the hose and turned on the gasoline? If you were aware your hearing was impaired, you needed to take extra care in all activities, whether in pumping gas or even driving in traffic.
It is a good thing the young man noticed your predicament. He saved you from a potentially dangerous accident. I hope you thanked him profusely.
Posted by: David St Lawrence | August 17, 2006 7:59 AM
All the stations I go to have a sign saying that someone must stay in attendance of the pump at all times - probably just for that reason.
Posted by: bogie | August 21, 2006 4:11 AM