Paying for air???

Ger the man

A petrol station near my job has started charging for air and water. 3 euro to use the air pump!! It also stops working just after you get to the fourth wheel.

Hogzy

Ger the man wrote: »

A petrol station near my job has started charging for air and water. 3 euro to use the air pump!! It also stops working just after you get to the fourth wheel.

Is it a standard air pump? I wouldnt blame most places cos ppl treat them so badly, dropping them, rolling over them with wheels etc etc, The average station replaces them every few months!!!! Its an expensive service they supply but then again they make up for it by charging more for condiments in the station shop! I would never pay for air thO!!!!!

Just to ad a little story!

I remember when i was about 7 or 8 and filling my bike tires with air i was told to sod off by the station manager as the air was for car tires only and not bike tires... My Father told him where to go

Ger the man

Its the same pump thats been around for years, the lever operated type with the gauge in the square window. No, I didnt use it either.

Hogzy

Ger the man wrote: »

Its the same pump thats been around for years, the lever operated type with the gauge in the square window. No, I didnt use it either.

Yup i know the one... THats a joke, they should at least supply a proper pump thats fancy and gold plated:p €3 is EXTREMELY step aswell. if i saw that in my local station it would just piss me off and i would boycott the station!

Ger the man

Hogzy wrote: »

Just to ad a little story!

I remember when i was about 7 or 8 and filling my bike tires with air i was told to sod off by the station manager as the air was for car tires only and not bike tires... My Father told him where to go

Same thing happened me too - my dad bought petrol there for years and they tried to fob him off with a free car wash. My uncle worked for the local cab company at the time and all the drivers boycotted the place too, all because of some young startup manager wannabe who used abusive language to a 9 year old.

Hogzy

Ger the man wrote: »

My uncle worked for the local cab company at the time and all the drivers boycotted the place too.

Justice... That'el learn em!!!

gerrycollins

i think most petrol stations are doin this but you get your money back.

garages for ages are pissy about the equipment left lying around and getting damaged so put in a few euro, treat the equipment with respect, place it back correctly and get your money back.

Im not saying the OP doen not treat the equipment with respect but its the actions of the few that cause us all to pay.

there is one near me and it €2

Danno

A nearby station to me had a dodgy PETROL pump that gushed out air for the first €1.50 or so... I told the manager about it, still the same eight weeks later... I don't get fuel there anymore as a result.

GerardKeating

Ger the man wrote: »

A petrol station near my job has started charging for air and water. 3 euro to use the air pump!! It also stops working just after you get to the fourth wheel.

But your are not paying for the "air", you are paying for thje pump.., those thnigs aint cheep to maintain.

Keith186

Hogzy wrote: »

Yup i know the one... THats a joke, they should at least supply a proper pump thats fancy and gold plated:p €3 is EXTREMELY step aswell. if i saw that in my local station it would just piss me off and i would boycott the station!

Eh, I'd probably piss all over it after finding out it costs €3!!!

That's very steep especially since they're not really accurate from what I've heard.

PS: Went into Statoil on the quays before, (the one that was the most expensive place in Ireland to get petrol) had a bad puncture and had to stop a few times to pump it up to keep it going until I got home and the feckers didn't even have a pump at all! The cheek to be charging >€1.80 a litre and then having a ****ty service!
They're now pretty cheap, did someone take over it or what's the craic?

Hogzy

Keith186 wrote: »

They're now pretty cheap, did someone take over it or what's the craic?

There was so much hype over it being so expensive the only option for them was to lower the price... It was on Primetime and everything so people knew they were a rip off even if they didnt look at the price of the fuel!

darc

Hogzy wrote: »

There was so much hype over it being so expensive the only option for them was to lower the price... It was on Primetime and everything so people knew they were a rip off even if they didnt look at the price of the fuel!

Topaz bought out the independent operators and its now operated directly by topaz.

snappieT

Surely they could have a "free air pump and water" when you buy a certain amount of petrol, or a car wash. Having to pay €3 on top of your €6 car wash and €40 of petrol seems very steep.

Shelflife

€3.00 is a bit on the steep side, but as was mentioned earlier they are expensive items which are costly to maintain as well.

they also get terrible abuse and many people that use it dont even buy anything. there is shag all money in petrol now and a lot of the smaller sites are struggling.

ive seen people throw them on the ground saying that they werent working and looking like fools when i pointed out to them that they had parked on the line.

the day of "free" air and water are numbered as the margin is no longer in petrol and the costs of supplying these services is on the rise.

skywalker_208

Shelflife wrote: »

the margin is no longer in petrol and the costs of supplying these services is on the rise.

Yes but alot of these places are now making their profits off their overpriced goods instore, deli counters and car washes.

A fiver now for a basic sandwich, up to and over a tenner for a car wash. A euro or more for a Mars bar etc... €1.50 for a bottle of coke!

Also - I have noticed more and more petrol stations do not have any water supply to refill your windscreen washer. Ran out recently in bad weather and the 5th! one i visited supplied this service!

Can we quite dangerous driving around with a mucky windscreen you cant wash!

thebman

I don't see why they don't just require you to use redeemable coupons or something so they can verify it is working when you are finished similar to shopping trolleys.

I've only seen one not working. The rest of the time they work perfectly. TBH, it is something I'd switch petrol station over because driving with a tyre that needs air can be danagerous.

I have my own pump to put air in my tyres but I'll still use the stations if possible because its faster than my own one.