Petrol Station "Incident"

violetanderson

Ok, so I arrive at my local pertol station to find a taxi has sort of taken up the two petrol pumps by parking in the middle (not close to either of the two pumps).

I pull up in front of him and reverse my car so that I can get somewhat near the first pump to put petrol in my car.

All is going well and when I'm done I lock the car and go into the shop to pay. My 6yr old son is with me. I should probably point out that I am a woman! As I'm walking off the man in the taxi blows his horn and is gesticulating in the car as to why I'm not moving my car out of his way. He has complete emptiness behind him and plenty of room to reverse and be on his way. His small daughter is in the car. I say, from where I'm standing - ''Couldn't you reverse - I'm just going in to the shop to pay, I'll be back in a minute". He makes a face and looks like he wants to kill me and I'm so shocked that I keep going - half expecting him to follow me into the shop and eat me alive.

By the time I get back out I am a wreck. I know it sounds ridiculous but there was (as far as I can see) no reason to get thick with me and I was afraid he would be trying to confront me at the pumps when I got out.

Luckily he was gone and when I got home it took me a little while to collect myself.

Did I break some unwritten petrol station etiquette?

Doyler92

Op, you did the right thing in my opinion.

Not driving/moving out of his way was correct as I have heard of a friend of a friend who did move and got a slap on thr wrist for robbery when in fact he did pay.

Just another one of the fools on Irelands roads.

Nothing to worry about.

muffy

No he was just a typical ignorant taxi driver person

violetanderson

Yeah, I felt like It would be weird to get into the car without paying aswell. I just don't know why people feel its ok to intimitate others at will. I'm sure the fact that he was a taxi driver had 'something' to do with it alright. But surely taxi drivers are people too and it was especially awful as his own child was in the car.

phasers

By the time I get back out I am a wreck.

Slight overreaction tbh. But you were in the right, if he had space to reverse and go around he had nothing to give out about.

OT, but did you have to mention that he was a taxi driver?

Yawns

Don't worry OP. Just ignore him and continue on your way. If it ever happens again, remember the station has cameras on the pumps. So if a person ever gets out and hurls abuse at you etc you could get him a slap on the wrist from a guard.

violetanderson

Yawns wrote: »

Don't worry OP. Just ignore him and continue on your way. If it ever happens again, remember the station has cameras on the pumps. So if a person ever gets out and hurls abuse at you etc you could get him a slap on the wrist from a guard.

Ooo, never thought of that at all. Good point.

91011

He was a classic bully.

Sad person to be honest - probably has image problems and needs to bully people to prove something to himself.

Imagine if the role was reversed - he'd probably block you in further if you dared ask him to move his car!

goose2005

violetanderson wrote: »

I should probably point out that I am a woman!

And thus entitled to greater courtesy and respect?;)

violetanderson

goose2005 wrote: »

And thus entitled to greater courtesy and respect?;)

Hmm. I didn't mention it for that reason, only to illustrate that this was a male intimidating a woman with her child. If I was another man he may not have bothered . . . you know . . . picking on someone his own size and all that.

Yawns

I'd say he was just a prick. I'd have beeped him for blocking the two pumps to begin with. If he wasn't in his car I would go around and reverse in as you had done. I would then make him wait while I went to pay regardless if someone blocked him in from behind whislt I was in front.

Anyone that can't park a car properly can go to hell if they think I'll move out of the way for them.

mike65

Did this really need a thread discussion? Sound like just one the countless little things that piss people off (both of you!), he thought you should move and you thought you should pay first. Happens every day of the week.

Don't feel you need to play the helpless mother with child card, some people will always pull an angry face and then do nothing. Gender has little or nothing to do with it.

jayo99

Sorry op if it sounds a little hard, but you need to toughen up a bit. Admittedly the taxi driver had no manners but there are far more inconsiderate and ignorant drivers out there on Irish roads.

mike65

oh yeah, that this fella was a Taxi driver means you win on moral grounds anyway!

Sam Kade

Doyler92 wrote: »

Not driving/moving out of his way was correct as I have heard of a friend of a friend who did move and got a slap on thr wrist for robbery when in fact he did pay.

If they accused your friend of robbery even though he paid, he could take them to court for slander.

I always move off if there is another place on the premises to park and if someone is waiting for the pump. One thing that annoys me is pulling into a petrol station and seeing cars abandoned at the pumps, even if they see you queuing for fuel they will lock their cars saunter into the shop and take their sweet time.

The taxi driver in this case was wrong and so was the op.

astrofool

Sam Kade wrote: »

If they accused your friend of robbery even though he paid, he could take them to court for slander.

I always move off if there is another place on the premises to park and if someone is waiting for the pump. One thing that annoys me is pulling into a petrol station and seeing cars abandoned at the pumps, even if they see you queuing for fuel they will lock their cars saunter into the shop and take their sweet time.

The taxi driver in this case was wrong and so was the op.

I don't think the OP was wrong at all. Most busy garage forecourts have virtually nowhere to park a car besides the pump, the time taken to get in and pay should be less than a minute, if just for petrol (and if the sales assistant is any good). The time taken to move the car, and block other cars while that happens is much more than a minute.

In this case, the car behind had ample room to maneuvre and leave, and I have in the past gone out to eejits like this (I used to work in a garage during my college years) and blast them out of it, usually after they pick on someone smaller than them (we also had one small girl working with us who would do the same, there's not much you can do when someone bigger than you confronts you, but if it's someone much smaller, you just pack up and go, usually redfaced).

chocgirl

You were completely within your rights to stay where you were, especially as he had blocked two pumps in the beginning.

hondasam

a lot of petrol stations now request drivers to move their car before paying, good cctv in operation will get the car reg if necessary in the case of drive offs.

Sam Kade

astrofool wrote: »

I don't think the OP was wrong at all. Most busy garage forecourts have virtually nowhere to park a car besides the pump, the time taken to get in and pay should be less than a minute, if just for petrol (and if the sales assistant is any good). The time taken to move the car, and block other cars while that happens is much more than a minute.

Most garages have plenty spaces to park away from the pump. Many people that get petrol do a bit of shopping as well. Having every costumer only waiting 1 minute for the previous costumer to pay get in their car and drive off is wishful thinking and also impossible.

Panthro

what was he doing while you filled your petrol, sitting scratching? if he wanted to get going that badly, he could use the oul reverse.
as has been already said, you didnt do a thing wrong, maybe a slight over reaction on your part getting up in a hape over it though, but other than that, chalk it down to him being a knob of a driver.

violetanderson

Ah yeah, fair enough - I prolly over reacted somewhat. I suppose that was because he caught me by such surprise. I thought if he was willing to do a nutter about something so simple - then maybe he might be capable of making a larger issue about it.

Yawns

Kick him in the nuts

That'll show him!

Xiney

mike65 wrote: »

Did this really need a thread discussion? Sound like just one the countless little things that piss people off (both of you!), he thought you should move and you thought you should pay first. Happens every day of the week.

Don't feel you need to play the helpless mother with child card, some people will always pull an angry face and then do nothing. Gender has little or nothing to do with it.

I don't feel that she's playing any sort of "card", she is just reporting the incident as it happened: the fact that it was a bully of a man intimidating a woman while she had her young child with her is relevant.

I assume you are fine with men interacting with your partner, sister, mother in this way if you feel that gender has little or nothing to do with it?

Red Alert

I think the guy's reaction was rude and unnecessary.

One time my friend was coming by my house early in the morning to pick me up. Me and him were on our way to Sligo for a conference, so we stopped by the petrol station just down the road to full up so we could split the petrol bill. Anyway this guy goes absolutely ape****, and yells "Oi, you, dickhead" at my mate, then follows him into the shop and gives out stink, claiming that my mate cut him off on the way in. Anyway, the girl behind the till then camly told the taxi driver that in the time he spent "howling at that gentleman" he could have filled up his car, paid and left.

Panthro

Xiney wrote: »

I assume you are fine with men interacting with your partner, sister, mother in this way if you feel that gender has little or nothing to do with it?

hay!..dont you talk to my momma like that!
ahh no, i think some people canjust be rude, doesnt really matter what gender they are or who their rudeness is aimed at. we all have our moments unfortunately.

kaydence

I think he was just rude OP, but I wouldn't worry about it. You did nothing wrong.

Xiney

papagormo wrote: »

hay!..dont you talk to my momma like that!
ahh no, i think some people canjust be rude, doesnt really matter what gender they are or who their rudeness is aimed at. we all have our moments unfortunately.

Yes, anybody has the ability to be rude.

However this guy was not only rude, but he was angry. Couple that with the fact that he was likely larger than the OP and I'm sure you, as a reasonable person, could understand how she may have felt somewhat threatened. Especially as she also had her young son with her.

Panthro

indeed, as i said earlier, id chalk it down to him being a knob of a driver.

GTE

Well I work at a petrol station and I see some utter pig ignorance from men and women.

I dont agree with the OP reversing in the way she did because someone could come up behind the taxi doing the same thing and block him in. Ive seen it, its ugly and its better to just wait in the line until the taxi driver leaves. Though thats dependent on the pump layout so Ill give the OP the benefit of the doubt.

Ive also seen people come into the forecourt. Park between the two petrol pumps so no one can get petrol and no one can get diesel unless they reverse in and the owner of the car goes into the shop to do 15 minutes of daily shopping. Happened today and I have to rant once I saw a petrol station thread lol.

K-9

violetanderson wrote: »

Ok, so I arrive at my local pertol station to find a taxi has sort of taken up the two petrol pumps by parking in the middle (not close to either of the two pumps).

I pull up in front of him and reverse my car so that I can get somewhat near the first pump to put petrol in my car.

If he had parked properly in the first place, everything would have been grand.


It takes a degree of intelligence, humility and common decency to recognise when you are in the wrong. Very simple things you would think?

violetanderson

Thanks to all who took an interest in this post. I feel slighty vindicated by those who think I didn't do anything wrong

tfitzgerald

91011 wrote: »

He was a classic bully.

Sad person to be honest - probably has image problems and needs to bully people to prove something to himself.

Imagine if the role was reversed - he'd probably block you in further if you dared ask him to move his car!

91011 is right this fellow is a bully if you stand up tio this type of p***k then most of the time they will back off dont let this sort of fool worry you and if you can get the garda they are supposed to help and you DID not do anything wrong

Sam Kade

tfitzgerald wrote: »

91011 is right this fellow is a bully if you stand up tio this type of p***k then most of the time they will back off dont let this sort of fool worry you and if you can get the garda they are supposed to help and you DID not do anything wrong

The Gardaí have better things to be doing besides sorting out petty incidents like this :rolleyes:

Giselle

mike65 wrote: »

Did this really need a thread discussion? Sound like just one the countless little things that piss people off (both of you!), he thought you should move and you thought you should pay first. Happens every day of the week.

Don't feel you need to play the helpless mother with child card, some people will always pull an angry face and then do nothing. Gender has little or nothing to do with it.

I don't thinks she was playing a card, I think she was just thrown a bit by some unexpected and (imo) unjustified hostility.:)

The sort of guys who let loose on women out with their kids for what is a trivial thing, are probably the same guys who wouldn't say boo to another man for the same thing.

I'm not too good at letting that sort of thing go myself if I'm worried that I might have done the wrong thing, like the OP is. And while she is overreacting a bit, I probably would too.:o

I think it's rude to leave your car beside a pump and go in to pay,I think it is pretty much an unwritten rule that you don't do it. You're meant to park elsewhere and then you go in and pay. I'd have been annoyed with you as well. Being a woman and having a child with you doesn't mean nobody can get angry with you when you do something wrong. It seems like you are playing the 'I'm a helpless woman' card here a bit. The guy didn't do anything to you. He got visibly angry - so what? Not ideal, but maybe he was having a terrible day. Maybe the wife was in hospital. Maybe he's just a grumpy man with a very short fuse. If this is the first time anything like this has happened, count yourself lucky. If I get in the way of someone reversing in a car park, or dash across the road just after the lights went red for pedestrians, I occasionally get a load of abuse from a male motorist. Sure, it's unnecessary and an overreaction, but if I'm in the wrong, well, that's life. Perhaps the guy was a bully, perhaps he was in the wrong himself, but why let it ruin your day?

How Strange

[quote=[Deleted User];66630290]I think it's rude to leave your car beside a pump and go in to pay,I think it is pretty much an unwritten rule that you don't do it. You're meant to park elsewhere and then you go in and pay.[/QUOTE]
No you're not. OK if there is a space straight ahead of you then you can move your car but the shop attendants usually watch the cameras so they know x car got petrol at y pump. If you move your car then you could get accused of not paying.

I've been to garages where they gave out for moving my car in an effort to be considerate and it was explained as above. So now I leave my car where it is until I pay and I have a little patience for the other drivers in front of me who have to do the same.

pickarooney

How the hell is making a face and blowing the horn in any way 'bullying' or 'using his size to intimidate the OP'? Of course she's playing a card with the 'poor woman versus mean taxi driver' angle. He parked inconsiderately, the OP parked inconsiderately. A face was made and a horn was blown. A nothing incident.

How Strange

How Strange wrote: »

No you're not. OK if there is a space straight ahead of you then you can move your car but the shop attendants usually watch the cameras so they know x car got petrol at y pump. If you move your car then you could get accused of not paying.

I've been to garages where they gave out for moving my car in an effort to be considerate and it was explained as above. So now I leave my car where it is until I pay and I have a little patience for the other drivers in front of me who have to do the same.

Presumably there was a space close by or where did the taxi expect her to move to? I can only give my experience, and that's that it's usually the done thing to move away, especially if there are people waiting to get in. I've never been given out to for moving away - any attendant who gave out to someone for not paying when they're walking into the shop to PAY is clearly an idiot.

At the end of the day, even if she WAS in the right, it's still a huge non-issue, as pickarooney said. It's not like he got out of the car and squared up to her. He made a face and blew his horn, just like hundreds of people do all the time whether they're in the right or not.

sam34

[quote=[Deleted User];66630290]I think it's rude to leave your car beside a pump and go in to pay,I think it is pretty much an unwritten rule that you don't do it. You're meant to park elsewhere and then you go in and pay[/QUOTE]

i've seen loads of petrol stations where they have big signs up asking you not to move your car before paying, presumably to stop people just fecking off without paying

mal1

sam34 wrote: »

i've seen loads of petrol stations where they have big signs up asking you not to move your car before paying, presumably to stop people just fecking off without paying

I agree with Sam. I've worked in a petrol station when I was younger and we wouldn't be happy if she moved her car from the pump without paying. She did nothing wrong and the guy should be ashamed of himself. Especially when there are kids around.

I was involved in a similar incident about a year ago. The guy had lots of room to reverse and drive around me but decided to confront me instead. I walked over to his car and calmly offered to manoeuvre his car since he didn't feel comfrontable doing it himself. He cursed a little more. I actually finished in the shop before his wife did so I didn't hold him up in the end.

tfitzgerald

Sam Kade wrote: »

The Gardaí have better things to be doing besides sorting out petty incidents like this :rolleyes:

the op was upset and worried and a bit frightened i would like to know what the better things the garda have to do with their time

tfitzgerald

tfitzgerald wrote: »

the op was upset and worried and a bit frightened i would like to know what the better things the garda have to do with their time

Perhaps helping people who have actually been assaulted/mugged/burgled/stalked...? If someone called the Gardai because a nasty man at a petrol station beeped their horn and made an angry face, I really do hope they'd be laughed off the phone. Do you really think we should all call the police after every verbal argument with a stranger about parking? After a dirty look? I'm someone who's 100% for calling the guards, but when it's really needed, such as a genuine and prolonged fear for safety (for example if the guy had followed her down the road). You don't call the guards because you're 'upset and worried and a bit frightened.' Some people really need to get a grip. I'd write this off as an encounter with an angry man and be thankful it didn't escalate into anything worse.

sam34

tfitzgerald wrote: »

the op was upset and worried and a bit frightened i would like to know what the better things the garda have to do with their time

catching criminals

Kelda09

[quote=[Deleted User];66639207]Perhaps helping people who have actually been assaulted/mugged/burgled/stalked...? If someone called the Gardai because a nasty man at a petrol station beeped their horn and made an angry face, I really do hope they'd be laughed off the phone. [/QUOTE]

could not agree more! The OP had an interaction with a rude ignorant person, it happens, man up for christ sake (Yes I know shes a woman..) to whoever suggested calling the cops, I for one would love to be a fly on the wall for that call :rolleyes: OP needs to toughen up a bit and not let things like this get to her so much, it only causes added anxiety and stress for herself. Unfortunately, there are assholes in society, but it seemed to be a bit of an over-reaction to a fella being a grumpy bollox.

Blobby George

phasers wrote: »

OT, but did you have to mention that he was a taxi driver?

I knew it was going to be a taxi driver before I even opened the thread.

username123

[quote=[Deleted User];66630290]I think it's rude to leave your car beside a pump and go in to pay,I think it is pretty much an unwritten rule that you don't do it. You're meant to park elsewhere and then you go in and pay. I'd have been annoyed with you as well. [/QUOTE]

huh? In all my years of driving Ive NEVER considered parking my car elsewhere and then going in to pay. Nor has it ever been done by anyone Ive been in a car with. Im totally surprised by this, it would never even have occured to me that this was something people would do - mostly for the reasons other people have mentioned, a lot of garages I use dont have parking other than at the pump and also that the staff may think youre driving off without paying.

This thread is the first time Ive ever encountered this idea! Far from an unwritten rule.

I think the OP was well within her rights to be upset, the taxi guy should have just reversed. He was the one who caused the issue in the first place by badly at the pumps.

MagicMarker

username123 wrote: »

huh? In all my years of driving Ive NEVER considered parking my car elsewhere and then going in to pay. Nor has it ever been done by anyone Ive been in a car with. Im totally surprised by this, it would never even have occured to me that this was something people would do - mostly for the reasons other people have mentioned, a lot of garages I use dont have parking other than at the pump and also that the staff may think youre driving off without paying.

This thread is the first time Ive ever encountered this idea! Far from an unwritten rule.

I think the OP was well within her rights to be upset, the taxi guy should have just reversed. He was the one who caused the issue in the first place by badly at the pumps.

+1

I've never seen anyone move their car before paying. Why would you anyway? No one can use the pump until after you've payed!

Me, like most people, either wait for the person in front to pay and drive off, or we reverse and drive around if possible.

Being honest though OP, I don't see why you didn't just pull up behind the taxi, rather than drive in front of him.

Yawns

She drove in front because the taxi had stopped between the pumps. I would presume the hose didn't reach to the end of her car. She drove around and reversed in to put fuel in her car. I agree the taxi driver was an idiot but if it had been me I would have told him where to stick his rant and his ****ty parking.

Oh and if someone was to get annoyed with me cos I paid before driving off I'd consider making them wait a bit longer

event

Yawns wrote: »

So if a person ever gets out and hurls abuse at you etc you could get him a slap on the wrist from a guard.

91011 wrote: »

He was a classic bully.

Sad person to be honest - probably has image problems and needs to bully people to prove something to himself.

Yawns wrote: »

I'd say he was just a prick.

Xiney wrote: »

the fact that it was a bully of a man intimidating a woman while she had her young child with her is relevant.

im sorry but am i missing something here?

according to the OP:

violetanderson wrote: »

As I'm walking off the man in the taxi blows his horn and is gesticulating in the car as to why I'm not moving my car out of his way. He has complete emptiness behind him and plenty of room to reverse and be on his way. His small daughter is in the car. I say, from where I'm standing - ''Couldn't you reverse - I'm just going in to the shop to pay, I'll be back in a minute". He makes a face and looks like he wants to kill me and I'm so shocked that I keep going - half expecting him to follow me into the shop and eat me alive.

he beeped his horn, gesticulated and made a face.

as a result he is:

a bully, has image problems, a prick, a bully and the guards should be called.

maybe if he had gotten out of the car and threatened her physically or verbally id understand, but he made a face?

a bit of perspective is needed here surely

Yawns

He can be a prick for parking incorrectly then beeping his horn for others to move out of his way instead of reversing.

I never said he got out and hurled abuse I simply advised to the OP that should that ever be the case then the gaurds would have footage from the cameras. I didn't say that was what happened, it was for if it ever was to happen to the op again.

Very easy to quote only 1 or lines and make a story from them.

Stench Blossoms

Hopefully Ireland catches up with the rest of the world soon and get the 'Pay Pumps' so you don't have to go into the shop to pay.