Paid for air !

AnnaStezia

Got petrol at an Esso station in S Dublin where I go sometimes. Decided to do tyres as well. Did 2 tyres when I was told politely that I had to pay €1 for air. This was new to me. Had to pay it. Will not be going there again. Anyone else experience this ? Its a bit rich for my liking.

pa990

I know of a stn in cork that charges, I dont buy fuel there.

There are a few topaz stns that have.a coin operated system , similar to shopping trollies, that I have no objection to

Compton

You have to factor in the the cost of equipment and the damages/maintenance on it. You should be more happy about the fact its free in places

Our man in Havana

Paying for air is common enough.

challengemaster

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Paying for air is common enough.

No it's not?

Jimbob 83

Air i wouldn't pay for tbh.

Now pressurised air ...

MugMugs

+1 to the shopping trolley idea. No issue with that but I'd never lend a cent for the facility. If my custom doesn't cut it then I'll go elsewhere.

MetzgerMeister

Soon it'll be our government who will be charging for the privilege :rolleyes:

carbon nanotube

in the uk nothing is free...

even air..:rolleyes:


*the up side is cheap road tax i guess...

HJL

Havent seen too many pay for air places here [donegal] but plenty of places that no longer do air or have broken ones, and any that do work you cant read the guage because they are smashed.

Which kind of leads to why places make you pay for the air in the first place.

I bought this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Automotive-RAC610-Analogue-Compressor/dp/B0030FBSQ2/ref=sr_1_cc_3?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1335045539&sr=1-3-catcorr you'll need a seperate pressure guage along with it though as the one on it is not accurate. Close enough though if you are running a slow puncture and just want it back up to close enough of what it should be.

gbee

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Paying for air is common enough.

They could add .001to the litre of fuel, erm, they probably already have done!

alexlyons

not sure i get the idea of the shopping trolley system...

with trolleys is it not so that you return them. how does this logic work with a hose connected to the machine other than making you hang it back up?

Compton

yes, its to make you hang it back up - so it doesn't get damaged.

Thoie

It makes you hang it back, so then the hose doesn't get knotted/damaged and the gauge and mechanism doesn't get driven over and ruined.

alexlyons

fair enough i suppose, equipment doesn't come for free.

Just though I was missing something!

Jimbob 83

frankz

AnnaStezia wrote: »

Got petrol at an Esso station in S Dublin where I go sometimes. Decided to do tyres as well. Did 2 tyres when I was told politely that I had to pay €1 for air. This was new to me. Had to pay it. Will not be going there again. Anyone else experience this ? Its a bit rich for my liking.

Was there a sign saying you had to pay? How do they enforce it? Did someone walk over to you after you had 2 tyres done and look for a euro? Seems a bit loose

If there was no sign saying you had to pay then you could have offered to "give it back"

dr.fuzzenstein

Pure greed.
They want you to roll up, fill up, buy phone credit (which they also charge extra for), buy a danish for two fecking euro, a coffee, do a bit of shopping and also pay for air?
I wouldn't.
+1 on the air compressor, always have one in the boot amongst other things, but I think it's time to take the snow chains out.;)
What I would expect in a well run station is air, a bucket of water to clean your windscreen, some tissue paper on a roll to check oil if need be (though I wouldn't, since no petrol station seems capable of providing a flat, level surface), toilets and then I'd be happy to fill up, buy the danish and so on.
Of course some small stations can't provide all that, understandable.
I like the Topaz idea of the coin slot, makes sense to me and they also have a big mirror thingy where you can check your lights.
What will they charge for next? Parking?

bbsrs

A euro is a bit expensive in fairness 50 cent would well cover it but then again in ireland they could do away with the 1,2,5,10.20 and 50 cent pieces as evrything thing goes up by the euro these days

String

If there was something in place to put a euro then thats fair enough, but if they came upto you or added it to the bill after seeing you use it, then thats a bit dodge

JP 1800

Ah well that's inflation for you,



Ill get my coat

uberalles

There is a euro fee one in Cabinteely and it's computerised + or - for you air pressure choice and it beeps when it hits the target. Excellent machine. There is also a hover you can toggle to when the air is done. It's timed a a few mins for 1 euro. I go there because it's such a good machine

K.Flyer

Funny enough I stopped at a station to top up a slow puncture and you had to put a euro into the machine for a certain amount of time. I did not want to pay it so stopped at the next station and same again. Had to use it this time and also got a minute or two vac time for the same euro. Now I have noticed in a lot of stations you have to pay for the compressed air.

Compton

cool

MuppetCheck

I Would gladly pay for air if the equipment was working correctly. So many establishments have damaged equipment that somewhere you knew would work can often be very helpful.

O.A.P

I will never pay for air. Anyone remember this ?http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_TsPrlj7Zs

StudentDad

Carless at the moment - a situation that will be changing fairly soon - but if my local filling station started charging for air and water they'd lose my custom pretty much immediately.

SD

robbie_998

Win !

Odelay

There are a few filling stations, one in Limerick, one in cork, and one in kerry that i often stop at to check tyre pressure. they have good equipment that is always in PWO. I will also top up on diesel and buy something in the shop. Their equimpent is tidy and well taken care of, and I'm sure this helps them keep costs down and custom up.
Those that are charging for air, will only loose a small amount of custom (few people check their tyres pressure?) but they still loose it.

I love free air and working guages.

Del2005

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Pure greed.
They want you to roll up, fill up, buy phone credit (which they also charge extra for),

This is due to the ridiculous price the card companies charge small retailers.

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

also pay for air?

The garage is paying for it so why shouldn't you.

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

buy a danish for two fecking euro, a coffee, do a bit of shopping and

The only place petrol stations make any money is in the shop and the profits they make on this is way more than on the air even if they charge €1 per use.

I was getting a puncture fixed a while ago and in the 30 min I was waiting, there where a few other cars ahead of me, a load of people came in looking air. The fella was going mad as it costs him money to buy the compressor, air lines and electricity yet everyone thinks it's should be free!!

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

air compressor, always have one in the boo

The simplest solution for all and not even that expensive, I've one I got years ago.

Del2005

robbie_998 wrote: »

Win !

:eek::eek:Your a braver person than I am trying to pump a car tyre with that:D

Voodoomelon

Meh, as long as i got my money back, I wouldn't be winging.

Then again, the one time I paid for air it was 50c for 4 tyres, hardly something to complain about.

There's no government initiative saying stations have to supply free air, yet a lot of stations do provide the service.

If it costs up to €1, I have no problem paying it, it's a business at the end of the day.

Lemming

carbon nanotube wrote: »

in the uk nothing is free...

even air..:rolleyes:


*the up side is cheap road tax i guess...

uberalles wrote: »

There is a euro fee one in Cabinteely and it's computerised + or - for you air pressure choice and it beeps when it hits the target. Excellent machine. There is also a hover you can toggle to when the air is done. It's timed a a few mins for 1 euro. I go there because it's such a good machine

Most garages - that I've encountered at any rate - in the UK operate machines like described above. 50p for a few minutes, dial in your desired psi level, and away you go.

Why people are getting worked up about this concept is beyond me. For 50p or €1, it's not exactly a battle you'll ever win. The filling stations will simply either stop providing air, or charge for it. How often do you have to put air into your tires in any given month? Seriously; people will p1ss & moan about paying €1 ever other blue moon of a month for air, yet wont put up a fight over rising fuel costs & road tax with the dozy muppets sitting in government. Jesus wept.

frankz

Lemming wrote: »

Most garages - that I've encountered at any rate - in the UK operate machines like described above. 50p for a few minutes, dial in your desired psi level, and away you go.

Why people are getting worked up about this concept is beyond me. For 50p or €1, it's not exactly a battle you'll ever win. The filling stations will simply either stop providing air, or charge for it. How often do you have to put air into your tires in any given month? Seriously; people will p1ss & moan about paying €1 ever other blue moon of a month for air, yet wont put up a fight over rising fuel costs & road tax with the dozy muppets sitting in government. Jesus wept.

Different arguement though,
the way I read the first post in the thread I thought it was about the fact the the OP was only told of the charge after he used the service.

If the machine requires you to insert money before it will work then that is different as you know there is a charge in advance and can decide if you want to pay.

biko

Nowhere in Galway do they charge for air or water (yet).
Some have coin system so that you return the hose to the pole but you then get the coin back.

Big Nasty

I've only seen the coin system and never had to pay for it. I'm sure if some have started the rest shall follow. We should make a stand on it now before it spreads nationwide. They'll soon be charging €10 a corner! :eek:

I suppose they'll start charging for water soon enough now too.

K.Flyer

MCMLXXV wrote: »

:eek: I suppose they'll start charging for water soon enough now too.

Because of the high water consumption of car wash machines, a lot of garages' water is already metered and paid for by the garage owners unless they have a private well.
I'd say it wont be long before they do start charging for it.

coylemj

I suspect the place the OP is talking about is the Esso place on the N11 just south of Cabinteely, it's a wide open forecourt so it's easy for non-customers to wheel in, check the air and then bugger off without spending any money.

What they should do in order not to alienate customers is make the pump operate by the insertion of a token, they could give a token to anyone who asks when buying goods or paying for fuel, that would solve the problem of people stopping for air and buying nothing. As things stand now, you could be buying €80 worth of fuel and any amount of fags and sweets and you still have to pay to check the tyres, that has to be bad for business.

Until everyone does it, I wouldn't like to be the first to start charging for air. The people you lose will probably eventually cave in and pay for air when everyone does it but they won't come back.

Bandara

"I was getting a puncture fixed a while ago and in the 30 min I was waiting, there where a few other cars ahead of me, a load of people came in looking air. The fella was going mad as it costs him money to buy the compressor, air lines and electricity yet everyone thinks it's should be free!!"


The fella is in the wrong business if that's how he thinks

I bet he has a sizeure whenever someone ask for more than one sheet of toilet paper for the customer loo !

It's a business expense, and a well documented one, he needs to get on with it

gbee

Hammertime wrote: »

It's a business expense, and a well documented one, he needs to get on with it

To a degree. I worked in petrol and tyres, we always prided ourselves with providing accurate gauges with user friendly tips on them for public use on the forecourt.

Yet we had a sizeable amount of people insisting on driving around to the back workshop to use our air tools as they had a perception that forecourt gear was always faulty.

For workplace safety compliance we had a different configuration for our airhoses and we had three for different jobs ~ I can tell you it was annoying as they were also a work interruption and as most could not use the industrial heads, they then asked for help, which of course, stopped work entirely.

Guy:Incognito

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Pure greed.
They want you to roll up, fill up, buy phone credit (which they also charge extra for), buy a danish for two fecking euro, a coffee, do a bit of shopping and also pay for air?
I wouldn't.
+1 on the air compressor, always have one in the boot amongst other things, but I think it's time to take the snow chains out.;)
What I would expect in a well run station is air, a bucket of water to clean your windscreen, some tissue paper on a roll to check oil if need be (though I wouldn't, since no petrol station seems capable of providing a flat, level surface), toilets and then I'd be happy to fill up, buy the danish and so on.
Of course some small stations can't provide all that, understandable.
I like the Topaz idea of the coin slot, makes sense to me and they also have a big mirror thingy where you can check your lights.
What will they charge for next? Parking?

So the Danish, the credit, the fuel , coffee and the shopping is ok to charge for but the machine that costs thousands to buy and maintain should be free?

It'd probably work out cheaper to give a fee danish to the amount of people looking for air.

Getting your own compressor isnt free either.

gbee

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Getting your own compressor isnt free either.

Keep in mind that it harks back to the "service Station" and "free air" was a prominent promotion activity.

In those days it cost almost nothing extra to provide a public feed from an existing compressor that was used to power a variety of air tools in the service bays, as well as inflate tyres.

Today of course, the service has gone and the leftover air compressor is not actually working a service shop anymore, nonetheless, "free air" is still an attraction albeit a small one.

Perception is reality, like it or not, a station charging for air generate the wrong sort of perception.

Bandara

You need a compressor for your car wash anyway, which you can then share with the air. so your not actually buying one to service the airline no matter what way you look at it.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Paying for air is common enough.

That's true - it's due to inflation.

Bandara

Alison Immense Memoir wrote: »

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Paying for air is common enough.

That's true - it's due to inflation.

Bit late with that gag there chief

Hammer Archer

Just my two cents on this. The shop where I used to work started charging for air not too long ago (though all the money gained from it goes to the SVP).
The main reason for it was the fact that people would pump up their tyres, drop the hose on the ground and then drive over it as they were leaving meaning it cost a good bit to get repaired. Also, kids would use the hose to try and pump up their bike tyres which it's not designed for.
At the end of the day, it costs money to repair it and people have a habit of abusing things that are free so a lot more places are beginning to charge for it.

I understand people saying that the garages have to pay for the equipment, and I think the trolley coin type thing is a good way of stopping the hose being damaged. But the fact is that I check my tyre pressure regularly, I do this when I'm buying diesel, I won't buy diesel from a garage that's gonna charge me for air, simple.

ronn

Went into the esso garage in Bray today and they have a new machine for the air and water, There charging for the air and water, Never seen this before,



Topics merged

ronn

ronn wrote: »

Went into the esso garage in Bray today and they have a new machine for the air and water, There charging for the air and water, Never seen this before,

too greedy. people will go to places where they don't charge. and probably spend money on fuel and in the shop there....

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

I guess its only a matter of time before all petrol stations do this. Especially with water meters on the way.

MarkR

And it's not one of those ones where you get the euro back at the end? That would stop me going there. For air at least.