Tipping petrol pump attendant?

fisher8181

Haven't come across one in ages but my nearest petrol station has one
now and i'm always in a rush in the morning so i let him fill it up.

Do most people give a tip for this?

D3V!L

fisher8181 wrote: »

Haven't come across one in ages but my nearest petrol station has one
now and i'm always in a rush in the morning so i let him fill it up.

Do most people give a tip for this?

I haven't seen a pump attendant in Ireland in 20 years.

Fitz*

I used to work as one years ago, mid-boom.

Well it was more of a general job running errands all over a shop/garage/car washes/forecourt etc. One of the jobs was to fill petrol/diesel for customers. It was mainly women who would oblige of the service if they wanted to do the weekly shop or not get their hands dirty from the pumps which is perfectly understandable.

I got tipped a bit now in the car wash alright. Maybe €2 or €3. Whatever big coins were handy I suppose, but to be fair I always did a good job

Tips for filling fuel were rare iirc. Mostly if a person asked for 'a fill' - so to fill the vehicle up to the top, I would fill the car and round it up to the nearest €. So let's say the car filled to €68. Sometimes they would hand me €70 and say keep the change but the chances of filling a car so close to the point where there would just be a coin's change from large notes was quite rare!

I was between the ages of 13-17 during this time though, so not sure if that made a difference to people tipping - 'ah sure he's a young lad doing some work, i'll give him a euro' etc.

Stheno

D3V!L wrote: »

I haven't seen a pump attendant in Ireland in 20 years.

Topaz letterkenny have them

spurious

Like others, I rarely come across one now, but where I do, yes i would give them a couple of euro.

colm_mcm

Well back in the day I did this, if someone was getting a full tank you’d be always leave it at around £48 because they’d be paying cash.

Mint Sauce

Stheno wrote: »

Topaz letterkenny have them

Couple of the stations in Donegal Town have them as well. Although think they too are general workers, tidying, lifting fuel bails, etc.

biko

They're common in Africa, I give a small tip.
Never seen on in Ireland.

bazz26

Yes but only when I take the DeLorean back to 1955:

Cee-Jay-Cee

Stheno wrote: »

Topaz letterkenny have them

As do Topaz Glencar, Topaz Mountain Top, & Dry Arch Filling Station (although only one at each of those)

I don't tip them, its their job, its not like I'm getting anything extra by them doing it, I'd happily do it myself if they were attending to another customer and do regularly. No one tips me for doing my job so I don't tip others.

beer enigma

Seems to be a few of them in Topaz, I use the one at Manor Stone near Portlaoise and its really handy to ask him to fill it while I'm grabbing a coffee or using the loo. Well worth a couple of euro for me.

pawrick

One one garage in Athlone I've noticed still has someone doing that job.

Caliden

Used to work as one when I was 16. Only time I would ever get a tip was around the Galway races.

Would never be expected as we were getting a proper wage like.

Del2005

In Oregon in the US you can't pump your own fuel. It's annoying as they have the locking pumps so they walk off and you end up waiting for a few minutes for them to come back and remove the nozzle.

zilog_jones

I worked in a petrol station in Limerick city in the mid-2000s. It was generally self-service but if anyone asked I would fill their car. I don't recall getting tips, but I wasn't looking for them either.

We're not yanks, and people in Ireland working in these kinds of places generally get sufficient wages - the tipping culture in the US is absolutely insane IMO, and the most annoying thing about going there. I much preferred how things worked in Japan, where they would almost consider a tip as an insult, or at least consider it a mistake and go running after you trying to give your money back.

biko wrote: »

They're common in Africa, I give a small tip.
Never seen on in Ireland.

In South Africa, I believe all petrol stations are attended and you can't fill your own car (similar to some US states) - I think it's just a scheme to create jobs, really.

Fitz*

zilog_jones wrote: »

I much preferred how things worked in Japan, where they would almost consider a tip as an insult, or at least consider it a mistake and go running after you trying to give your money back.

Off topic, but I was in Riga, Latvia at the weekend. Wealthy city, but I went to pay for dinner for 2 and left a tip in the little box also (they use boxes to give you the bill & then payment & then change & then tip). But I gave 20e extra also and the server came back to tell me I had given too much. Was sound of him.

Del2005

zilog_jones wrote: »

I worked in a petrol station in Limerick city in the mid-2000s. It was generally self-service but if anyone asked I would fill their car. I don't recall getting tips, but I wasn't looking for them either.

We're not yanks, and people in Ireland working in these kinds of places generally get sufficient wages - the tipping culture in the US is absolutely insane IMO, and the most annoying thing about going there. I much preferred how things worked in Japan, where they would almost consider a tip as an insult, or at least consider it a mistake and go running after you trying to give your money back.



In South Africa, I believe all petrol stations are attended and you can't fill your own car (similar to some US states) - I think it's just a scheme to create jobs, really.

I asked a co worker when I was in Oregon if you tip the petrol pump attendant, I got a firm no. As you said it's just a scam to get people off the US version of the dole.

John_D80

Friend of mine used to work as a forecourt attendant when we were teens. He got the occasional “keep the change”. He used to clean up around Christmas with tips.

All the people who he’d filled for regularly during the year and all the little old ladies whose coal he put in the boots of their cars for them were very generous to him.

Tzardine

I lived in Kuwait about 10 years ago. All of the petrol stations were attended, usually by an Indian / Nepalese worker.

It was not uncommon for my tip to be more than the price of the petrol. But then, at about 12 cent per litre you were filling the car for about €7.

I used to tip them loads. Standing out in 50 degree heat they bloody earned it.

Alun

It used to be very common in the filling stations on the Autobahns in Germany back in the 80's when I lived there. Mind you, it was quite useful, as they would give the windscreen and headlights a thorough cleaning while you waited. Back then though, there seemed to be many more giant flying bugs in the air, and after a couple of hours tanking along at 180km/h+ in the summer, you could often barely be able to see out of the windscreen, and when night came your headlights would be as much use as a candle. I never tipped them though, and I don't think it was the thing to do either from what I could tell.

Harry Palmr

Do they check your oil and run a squeegy across the windshield windscreen while chewing on tobacco?

DaveyDave

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

As do Topaz Glencar, Topaz Mountain Top, & Dry Arch Filling Station (although only one at each of those)

I don't tip them, its their job, its not like I'm getting anything extra by them doing it, I'd happily do it myself if they were attending to another customer and do regularly. No one tips me for doing my job so I don't tip others.

Couldn't agree more. What ever happened to people just doing their job? They're being paid minimum wage, which has been fortunately going up the last few years. This isn't America where you tip the waiters because they're paid far below minimum wage, even then you don't tip them if the service isn't good.

Not to mention a job like that wouldn't exactly be difficult. My nearby garage doesn't do this fortunately, but they're already the most expensive garage in the area and not to mention the huge markups on stuff in the shops.

Caliden

DaveyDave wrote: »

...This isn't America where you tip the waiters because they're paid far below minimum wage, even then you don't tip them if the service isn't good....

In the U.S. the employer is supposed to top up an employee's wages if the don't make minimum wage for the hours worked.

Legally they're supposed to but some places don't but then again that happens here occasionally...


So when I'm in the U.S. and the service is ****e I don't tip.

McCrack

DaveyDave wrote: »

Couldn't agree more. What ever happened to people just doing their job? They're being paid minimum wage, which has been fortunately going up the last few years. This isn't America where you tip the waiters because they're paid far below minimum wage, even then you don't tip them if the service isn't good.

Not to mention a job like that wouldn't exactly be difficult. My nearby garage doesn't do this fortunately, but they're already the most expensive garage in the area and not to mention the huge markups on stuff in the shops.

Ah stop being a miserable bastard

A euro or two as a gesture is all - a person earning min wage will appreciate it...but of course youre not obligated but its nice to be nice.

Dice75

i know someone does this to pass his time. Prefers to be called a "fuel injection specialist" though.

zilog_jones

McCrack wrote: »

Ah stop being a miserable bastard

A euro or two as a gesture is all - a person earning min wage will appreciate it...but of course youre not obligated but its nice to be nice.

You don't have to financially compensate someone to "be nice"...

StereoSound

I haven't in my life had someone pump my petrol. Who wants to pay more for their petrol by having someone hold the nozzle in the tank for them? I dont...I dont want Anyone touching my car.

Riva10

Fuel prices are high enough without subsidising employees wages.

McCrack

zilog_jones wrote: »

You don't have to financially compensate someone to "be nice"...

I call it a tip because thats what it is...one or two euro

His employer financially compensates him at min wage

And yes tipping is a nice thing to do, the recipient appreciates it

neris

Was in Mexico at halloween and all the stations there have attendants. Wasn't unusual top see 2 or 3 attendants on the 1 car. 1 lad pumping fuel another putting air in the tyres and another dipping the oil and filling the windscreen washer. All dressed in uniforms and hats too

sjb25

fisher8181 wrote: »

Haven't come across one in ages but my nearest petrol station has one
now and i'm always in a rush in the morning so i let him fill it up.

Do most people give a tip for this?

Well back in 19 dickety 2 2 shillings

Wishbone Ash

Stheno wrote: »

Topaz letterkenny have them

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Couple of the stations in Donegal Town have them as well. ...

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

As do Topaz Glencar, Topaz Mountain Top, & Dry Arch Filling Station ....

They seem to be quite common in Co Donegal but I rarely see them elsewhere these days. That filling station just inside the border at Lifford seems to have several on duty at any time.

I used to work as one in the early 1980's. Tips were quite rare and not really expected even though it was routine then to clean windscreens, check/top up oil levels, check tyres, put water in batteries etc. It was also a real filling station, i.e. just a little hut with no shop attached.

For Forks Sake

zilog_jones wrote: »

In South Africa, I believe all petrol stations are attended and you can't fill your own car (similar to some US states) - I think it's just a scheme to create jobs, really.

It's illegal to fill your own car in New Jersey (and Oregon I think)