I am merely going to tell you what happened to me as I was filling up my truck last Friday.
It was a hectic morning at work, so I searched for, and found, an excuse to leave for a few minutes. On my way back to work, I pulled into a gas station/convenience store to get some gas. I went inside to pre-pay for my gas, because that’s where they keep the beverages. I gave the cashier some real-cash-money and asked for $40 on pump #5.
“Do you want a receipt?”
“No thanks,” I said, as he wadded it up and tossed it at the wastebasket.
As I was walking to my truck, my cellphone rang. I answered it, and it was important. So, as I am engaged in this serious conversation, I got in my truck and drove off. As soon as I was back on the main road, I realized what I had done, and extricated myself from the phone call.
I never pumped the $40 on pump #5.
So, I zipped back into the gas station, only to find that a lady had already pulled into my spot and had the nozzle in her car, and was pumping gas. MY gas.
I explained to her what happened, and she merely said, “Hmm. I was wondering why it didn’t make me pre-pay. Let me finish, and we’ll go inside and get it straightened out – I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”
So that’s what we did. Luckily it didn’t take too long, because she only pumped $20. We went inside, and walked up to the counter. The young man who had helped me before was gone, having been replaced by a young lady with a listless manner, and some very creative piercings.
“Where is the guy that was just working a minute ago?”
“A guy?” (I must admit, I was fearing for a Twilight Zone experience right about now.)
Yeah – he was just here a few minutes ago.”
“He’s on break.”
“Can I talk to him?”
“No, he’s clocked out.”
“Maybe you can help us.”
“I can try…”
So, the Gas Thief and I did our best to explain what had happened at the pump. The Bedazzled cashier looked rather confused, then you could see the lightbulb flicker for an instant.
“Do you have your receipt?”
*curses*
“No, he threw it away.” I pointed to the overflowing bin.
“Bummer.” Followed by silence.
A line was forming behind us as the Gas Thief had an idea.
“Let me pay $40 for him, and you can refund me the rest of what I didn’t pump.”
“But there’s no receipt.” Followed again by silence.
So I chimed in, “How much does it show still available on the pump?”
“$20.”
“So just cancel that, and refund the $20.”
“I can’t refund without a receipt.”
“Where’s the guy that helped me? Maybe he can find the receipt.”
“He’s on break.”
Yeah, circular.
The Gas Thief had another idea. “How about I move my car, and you pull in and pump the $20 that’s left, and then I’ll buy you $20 more?”
Genius. We went out and moved our cars, and I pumped my $20. I waited a couple of minutes, but the pump wouldn’t clear for me. Then I saw the Gas Thief waving at me to come back in.
“My card was declined. I’m so embarrassed.”
“Do you have any cash?”
“No.” Followed by a really uncomfortable silence.
Just then I saw some movement in the room behind the counter. It was the original cashier.
“Hey!” I half-shouted. “Can I talk to you?”
“He’s on break.” The Bedazzled-face girl said.
I talked past her. “I know you’re on break, but can I talk to you for just a second.”
He ambled out with with a half-eaten burrito in hand.
“What’s up?”
“Do you remember me buying $40 of gas on pump #5 a few minutes ago?”
“Yeah. You used cash.”
“Exactly!” I then went on to tell the story as concisely as I could.
The Bedazzled Girl? Nary a flicker. The Burrito Guy? He got it.
“Move for a sec.” He said to the cashier. With his free hand, he struck a couple of keys on the register. The drawer opened, he reached inside, grabbed a twenty, slapped it on the counter.
“Sorry about that. man.” He then retreated back into the break room.
I picked up the twenty. Put it back down on the counter, and told Bedazzled Girl. “$20 on pump #5, please.”
The Gas Thief walked out with me, I told her goodbye, and she waved and said, “I told you it wouldn’t be a problem.”
—–
Epilogue: I was driving past the gas station yesterday, thinking about this experience, at it dawned on me – 5 days later – that the Gas Thief never did pay for her gas! I paid $40, Burrito Guy paid $20, and she walked away scott-free. She was, indeed, “The Gas Thief.”
No big deal. Early on in the story, I thought you were going to tell us you drove off with the gas nozzle still in your tank. That would have been a REAL learning opportunity.
with all that confusion you put her through – she deserves some free gas 😉
i used to always refuse the receipt until my husband said, what if you are leaving the grocery store and someone stops you to make sure you paid and you don’t have your receipt… you’ll have to pay again… always take the receipt and throw it away at home… so that’s what i do now… i’ve also caught many errors this way by checking my receipt to make sure i paid what i’m actually supposed to be paying 🙂
I read all the comments before writing my own. I, too, feel, that you were probably a blessing to that woman.
I was a gas thief once. I was working my first job out of college all alone in a bigger city. I was a mess some mornings as I had a busy social life and was always cutting it close to get to work 30 minutes away. I was also barely able to make ends meet and living in roman. The job paid squat and I had school loans etc. One morning, I realized as I was running out the door that I did not have enough gas to make it to work…so I pulled into a gas station (going to be late anyway!) and filled up. Only when I got to the cashier’s counter did I realize that I did not have cash and they did not take a credit card!! I already filled up my tank! I could feel my face turning red and I was about to cry as the cashier would not budge at all and I didn’t know what to do. (He wouldn’t take a check either!) Finally a nice woman in line behind me said, “I’ll pay for her, how much does she owe?” I thanked her and ran out of there embarrassed and feeling like such a drain on society. Only later did I think, “Why didn’t I turn around and write a check to the nice lady who put up her cash for me??” So yes, I was once a gas thief!
Sorry for being late to the party, but for those who are worried about the gas station till, you need not worry. MMM paid $40 and got $40 of gas. $20 of gas went to the “thief” and $20 went to MMM. The gas station wasn’t taking a $20 hit; they were just refunding the $20 that hadn’t been pumped yet, which MMM promptly gave them right back. Now, MMM, if you had just pitied the poor woman with maxed credit cards and no money and had just let her keep the $20 in gas or gone the extra mile and given her the remaining $20 too, you wouldn’t feel bad now. I get approached by people asking for “gas money” all the time. I always ask them where their car is, so I can fill up their tank, but so far I haven’t had a single taker.
dude, thanks for the gas….I knew I lived by you. Next time, can you buy me a cold brown drink, too?
When did the Twilight countdown arrive?
Just today. 144 days until the plague is past.
I totally get that you forgot to pump gas. I forget if I washed my hair yet in the shower all the time. It’s our early onset Alzheimer’s.
At least your absent minded moment was resolved even if the thief did get $20 of gas free. My absent minded moment last week cost me my iPad. I was at the dentist with my five little ones as we waited in the waiting room for 1 hour and 45 minutes until it was our turn for a five minute filling. 2 hours later at home I looked in my bag to find my iPad, only it wasn’t there. It was then that I remembered my 9 year old, who usually never lets go of the iPad until I extract it from his hands, had set it leaned up against the chair leg next to my bag, but not in my bag. I was so ready to leave after the two hours there that I didn’t even double check that I had everything as we left. I called and asked if someone had turned it in, but no such luck, I even drove back so I could look for myself. Nothing. This happened last Thursday, I called Friday, all weekend I kept praying for the thief to have a guilty conscience and return it. Nothing.
I’ll trade you absent minded stories if you want, yours had a better outcome.
Does this ever happen to anyone? I seem to have a lot of people come up to me at gas stations with their stories about running out of gas and needing enough gas to get home, to work, etc.? This has happened to me at several gas stations. I usually give them a bit of gas, but not much.
Or maybe she walked away feeling like she had been the recipient of a miracle, since she needed gas and had no way to pay for it.
I’m guessing that just like you forgot to pump your gas and didn’t realize she hadn’t paid for 5 days, she was over thinking it and had a brain-boof too. Who knows that she didn’t realize it and return 5 minutes later looking for the smart guy again? Just giving the nice lady the benefit of the doubt.
I bet she realized at about the same time that you did that she never paid for gas. Then she drove right back and insisted that they take the money. I’ve done it for a loaf of bread for which I wasn’t charged; she did, too. Trust me on this one!
I’m so confused but it sounds like u are a gas thief too
It is confusing – at the end of the day, I paid $40 and got $40 worth of gas. The gas station paid $20, and the Gas Thief got $20 of gas. But it took me a couple days to figure it out.
I worked at a convenience store/gas station for two years! This kind of thing happens all the time. You’re lucky the guy who helped you was only on break. If you’re absent minded enough to drive off without your gas, and someone else pumps it, most of the time it’s tough beans. We tried to catch it as it happened but sometimes when it was hectic we wouldn’t notice and someone else would get free gas. And no the “thief” and cashier aren’t in cahoots. At least we never were. Stay focused, use a card (easy to track) and keep your receipts. Thanks for memories and laugh.
Sorry to laugh at your pain MMM but it was nice to have a belly roll, it’s been a while. It was a relief that the universe chose to conspire against someone else for the day.
I bet if we put a nice video clip and put it in YouTube and start a fund…you’ll have all the gas that you’d need for the next year or so…for all your cars.
Feel free to start the fund for me. I’ll split the proceeds with you.
It’s possible she figured it out later and went back in and tried to pay. Although that would be confusing for the cashier too, unless burrito guy was on duty.
I’m so glad you ended that with the realization that she hadn’t ever paid! I was having a hard time getting that math to match up. Haha.
Hopefully the tiller didn’t have to come up with it!
I am pretty sure the Gas Thief and the bedazzled cashier are BFF and they totally played you…
Criminal Geniuses right there, man!
My question is what happened to burrito guy when the till came up $20 short that night?
They’ll probably decide that the Gas Thief and I were working as a team. Better dye my hair.
I did wonder if they would think you were working together. But I also wondered if the burrito guy got in trouble.
An interesting story. Probably ought to keep those receipts for now on.
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that story is awesome. sounds like its a good thing you were there cause her card would have been declined and she would have been gasless! you’re her gas savior of the day!
You guys are obviously much more pure-hearted than I am.
Maybe JUST maybe free gas was an answer to her prayers. Generally if someone’s card has been declined there is a reason.
Some times in life there is not enough money to pay for gas, groceries, light, etc. and free gas maybe just what she needed.
Just goes to prove men can’t do more than one thing at a time. . .
Or they get side tracked way too easily . . .
Or are you really that old that you forget in 2 minutes that you paid for gas?
Or maybe that the issues that I grapple with on a daily basis are so compelling that such trivialities fall by the wayside.
Nah. I’m just stupid.
Hey you passed! I was trying to see if the comment would make you angry. 🙂
Last Friday we had a church social, a dessert auction to raise money for girl’s camp. I bought milk before the social to get us through the weekend and stored it in the church’s fridge. After the social I opened the fridge to get the desserts we bought, totally bypassing the milk and forgetting it altogether. Can you see what I was focused on? After driving 40 minutes to get home we got a phone call about the milk. I can’t believe I totally forgot it and it was in plain sight! {{{big slap to the forehead}}}
You were giving service without even knowing it. But then, I wonder –was she lying in wait for someone to prepay and drive away while talking on a cell phone, forgetting they didn’t get their gas? You may never know.
Holy gravy! I thought I was reading the script to the new James Bond movie! Riveting!
She sounded so helpful…sorry that she got away for free. Crazy, huh? Hopefully her conscience will fix it.
Charity never failith?
And they say crime doesn’t pay!