SNAP!

[Hawkmoon]

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/05/18/woman-accused-of-taking-bat-to-mans-car-for-staying-in-front-of-gas-pump-for-too-long/

Synopsis: Man blocks pumps at gas station for an hour after filling his tank. Attendant asks him to move, man refuses, attendant takes a bat to the man's truck.

Opinion: I suppose what the attendant did was technically illegal, but I'm on her side. Fill your tank and move on -- if you NEED to use the cell phone -- for an HOUR -- you can at least have the common courtesy to GTFOOTW.

[Ben]

She committed a crime, so that goes without saying. Still, what the guy pulled bugs the crap out of me. It's one thing to do it at a big station when there are plenty of empty pumps. However, I see it done way too often at smaller stations or when the pumps are full and there's no room to maneuver. Particularly bad when it's the guy in front of you and then somebody pulls in behind you, and then there's someone behind them waiting to pull in, so you're effectively trapped. Very few stations don't have some kind of parking away from the pumps.

[Firethorn]

1.  Ask him to move
2.  Formally inform him that he is now considered to be trespassing and is to leave the property.
3.  Call the cops.

Not take a bat to his truck.

[Perd Hapley]

1.  Ask him to move
2.  Formally inform him that he is now considered to be trespassing and is to leave the property.
3.  Call the cops.

Not take a bat to his truck.

This. Was the station so far out in the desert that the cops couldn't come eject the guy? If not, why would you do anything else but call 5-oh? Are they smuggling dreamers through the gas station? Running drugs?

[41magsnub]

I'm torn.  yep, way illegal. But, there are not enough penalties for being an inconsiderate jackass these days.

[Firethorn]

This. Was the station so far out in the desert that the cops couldn't come eject the guy? If not, why would you do anything else but call 5-oh? Are they smuggling dreamers through the gas station? Running drugs?

I'm also struggling to think of why an employee of one of those places would care.

When I worked for McDonalds I certainly wasn't paid enough to care that much.

[dogmush]

I have a winch on my truck, and several decent straps in a bag in the tool box.  I would be sorely tempted to move his vehicle for him. 

I'm pretty dang certain I could drag it away from the pumps without damaging it, I've moved other vehicles before. Is it vandalism if I don't damage anything?

[BlueStarLizzard]

I'm torn.  yep, way illegal. But, there are not enough penalties for being an inconsiderate jackass these days.

I'm with you. I hate that crap. I've been trapped at the middle pump one to many times by some jackwagon dicking around instead of moving. That place may typically have the cheapest gas in town, but I don't go there anymore. I'd rather pay a few cents more to go to a station populated with less aholes.

[HeroHog]

How I have handled such situations: I'm a college student (vet in my mid 40's) and I come out to find that some nimrod has parallel parked so close behind me that I can't get out of my slot! Said nimrod was the end car on the street and there really wasn't room for him to park there but he forced the issue. Anyway, I'm in my car, an old Pinto wagon, and don't have room to get out and I'm getting ticked. In frustration, I plant my back bumper on his front bumper, floor the gas and scoot him back a few feet! As I pull into the street I notice the campus cop across the street in his car laughing his butt off as I pull away.

If I needed gas and they sat there that long blocking me, back in those days, I may have "helped" them move their car...

[230RN]

You guys are going to push, pull, or drag his car out of there with it in P?

Nah.

[dogmush]

You guys are going to push, pull, or drag his car out of there with it in P?

Nah.

Have done so.  More then once. Tires don't have all that much friction, less once you get them started sliding.

One time I came across a guy stuck in an intersection with a seized transmission.  Hooked up the Bronco and dragged him about 1/4 mile till we could get him out of the road.  No damage. (Tires had some wear)  No biggie.

Just grab the tie down point, give a little slack in the strap, come back with a small jerk to get it moving, and smoothly roll on the throttle to keep it sliding.

[RoadKingLarry]

You guys are going to push, pull, or drag his car out of there with it in P?

Nah.

I could do it easily with either the Kaiser or the Ram 1500 4X4, maybe the Wrangler in 4-low.
When I was stationed at Groton I drove a '72 IH Scout II. Parking on that base was a major flusterlcuck, got blocked in while legally parked twice, I moved them out of my way.

[grampster]

I'd give the woman with the bat a medal.

[Fitz]

It just occurred to me. I've been known to go snatch a drink or snack after pumping some gas. I don't do it if there's a line (inside OR at the pumps)

Bad form?

[HankB]

Another one of those cases where I wouldn't do the same thing myself, I wouldn't recommend anyone else do it . . . but if the attendant were charged and went to trial and I were seated on the jury, conviction would be unlikely. 

[Perd Hapley]

It just occurred to me. I've been known to go snatch a drink or snack after pumping some gas. I don't do it if there's a line (inside OR at the pumps)

Bad form?

Depends on the traffic, and how long you spend getting pogie bait.

Another one of those cases where I wouldn't do the same thing myself, I wouldn't recommend anyone else do it . . . but if the attendant were charged and went to trial and I were seated on the jury, conviction would be unlikely. 

  It seems rather obvious the lady committed a base crime. There's a simple, low-risk solution to the problem, as outlined above. You ask him to get out of the way. Then you threaten to call police. Call the police if he doesn't leave.

[Hawkmoon]

It just occurred to me. I've been known to go snatch a drink or snack after pumping some gas. I don't do it if there's a line (inside OR at the pumps)

Bad form?

IMHO -- yes, bad form.

There may not be a line behind your vehicle when you go in, but you have no control over how many cars will pull in while you're inside the store. I can manage to start the engine and move 30 feet from the pump to a parking space before heading back in for a snack and a soda.

[Perd Hapley]

IMHO -- yes, bad form.

There may not be a line behind your vehicle when you go in, but you have no control over how many cars will pull in while you're inside the store. I can manage to start the engine and move 30 feet from the pump to a parking space before heading back in for a snack and a soda.

No, it depends. At an 8 or 10-pump station on some rural stretch of freeway, when there aren't more than 2 or 3 pumps occupied, you're not likely to inconvenience anyone by going in for 5 minutes. Especially not if the gas is pumping half the time you're in there.

[brimic]

IMHO -- yes, bad form.

There may not be a line behind your vehicle when you go in, but you have no control over how many cars will pull in while you're inside the store. I can manage to start the engine and move 30 feet from the pump to a parking space before heading back in for a snack and a soda.

Around here(I know there's been a thread about this in the past) a lot of places allow you to pay inside after pumping... You leave the car there, go inside, buy your coffee/donut/hotdog with your gas. It's not bad etiquette, it's just following the convenience store's business model. The converse of that is that I don't typically go inside and buy extra stuff if it's a 'pay in advance' or pay at the pump only station.

[Ben]

No, it depends. At an 8 or 10-pump station on some rural stretch of freeway, when there aren't more than 2 or 3 pumps occupied, you're not likely to inconvenience anyone by going in for 5 minutes. Especially not if the gas is pumping half the time you're in there.

Yeah, that situation doesn't bother me at all. I've left my car to go get something at empty rural stations while the fuel was pumping. Heck, on my truck it may have still been filling up when I came back out. 

Also Brimic brings up a valid reason. I haven't seen a station that lets you pay afterwards in forever. However, there have been numerous occasions where I got to the pump and the reader was broken, so I had to go inside to pay first, and in the case of a fillup, had to go back in after to get my card back. Or if they're not taking cards and I pay cash and overestimate and have to go back in to get change. I've probably even gotten a soda or something in the past while doing that (though again, not if things were busy).

[K Frame]

"Especially not if the gas is pumping half the time you're in there."

In a lot of states it's illegal to leave an operating pump unattended, and you can be cited if the tank overflows.

[Hawkmoon]

"Especially not if the gas is pumping half the time you're in there."

In a lot of states it's illegal to leave an operating pump unattended, and you can be cited if the tank overflows.

This is true in my state. In fact, self-serve stations aren't allowed to have the trigger locks on the nozzles -- they have to be set up to require the pumper to stand there and hold it open while pumping.

[Perd Hapley]

Neva hoyd of that.

[MechAg94]

Neva hoyd of that.

Me Neither.

IMO, it is just about being courteous to others.  Don't be inconsiderate or a jerk.  If you are blocking a pump when I pull up and you were just running in to get a drink, I am okay with that as long as you make an effort to move on and let others get to the pump once you are done.  If you hang around afterward or take 10 minutes to shop inside, that is stepping across the line. 

I recall pulling up behind someone  who was at a pump once.  I saw go in to pay.  There were two pumps open and they were at the first.  I couldn't get to the 2nd without going around and backing in.  After a few minutes, they came back out then sat there.  For some reason, they just decided not to pull away and let me go forward.  After another few minutes, I got impatient and pulled around and backed up in front them to the 2nd pump.  At the last second, they started to pull forward, but I was already backing in.  The rear view camera allows you back in pretty fast.  They had to back out to leave which they did.  I suspected they knew I was waiting and were just trying to mess with me.  They were being discourteous at the very least. 

[dogmush]

This is true in my state. In fact, self-serve stations aren't allowed to have the trigger locks on the nozzles -- they have to be set up to require the pumper to stand there and hold it open while pumping.

They tried that in FL for a couple years, I would routinely just take my Leatherman out and jam it in the handle so I could let go.  Once I grabbed the wrong pouch on my belt and jammed the gas on with a spare magazine. Wife just sighed at me.

The went back to having locks on the handles after a while.

The gas stations around Newport News have pumps that lock on.  Maybe they just want to burn this part of VA to the ground.