Really, really poor customer service

[unclebilly]

Today I had the unfortunate luck to experience the worst customer service I have ever seen.

I stopped to pick up some gas on the way home at a gas station in a small town about 45 minutes away from my farm. I filled up my wife’s Tribeca and 2 Jerry cans. While I was filling the car, I went to the pump on the other side of the island to fill up one of the Jerry cans with premium. I heard the pump click on the car and then thought I heard gas running out.

Sure enough, the nozzle tripped but did not shut off and gas was pouring out like crazy. I got that stopped and got my wife to help fill that Jerry cans with regular. Then the premium pump didn’t print a receipt.

I went into the gas station with my 9 year old son to ask for a receipt and tell them their nozzle needs to be replaced. They told me that I had to clean up the spilled gas... This turned into the 2 idiots working there refusing to issue a receipt (I took a video of this) and then being told to go F..k myself. I asked the guy what he said and videoed him repeat his suggestion that I go F..k myself. As I walked out, he told me to suck his c..k.

Obviously I was in touch with the store owner who initially tried to cover for his staff. Then I sent him the videos and his tune changed. He called the guy who it turns out has Aspergers and the guy quit. This guy is in his 40’s and his mom got involved... Needless to say, he has a few days off to figure this out.

I agreed not to post my videos of the incident and to drop it. The poor guy has been through enough.

What would you have done? I have this charming video of a guy in full uniform at Canada’s gas station telling me to go F..k myself...

Oh and seriously, I did nothing to escalate this. The videos confirmed this.

[HardDrive]

People are stressed. Good on you for not making it worse.

[craigster59]

What HD said. We're all under a bit of pressure. Let it pass.

[john70t]

gee, here down south you'd just have yer lawyer send a demand payment for a full repaint.

Good of you to bite the tongue. No win there.
The station owner should have chipped in something for your troubles though.

[rusnak]

First of all, I have a true passion for great customer service. It is like a religion to me.

But if the guy has Asperger Syndrome, then really you can't make a big deal out of it. The guy has a developmental disorder and is basically a handicap guy, and you got to see it first hand. I'm just sorry that the sequence of events was such that it made you have a bad day.

[stealthn]

Was your son with you to hear this? If so I would have been hard pressed not to flatten the guy

[unclebilly]

Yup, Clay got to see (and hear) the whole thing unfold.

I feel bad for the guy but also think that this is an example of making sure you have the right people dealing with Joe Public representing your brand. I showed this to a buddy who is the retail store rep for one of the mega oil companies and he was gobsmacked. This would not fly at one of their franchises.

[rusnak]

"Look son, watch me punch a mentally handicapped guy who can't help himself"...nice.

[Noah930]

You (OP) are entirely right. But if the guy truly has a developmental disorder, sometimes you just gotta let it go.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Noah930

You (OP) are entirely right. But if the guy truly has a developmental disorder, sometimes you just gotta let it go.

^^^^ This....and you taught your son how to handle such a situation too. Make sure he understands the "why"....kudos!

.....and you weren't a local

[Chocaholic]

Probably not a good practice to walk away from a running pump. Did that come up in the “discussion”?

[pavulon]

About half the pumps around here do the same thing. The people working in the store have very little aptitude for such a thing. Sounds like you did what you could.

Watch for a replacement nozzle on the pump and at the counter. Having a disability isn't a blank check. I understand this as father of a daughter with one.

[KFC911]

^^^^ I've done the same as unclebilly....fill my truck up while filling cans just a few feet away on the other side. I will also get back inside the truck if the weather is brutal while a slow pump takes forever. But I watch the unattended hose, and would never just walk away either.

Stuff happens....not his fault imo.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Sounds like you took a reasonable approach. I’m all for offering jobs to everyone willing to work, but it sounds like at a minimum that individual needs to be in a role that doesn’t interact with customers. I’ve never experienced anything like that in a customer service setting. Otherwise I’ve been told many times to go eff myself.

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Probably not a good practice to walk away from a running pump. Did that come up in the “discussion”?

Yup. This came up in the discussion.

I pointed out that at every full service gas station, this is exactly what happens and further what happens when you wash your windows and check your oil. I worked at a very busy full serve gas station in high school and it was common to have 3-4 cars on the go at a time. The auto stops are supposed to work and this one didn’t. It clicked but the fuel didn’t stop flowing.

The guy gets a pass this time. The owner sent me a photo of a duplicate receipt. I explained what happened to my son and he gets it.

[ZOO]

Originally Posted by KC911

^^^^ This....and you taught your son how to handle such a situation too. Make sure he understands the "why"....kudos!

.....and you weren't a local

The world needs more this.

[URY914]

You could have just flipped a match into the gas and drove away like in a movie seen.

And yes I know a match only can light a puddle of gas when its done in a movie. Although I've only read this, never tried it.

[ckcarr]

Think Zoolander...

And I've never understood the people that put the pump in, then get back into their cars and wait for the pump to shut off... Sometimes it doesn't.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by URY914

You could have just flipped a match into the gas and drove away like in a movie seen.

And yes I know a match only can light a puddle of gas when its done in a movie. Although I've only read this, never tried it.

A lit match would absolutely ignite it. It's the lit cigarette butt that would not, as it always does in the movies.

I feel for the guy w the disability if it's legitimate but he should be nowhere near customers if that's the case. I'm going to take a WAG that this was not the first time he had a short-circuit on duty. If he said that to the wrong person down on this side of the border, he might get lead poisoning.

Lastly, I'm in WI. and I love just about everything here including the fuel prices but I've never seen so many malfunctioning pumps in my life! It seems like every diesel pump runs on a little after the click and gives the side of my truck a fuel bath. Even if I man the pump manually, (which I always do now as it gets close to full), it still kicks back a splash when it shuts off! I've never seen this happen in CA., where the pumps are a lot better because of regulation.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by rusnak

"Look son, watch me punch a mentally handicapped guy who can't help himself"...nice.

They said Asperger not Turrets. It was a poor choice to put someone who has Aspergers into a role working with the public.

Not worth starting a fight. Physically touching your son or wife without permission, that is worth starting a fight.