No power. No Fuel. No clue.

[I Pinch]

It's nighttime and there's a power cut in town. No street lights. No traffic lights. No canopy lights on the forecourt. No lights on in the shop. All the stuff you might expect with no power. The forecourt is closed with a line of traffic cones.

Nonetheless, someone stops and moves the cones to let themselves in. I hate this because by the time I deal with the first guy, five more people have cruised in through the inviting gap left behind him. So I go and close the gap first before walking over to the guy, by now parked at a pump, nozzle in hand, staring blankly at the dead pump display.

Clueless Guy: "Can you turn the pump on?"

Me:" I'm sorry but the power is out. Nothing is working so we're closed."

Clueless Guy: "I just need a little petrol to get home"

Cue an explanation of why the pumps don't work without power and how the computers and POS to control them (turn the pump on) are also down.

The guy suddenly seems to have an 'aha' moment!

"But I can pay cash!"

What can you do?

[Monterey Jack]

Sounds like a movie tagline...

No Power. No Fuel. No Clue. Army Of Darkness 2.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Sounds like a movie tagline...

No Power. No Fuel. No Clue. Army Of Darkness 2.

That or a video game sequel.

Geez, talk about being denser than my Mom's pound cake recipe . . .

[raudf]

And you can't tape over the handles of the pumps, because the idiots will pry the tape off just to find out that *gasp* it isn't working! I'm pretty sure that if force field technology ever becomes available, people will pry through it just to prove to themselves that they "won't die in the really dangerous areas!"

Darwin failed us. Horribly.

[BrenDAnn]

This happens for hte same reason that, when we bag a specific pump or nozzle to keep people from using it because it is broken, people take the bag off and try to use that nozzle/pump anyway. People are stupid, and stubborn.

[EricKei]

No Power. No Fuel. No Clue.

I can hear the Movie Trailer Guy (may he rest in peace) doing that one..."In a world without power, one man sets out on an epic quest for fuel..."

[TheSHAD0W]

I know some gas stations have backup generators to run the pumps, since in an extended power outage everyone needs fuel for their own generators and such.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I can hear the Movie Trailer Guy (may he rest in peace) doing that one..."In a world without power, one man sets out on an epic quest for fuel..."

Don LaFontaine.

We now live "in a world without the Movie Trailer Guy."

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I can hear the Movie Trailer Guy (may he rest in peace) doing that one..."In a world without power, one man sets out on an epic quest for fuel..."

"With no clue as to what he's into."

Now that would be EPIC

[Ben_Who]

So. We've seen customers run over traffic cones, rip down signs, and rip the bag off the pump trying to get product. We've seen them try to buy gas during power failures, natural disasters, and empty tanks. The level of autopilot necessary to insist that fuel must happen despite all measures to the contrary must be astonishing. It makes one wonder how many barriers one must put in place before they finally give up independent of yelping at a manager. Like, if you were to run 5,000 volts through the pump, how many times would they grab it before they gave up?

You think these people are the same ones who pull on a "push" door? Like, for longer than a minute?

[Cooper]

I know some gas stations have backup generators to run the pumps, since in an extended power outage everyone needs fuel for their own generators and such.

Coming from someone who lives near one of those gas stations... you can hear the generators. They're very loud. And when you hear it once you'll remember the sound. (Largely because the generators being on tells you who has power, who hasn't power, and who "has" power. If we come home from town to hear generators a-buzzing... well, damn.)

[jennie]

And you can't tape over the handles of the pumps, because the idiots will pry the tape off just to find out that *gasp* it isn't working! I'm pretty sure that if force field technology ever becomes available, people will pry through it just to prove to themselves that they "won't die in the really dangerous areas!"

Darwin failed us. Horribly.

It wasn't Darwin's failure, as much as the massed stupidity of people, and the lack of major predators...

[Lace Neil Singer]

We had that too at the petrol station on Boxing Day. I wasn't working on that day, and as it turned out, nor was anyone... cuz the power was out cuz of mass flooding. The manager was there for a short while to access the situation and apparently, while she was there, no less than five customers drove their cars thru the floodwater to get to the flooded forecourt. Apparently, most were understanding when told that the power was out cuz of the flood, but, seriously? The petrol station is under water, and there are no lights on; why the fuck do you believe that you can possibly get petrol there?

[raudf]

I'm waiting for a gas station story where half the station is covered by lava, there are no attendants (because they wisely evacuated) and still someone is stopped at the pump wanting gas. (If there is such a story, I'm not sure I want to hear it... my faith in human intelligence can't dig down that far yet!)

[Mytical]

I'm waiting for a gas station story where half the station is covered by lava, there are no attendants (because they wisely evacuated) and still someone is stopped at the pump wanting gas. (If there is such a story, I'm not sure I want to hear it... my faith in human intelligence can't dig down that far yet!)

Just when you think you hit the bottom of the pit of human insanity.. somebody breaks out the dynamite.