Short Fueling Tricks At Petrol Stations

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by binaiks

My neighbourhood HP pump in Kerala has a "swipe card" system - the employee has to show a small card like thing on a sensor, only after that does the dispenser switch on. When the dispenser switches on, it automatically resets the reading to zero. I noticed a similar mechanism at another HP pump as well - looks like its a system implemented to prevent cheating.

Never saw such a thing at an IOC or BPCL pump.

I think BP too has such fuel stations. I have used one such near Thonnakkal, Attingal, TVM district. This is open 24 hours, and during day time, the attendants are women.

I have found the women attendants to be more friendly and communicative. Never had any issue with a lady attendant.

[Born 2 Be Wild]

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

What I meant was sometimes when the fuel is being dispensed, some attendants will act smart by fiddling around with the locks or apply stop and start method to fill lesser quantity of fuel even though the meter keeps running.

Sir havent seen pumps down south,so dont know the exact situation there, but let me tell you for a fact that there is no way that faulty locks,or start stop has anything to do with short delivery in The MPD (multi point dispensers) In Delhi Atleast. Even if the Nozzle is stopped and started againg the Pipe is at all times loaded with fuel. The Fiddling is usually a diversion so that the owner looks at the fiddling while someone quitely resets the meter Thats whats done in delhi. So let him fiddle away to glory as a educated and vigilant customer one Should ALWAYS Concentrate on the meter have it reset To 0.00 and desired amount,and chances of being scammed are zero.

Originally Posted by sbraj

watch the counters for zero/sudden jumps/anything fishy while stretching myself out.

The sudden jumps were Prevelant with the Z Line Machines which have now been phased out mostly from metros to rural sector those machines were Notorious to say the least.

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

Having said that, not all are bad, but some put a bad name to all, enough to look at everyone with a suspicious eye.

Thats very True One rotten Apple leads to everyone being Typecast.

Originally Posted by binaiks

My neighbourhood HP pump in Kerala has a "swipe card" system - the employee has to show a small card like thing on a sensor, only after that does the dispenser switch on.

Never saw such a thing at an IOC or BPCL pump.

These Dispensers are being installed in all metros and the dispenser does not start till the card swipe. These are very much there at IOC As well as BPCL Pumps.

Originally Posted by sbraj

I have found the women attendants to be more friendly and communicative. Never had any issue with a lady attendant.

There are always 2 sides to the coin sir and though lady attendants are infact less prone to dishonesty they are a pain to manage for the dealer.
They Gossip Non Stop, and are very careless at times let me tell you of an incident that happened on 28 jan at A HP Pump, Customer comes in asks for 1000/rs petrol Lady Attendant starts fuelling the car leaves nozzle there after auto cut, Goes to customer takes the cash says thank You and customer zooms off with nozzle in his tank and the Hose pipe in tow with petrol spilling all over from the dispenser . This isnt the first time that this happened, so most dealers,not all avoid hiring female staff.

Regards
Mayank

[triedeverything]

For everyone who has been cheated of fuel either in quantity or quality, please visit the manufacturer's web site and use the complaint/feedback section. I've recently complained even about non working or poor air pumps and I have a response from the responsible company! I've suggested that they calibrate these machines periodically and let the consumer know about when it was last calibrated and when it is due for calib by means of a prominently displayed board. They could do this for their fuel pumps too.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Be Wild

There are always 2 sides to the coin sir and though lady attendants are infact less prone to dishonesty they are a pain to manage for the dealer.
They Gossip Non Stop, and are very careless at times let me tell you of an incident that happened on 28 jan at A HP Pump, Customer comes in asks for 1000/rs petrol Lady Attendant starts fuelling the car leaves nozzle there after auto cut, Goes to customer takes the cash says thank You and customer zooms off with nozzle in his tank and the Hose pipe in tow with petrol spilling all over from the dispenser . This isnt the first time that this happened, so most dealers,not all avoid hiring female staff.

Regards
Mayank

Mayank, why dont the dealers push for self service machines for customer with petro card ??? recharge-fill yourself and forget the hassles. Atleast 1 in every pump will be a good thing.

[Born 2 Be Wild]

Originally Posted by dadu

Mayank, why dont the dealers push for self service machines for customer with petro card ??? recharge-fill yourself and forget the hassles. Atleast 1 in every pump will be a good thing.

Bang on target Sir I raised This Suggestion at the last Dealer Meet Which was Abruptly cut Short By the GM North Of HPCL, His contention was that People would Fiddle With the Machines and since not every single customer is well behaved and Educated, Putting these machines up would be a risk for the company, To This i Said that All Gas stations in The US are self service and this would be beneficial for Dealers in terms of Lesser staff as well as customer satisfaction as u know that you are refuelling yourself, He Politely replied That Son This Aint The U.S OF A

However On A serious Note the OMC are Contemplating such a move In Metros By 2015, as per the last meeting.

[Roy.S]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Be Wild

Bang on target Sir I raised This Suggestion at the last Dealer Meet Which was Abruptly cut Short By the GM North Of HPCL, His contention was that People would Fiddle With the Machines and since not every single customer is well behaved and Educated.......

This is exactly what would happen. An unfortunate reality in our country. Perhaps that is one of the reasons most ATMs have a security guard posted.
As of now the only way to ensure that you are not shortchanged is to be vigilant and not take your eyes off the display.

[triedeverything]

Originally Posted by triedeverything

For everyone who has been cheated of fuel either in quantity or quality, please visit the manufacturer's web site and use the complaint/feedback section. I've recently complained even about non working or poor air pumps and I have a response from the responsible company! I've suggested that they calibrate these machines periodically and let the consumer know about when it was last calibrated and when it is due for calib by means of a prominently displayed board. They could do this for their fuel pumps too.

I just got a response from the Manager of the HP fuel station I complained about. This is the link I used - Register Complaints

He was apologetic and said the issue (air station not working) has been corrected! I think anyone who has had a poor experience especially when it comes to poor quality/quantity of fuel should use these resources to let the company know. I'm certain each company has a similar feedback mechanism that someone looks at.

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Be Wild

Bang on target Sir I raised This Suggestion at the last Dealer Meet Which was Abruptly cut Short By the GM North Of HPCL, His contention was that People would Fiddle With the Machines and since not every single customer is well behaved and Educated, Putting these machines up would be a risk for the company, To This i Said that All Gas stations in The US are self service and this would be beneficial for Dealers in terms of Lesser staff as well as customer satisfaction as u know that you are refuelling yourself, He Politely replied That Son This Aint The U.S OF A

However On A serious Note the OMC are Contemplating such a move In Metros By 2015, as per the last meeting.

His answer is absolute rubbish. What theyc an do is just like ATMs, they can have a few security personnel present. No need for attendents.

But I forsee another problem. Some people may be slow and take up must longer to do the thing. Just like some elderly people hog ATM time as if it belongs to them, when there are people behind twiddling their fingers...

[jassi]

^^ you forgot - the petrol pump attendants unions will do a dharna and some petrol pumps, buses and cars will be burnt

[Raccoon]

^^^Well, if that is a reason to avoid automation, then there will be no "progress" in any field...

[Ranjan Sharma]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Just like some elderly people hog ATM time as if it belongs to them, when there are people behind twiddling their fingers...

Seriously is irritating. People even count the notes after withdrawing from an ATM. According to me, that's not required. It's the ATM, which will give you exact amount of money, if not it will be refunded to your account.

I have a Query, Anyone has an Idea if the SHELL Petrol Bunks make use of these gimmicks of cheating customer? I always use Shell unless emergency, and want to keep myself updated and alert

[Born 2 Be Wild]

Originally Posted by jassi

^^ you forgot - the petrol pump a ttendants unions will do a dharna and some petrol pumps, buses and cars will be burnt

For the record there is'nt any Attendants Union In Delhi and they would not have any Say in this.

Originally Posted by Raccoon

^^^Well, if that is a reason to avoid automation, then there will be no "progress" in any field...

The Petroleum Ministry has a policy in place which clearly says "NO AUTOMATION NO OPERATION" However this is only applicable to Pumps selling Upwards Of 150 Kilolitres a Month.

Regards
Mayank

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by Ranjan Sharma

Seriously is irritating. People even count the notes after withdrawing from an ATM. According to me, that's not required. It's the ATM, which will give you exact amount of money, if not it will be refunded to your account.

I have a Query, Anyone has an Idea if the SHELL Petrol Bunks make use of these gimmicks of cheating customer? I always use Shell unless emergency, and want to keep myself updated and alert

Hmmmm... you sure have a lot of faith. I'v heard cases where even ATMs have shortchanged people! Last case I heard was of one of my friends. IIRC, it was an ICICI Bank ATM. To make it short, he stormed into the bank and demanded a refund and created quite a scene. They paid him the balance. So don't think machines are terribly honest... Anyway, this is off topic here.

Never experienced these tricks at any Shell pump I'v visited in/around Poona. Thats one of the reasons why people prefer them.

[Ranjan Sharma]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Hmmmm... you sure have a lot of faith. I'v heard cases where even ATMs have shortchanged people! Last case I heard was of one of my friends. IIRC, it was an ICICI Bank ATM. To make it short, he stormed into the bank and demanded a refund and created quite a scene. They paid him the balance. So don't think machines are terribly honest... Anyway, this is off topic here.

Never experienced these tricks at any Shell pump I'v visited in/around Poona. Thats one of the reasons why people prefer them.

Come on, that's an exception. I don't think even 1 BHP-IAN has faced such issues.

However, Why do you we get down from the bike in Shell? to pay respect? Why not on Cars..? :-P

[Wolfheart]

Originally Posted by Ranjan Sharma

Seriously is irritating. People even count the notes after withdrawing from an ATM. According to me, that's not required. It's the ATM, which will give you exact amount of money, if not it will be refunded to your account.

I have experienced ATM's malfunctioning and dispensing less than the actual witrhdrawal amount. Sometimes the notes get stuck inside and never make it into the customer's hands. When the ATM is opened the extra notes are discovered. So if you're one of those people who don't check the amount that the ATM dispenses you may want to start doing so.