Beware ANY petrol bunk in Bangalore! Hi, everyone
I'm sure I don't know most of you who are getting this mail from me, and vice-versa. But since Neeti has pressed the trigger, let me tell you all that I have also faced similar problems. I am a devoted BP customer, and have been to several BP stations in the city. Believe it or not, they all try to fool you, especially if you are a woman driver! Not like they leave the men alone, but women are preferred targets. I completely agree with Neeti, never take your eyes off from the meter, right from when the attendant says ' Zero!']
Let me tell you what I went through, on 3 occasions, at different BP stations. I asked the attendant to fill petrol worth Rs.1000. He showed me the zero on the meter, and stopped at 200, saying he did not hear me say 1000. The next thing I know, in all the confusion, he has already started again, and promptly stops at 800, but surely without having reset it to 0. I am sure he has filled only worth 800, from the level in the fuel gauge, and will pocket the remaining 200. But then I did not just keep silent and drive away. I made my point, and seeing that I had caught on, the supervisor came and made excuses for the attendant, saying things like he is new, he does not know, etc. I got my 1000 bucks worth of petrol each time after a bit of a struggle, but was left with a bitter taste. The same thing, at 3 different stations, it was like a planned strategy!
Anyway, the bottom line is, please do be careful, at any petrol bunk.
Cheers,
xxxxxxx
Hi guys,
If any of you frequent the HP Petrol Bunk (before Golden Enclave) on Airport Road , read on. Even if you don't, it might be useful for you to read this.
Last evening, I drove into this particular bunk and asked them to fill up Rs 1000/- worth of petrol in my car. Even before yesterday, I had suspected that the attendants in this pump try and make a quick buck but it was just a suspicion. Just so, I try and be careful.
Yesterday, just when the meter had crossed the half way mark, another attendant came to ask me whether I would be paying in cash or by card. I took my eyes off the meter to answer him and when I looked back, the fuel attendant was standing to attention, the meter had been reset, and they were waving me off. I was quite sure that the meter had been reset without the required amount of petrol having been filled. I asked the attendant, but he said he had filled the entire amount. I then called the supervisor. He gave me some half-baked excuses as to why the meter got reset - they were running on generator, the battery was weak. None of his explanations were making any sense but I wasn’t quite sure of what to do.
I started the car and and looked at the car's fuel gauge. It hadn't moved up the range it normally does. I was sure I'd been had. I decided I would just stop frequenting this petrol bunk and started to drive out. Suddenly, on a whim, I got out of the car and accosted the supervisor again. He told me he would give me a print out from their 'master computer' that records the amount of fuel dispensed for each transaction. But guess what, the computer wasnt working! Conveniently. I had half a mind to just forget it all and get out.
I told them my fuel gauge wasn’t reflecting 20 litres of petrol and they had to prove to me that they had dispensed that amount before I was driving out of there. The next thing, the supervisor tells me, 'Madam, please drive back in towards the fuel stations. I do so and he tells one of the guys to give me an extra 500 bucks worth of petrol - free, gratis, just like that. It was over before I could say 'Club HP Acchha Lagta Hai!' They fill the petrol, I say thank you and drive out of there, my car sated and me satisfied.
Moral of the story: 1. Please be careful at this bunk because this is not the first time I have had a problem here. (When I told my husband about this, he said the same thing had happened with him a few weeks back)
When you are filling petrol at any bunk, don’t take your eyes off the meter at all. If anyone tries to distract you, ignore him/her.
When I was ruminating over this incident later, I realised there was another more important lesson in this story. Most times we are hesitant to speak out against injustice or fight for our rights because we fear that a) we will not be heard and b) we will make fools of ourselves. We need to fight in spite of that fear. I tried to and look what happened. I won and I am making a difference.
Last edited by aah78 : 18th May 2007 at 21:04.
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