[sgm]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

I
And what makes you sure that it was indeed 36 by just watching? Even at the best pumps the gauges are in error, have found most gauges wrong by quite a margin in the best pumps in Bangalore (HP COCO on airport road for instance is substantially wrong). So unless you have your own guage which you need to use to confirm that 36 is indeed 36 and not 42, you just can't be sure.

I always get out of the car, be it for fuel or air. Make sure that the caps are put back.
I regularly fill nitrogen from there on Old Airport Road I fill fuel from Shell, Domlur on Inner ring road, but they don't have nitrogen. Which is a good one ?
Thanks

[vijayshouree]

I always fill nitrogen at the tyre shops. It is always at back of my mind to check the tyre pressure regularly. I made friends with the nearby tyre shop guy and always go there for top-ups as well as full deflation and inflation - I will do this especially after I take back my car from friends or relatives as they sometimes fill the air after refueling.

It is altogether a different story when it comes to my bike and scooters. I will get the air-filled wherever possible and dont think of it much.

[RMN]

In addition to this, there is always a little air that leaks out when we remove the valve from the nozzle. If you arent careful, I believe this would take out at least 2-4 psi of air from the tire.

Due to all this, I always fill up the tires myself!

[Thilak29]

Some rules I follow.

- Always have multiple bunks earmarked and don't have a dependency with one for reasons like brand or proximity.

- Enter bunks which are relatively empty both at fuel dispenser and air pump corner

- Roll down window and ask if Air pump works - if not, scoot after passing a feedback that they lost my 3,000 rupee business.

- When you fill fuel and air, get down and watch (Ensure doors are closed and windows rolled up).

- Avoid / pushback any distractions

- While the attendant fills the air, keep that change/note in hand so that he realises he will be tipped if he does a good job while you are watching him. Don't hesitate to slide that change back to the pocket, if the attendant goes rogue. Say Thanks each time.

- Always fill +1 PSI for errors or loss.

- If you find a pump which dispenses quality fuel and has an air compressor with a clip type , always prefer that. That is less likely to damage your air inlet valve.

- Somehow I find it hard to justify buying a battery-powered compressor for occasional use.

[AnandB]

Have faced this before. Specially if the person refilling is a young guy who tends to skip work. Ever since always get down and see to it in person be it refilling of air or fuel.

[born.4thnov]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

In case you are not aware. Common across all Shell pumps every time you drive into their pump:

- Sir, open your bonnet. I've to say a stern No, else I get repeated the same question. Recently, a Bhpian was fooled to refill oil in his Innova when there was no need to.

- Sir, try V-power. Again, I've to say a stern No.

- Sir, only V-power available. Again, several instances reported by Bhpians.

- Sir, coffee, snacks, with a price card. And, one more time a stern No, or otherwise..

You think all these overselling circus and fooling tactics happen without the management being aware? Will they dare do all these in other countries?

You think the management is not aware of these uncomfortable situations every customer is put into every time he drives into their pump?

Like the other PSUs, Shell should just focus on selling their fuels alone in their pumps and stop their overselling Bullshit and the resulting fooling tactics.

I don't mind reporting to the management if it is one off, I've done it in BP when the attendant tried fuel shortfill.

But when it is collective and happens in nexus with Shell as an organisation, I'm sorry, reporting to the management will be a futile exercise for me.

I'm writing a thread here, because it is not an individual pump problem, but an organisation problem.

I agree. It happens in almost all Shell outlets. I have visited close to 6 of them in Chennai and Bengaluru and have experienced the same force selling. In one pump, the executive came, voluntarily lifted the wipers, sprayed a glass cleaner and cleaned up the windshield. I was like wow, before realising he was standing next to my window for the tip. Also their biggest irritant is the V power up sell. Once I was standing 6th in a line of vehicles. No one bothered to tell me that only V power was available in that particular line till it was time for me to fill up. I refused, just drove off and refilled in another HP pump a few kilometres later.

[arulpeem]

For many years I have stopped filling air at fuel stations because, it is time consuming and I do not know how well calibrated the gauges are.
I have an electric compressor and also a good Decathlon foot pump. I typically check the pressures once in two weeks and definitely before a long drive/ride. Many a times I find it is faster to use the foot pump since the pressure drop after a couple of weeks is always never more than a couple of PSIs. It takes only 10 to 20 pumping to set the pressure. Also it a sort of an exercise too. I have bought a separate pressure gauge, Tiretek, I think. So in a matter of a five minutes or so I complete the whole process.
Solves/prevents lots of issues.

[ishan12]

Things like these are pretty common and have nothing to do with the brand. It is just a lazy attendant who does not want to do his job. Don't we see similar examples around us?I am sure all of us have seen such examples in our own offices/ businesses. Some people are just lazy and some dishonest and some both. So it is always good to be vigilant.
I always make sure I get down from my car and check for myself when filling fuel or air or anything similar.
After all it is my car and I am the one responsible for my own vehicle.

[adi.mariner]

Originally Posted by arulpeem

I have an electric compressor and also a good Decathlon foot pump.

Hi arulpreem, can you tell me which Decathlon foot pump do you have? I had been to their store and they were not really sure about the suitability for car use.

[rahulskumar]

Why do we even have to depend on these guys to fill air. I purchased a Michelin foot pump and it has been excellent. Every 2 weeks when the tire is still cold, I top up air in all my vehicles. No need to tip anyone and no need to waste fuel waiting for our turn at these gas stations. Sometimes these guys will even bend and damage the air intake valve while filling air.

[Jeroen]

Maybe India should go the western way? I have been checking tyre pressure myself for several decades. Every petrol station in the west is DIY and that includes tyre checking. Until some years ago, you could check your tyre pressure for free at most petrol stations. These days it usually cost Euro 0,50 to do it yourself.

The biggest problem with all of this, be it India or anywhere else, apart from attendants behaving like this, is the accuracy of the manometer.

MOT stations typically replace their manometer every year. They wear out with use-age. So, I might make use of petrol pump tyre filling station with or without attendants. But I wont feel comfortable, unless I have checked and adjusted the pressure with my own manometer and compressor.

Jeroen

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Maybe India should go the western way?

Great suggestion. Tire pressure is way too important a factor for me, as pretty much everything depends on these 4 tiny patches of rubber. I use a bicycle pump to get air into my tires, and I keep it exactly to the recommended pressure. This way I get a small workout, and peace of mind. It is easy to use bicycle pump to maintain air pressure, only if you check air pressure often. If the pressure has dropped down by 10psi, it would take forever to refill. With my pump, it takes 12 pumps per psi, and I do not let it drop by more than a couple PSI.

I also have a portable 12V air compressor, for the times I need to fill a lot of air, and for travel.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

Great suggestion. Tire pressure is way too important a factor for me, as pretty much everything depends on these 4 tiny patches of rubber. I use a bicycle pump to get air into my tires, and I keep it exactly to the recommended pressure.

but here is the 10 million dollar question: how do you know your bicycle pump shows correct pressure? Have you ever checked it against a known reference?

My point is this exactly: everybody uptight about having the correct pressure in their tyres. But nobody any clue about what the manometer is showing is true or not!

How do you know your bicyclepump shows correct air pressure? The only way is to verify it regularly against a reference source you know to be correct.

Jeroen

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

but here is the 10 million dollar question: how do you know your bicycle pump shows correct pressure? Have you ever checked it against a known reference?

Yeah you are right, it is only as good as the reference. I have 3 other old school pressure gauges. I keep one on the motorcycle, and one in each car. My guess is that all 3 of them cannot be wrong in the same direction. They cannot all show -x psi or +x psi. If they are, then I guess I am screwed.

[Aafaq]

One more thing which I have noticed with these guys is that they do not tighten the air valve caps properly, so it is always better to ensure all these things yourself.