Re: petrol forecourt etiquette

[TickledOnion]

First AIBU and I'm quite willing to admit IABU, but wondered what other people's opinions were.

Pulled up to a busy supermarket petrol station today. There were queues to use the right side pumps even though the front pumps were empty and only one car on the left side pumps, also with empty front pumps.

My petrol thingy is on the right and I struggle to pull the nozzle all the way round the car so I thought I would nip round the cars and use the left side pumps facing the other way. Got round to the front to find the left side pumps were out of order, so quickly reversed into a right side front pump. (Hope that makes sense).

A man came running up from the queued cars and shouted at me for jumping the queue. I didn''t fancy getting into an argument and realised I might have been in the wrong, so I just drove off.

My question is: why do people wait in a queue when the front pump is empty and was I wrong to nip round the front?

I await the MN verdict...

booyhoo They have pumps that do that at Tesco in Baguley. HTH

right, baguley it is for my fill-up's in future!!

(where is baguley?)

I'm impressed with all of you who can get the hose round the other side of you cars. I'm really weak and cack-handed and can't manage it. It's like a bungee line for me.

I agree. I tried it once - couldn't reach so put hose back and moved car. Still got it wrong and tried again. Was tannoyed to go onto the shop as I'd managed to run up a bill of 2p and they wanted payment before i tried again. I paid and then went somewhere else. [hblush]

"Petrol stations piss me off but because as said you get people who pull in, go inside and do a weeks shop and/or hold up queues instead of going forwards"

I can never understand why anyone would not use a pay at pump (if they have a card) and people who faff about holding up traffic while they go inside to pay really get up my nose.

OP YABU, you did jump the queue at the point you reversed into a right-hand pump space, though I can understand why you would as it stopped you from having to leave, drive round and join the back of the queue with everyone else.

I don't think the pump will reset until it's been paid, will it? So it doesn't matter if you move out of the way or not. In fact I seem to remember a MNetter who got a bollocking over the tannoy for moving her car out of the way.

But really, people of Britain, petrol stations are not the place to buy anything more complicated than a loaf and a pint of milk. I blame M&S food petrol stations. Who wants to sit watching the red light flash on your petrol gauge while some bloke chooses between a macaroni cheese or beef hotpot Lonely Bastard Meal for one?

fwiw I don't see the problem in going around to the left hand pumps. Most forecourts are big enough to handle both directions. I would have driven off having found it not working unless I had been next/second in the original queue.

YANBU for the wrong way thing
YABU for your advanced queue jumping

I'd've been pissed off with you. But only because I'd missed the opportunity to do it myself . Mind you, I have a Ford Galaxy, and have never struggled to get the diesel hose over teh top of it and into the fuel tank (I am tall though).

However, I would have been really pissed off if you were like the bloke who came round to use the front pump when I was using the back one of two. He left his car sticking out at an angle so I could not get out after I'd dutifully paid at the pump (Landie on the other side, his car sticking well into the 'middle lane' bit). Apparently, I was at fault for not using the front pump. I sweetly pointed out to him that there had been a car there when I started filling up, and unlike him, I was a considerate drive and felt that driving over the top of someone else was taking things too far. I may have also called him a rude, unpleasant little man. As I stood looking down at him.

Well, he was

There is an unwritten rule which applies only in the UK that one should not queue jump and - even more importantly - one should not be seen to queue jump.

For some reason this seems to annoy men more (or is it that some men are looking for any excuse to play the bully)?

I would have thought your actions would have looked like you were pushing in but I quite understand your reluctance to become involved in a pointless argument with a red-faced man over something so trivial.

GalaxyWeaver are you my sister?! Are you me?