Impatient people at the petrol station

[asblindasabat]

went To the petrol station this morning to fill up my car on my way to work.

I paid at the pump, put the fuel in my car and got back into my car again to drive off.

There was a woman in her car using the pumps behind me and she had finished filling her car and so was waiting for me to leave the forecourt to facilitate her exit as there was no room for her to get through until left as there were pumps on the other side which were being used.

I had got into my car, used some hand sanitiser and then switched on my engine to get ready to go.

As soon as I got into the car, she had driven her car from her pump right up to the tail end of my car as if to say hurry up in a really passive aggressive way - for context, I drove off within a minute of getting back into my car.

AIBU to think these people should just chill out and have some patience? It’s not like I was sitting there dithering for 5 minutes!

There is something so irritating about waiting for someone to move out of the way at the petrol station. YABU op, there was no need for you to start faffing around with hand sanitiser, just move!

The person you encountered was at that time unfit to drive and should not have been on the road. However such people are allowed to because of the double standards we have for those behind the wheel. What you can get away with as a car driver are many things never considered acceptable or allowed elsewhere.

Did you use hand sanitiser before covid, OP?

Oh god OP you can’t just faff around at a petrol station! People are busy and can’t just wait around for you to faff with sanitizer, mess around with your bag, have a little nap etc - you need to move so people can get on with their day. If you really must faff then drive to somewhere more suitable and play around with your sanitiser there where you’re not in anyone’s way

Bloody hell, reading this makes me glad I don't own a car and so only rarely drive and use petrol stations. Is it acceptable for me to put my purse back into my bag after I've paid? Am I ok to take a second to put my bag in a footwell or on the back seat once I'm in the car? Does anyone mind if I put my seat belt on, and look in my mirrors and take a second to check nobody is about to drive in front of me before driving off? Put my lights on if its dark? Doing all of those will mean I don't drive off within a millisecond of getting in the car. Is that OK?

Is everyone really this impatient in real life or is it just a selection of people on MN?

This!!

It was only a few seconds…

While I get it's annoying when people faff about before driving off, it doesn't sound like OP was more than a couple of seconds and in such circumstances I really think people need to chill out! People have got so much more impatient over the last few years (even worse since Covid), on the roads and generally. It used to be quite rare to hear a horn blow in anger but now it's a constant sound round here (although I admit the standards of driving seem to have fallen I've witnessed some shocking driving that needs beeping at!) I've never dealt with so many rude & impatient people at work (I deal with the public) and there just seems to be a generally stressed and impatient vibe almost everywhere. I get there's a lot of gloom & doom around and a lot of people are pissed off with life atm, but this attitude doesn’t make it any better and is infectious.

I'm always conscious if people waiting so quickly get in the car putting my seatbelt on as I drive away! Silly really.

I hate people in supermarkets who are right behind you in the queue waiting to pack their shopping before you've even paid, that really pisses me off!

Politeness cuts both ways. A decent person is patient, but a decent person is also aware of what is around them and is considerate to others. Sounds like you and the other driver suffer from main character syndrome a bit.

Next time, pull forward straight away so that the person behind can use the pump or exit, then do the sanitiser etc. or perhaps use it on the way back to your car. If the other car driver were here, I'd suggest deep breathing and perspective, but I sympathise with their frustration.

Well unless the other driver was on their way to perform brain surgery then no, yanbu

I wouldn't be bothered, but after reading MN, I can see I'm in minority, because I don't get annoyed by everything in my life.

For those saying they pull forward, so closer to the car at the front pump, to leave the back pump clear for someone else - how big are your petrol stations or do you all drive smart cars???

No petrol station I've ever been at in almost 27 years of driving has had enough space between the pumps to allow 3 full sized cars with the 3rd car being able to access the back pump & fill up.

No, I really am that impatient. It really isn't just on MN :)

There are a lot of things more urgent than a surgeon on his way to a scheduled operation.

I hate people in supermarkets who are right behind you in the queue waiting to pack their shopping before you've even paid, that really pisses me off

In my experience it's usually the cashier who starts putting stuff through before the person in front of me has gone. Although I am impatient, I always say " can you wait until that lady/gentleman has gone please". This isn't at Aldi or Lidl by the way, as I am too impatient to use their tills and queue up behind millions of full trolleys, I use the self-serve.

You get 10 seconds. Purse into bag, bag onto floor, seatbelt on, go. My lights come on automatically (although I tend to fill up during the day when I go to get petrol).

I wonder if petrol station faffers are the same people who will queue for 5 mins for checkout or service at a cafe and only then think to get their purse out of their bag

I've got to say, despite being impatient, I never quite understand this complaint, especially directed at women. If you are shopping, you have a bag/basket in your hand. How are you meant to get your purse out until you've loaded everything onto the conveyer belt? Maybe men can get their wallet out more easily, but despite really being that impatient, this is one I don't get. What annoys me more is the people who then stand there for ages, neatly putting their change into their purse, then neatly putting it into their bag and only then moving away.

Haven't RTFT so apologies if this has been said but I really hate those people who fill up and leave their car at the pump whilst they do a weekly shop, especially if there's a queue for fuel.

I fill up, go and pay and then pull into a car parking space

What do you expect them to do? It doesn’t take long to put items on a belt, have payment on hand, and bag ready, especially if you’ve been standing in a queue for a bit.

If no one is saying anything or giving you looks, why are you upset by it? Some are just prepared.

Saying that, like the previous poster said I choose self-serve and scan and shop every time. Heck, wish more shops were like M&S Scan and Shop where you can scan, bag and pay on your phone without having to enter a queue.

That's a false equivalence - a disabled person who is slower at performing a task because of their disability is still performing that task efficiently for them, so no, I'd not be remotely annoyed by that. Someone who is faffing around for no good reason, other than they are inefficient and think they are entitled to sit at the pump, holding other people up, while they apply hand sanitiser, make-up, fiddle with their sat nav / music system, instead of pulling forward or into a parking bay, is just wasting everyone's time. Your desire to use hand sanitiser or have a sip of water is not is not comparable to a disability, and I really shouldn't have to make that point 🙄

After you've paid for your shopping in a supermarket would you faff around there, get your water bottle out take a few sips, sanitise your hands, check your phone, are your shoe laces are tied properly, coat buttoned up ? - the list goes on. Or would you maybe move away from the tills and do it elsewhere.
I'm sure some Mumsnetters feel perfectly entitled to do all of the above, but the majority would move away to the packing area, or somewhere they weren't inconveniencing others.
It's no different in a car, people will be silently (or not so silently) seething at the behaviour, because its inconsiderate of others who just want to get on with their day.

😂 This. It’s beyond annoying

I agree, but I literally was only a matter of seconds.
I would agree with her if I had stayed there for 5 minutes to do my makeup or something.