Petrol pump & full grocery shop

[Poonu]

Inspired by a comment on another thread. Is it reasonable to do a full Tesco / Asda etc shop while your car is at the pump and there's 15 cars behind you? And it's rush hour. This is not something I do, but have been a victim of!!
AIBU - It's inconsiderate
AIBU - It's fine

I had exactly this yesterday. I needed to pick up a bag of shopping and fill the car. It was really busy with a queue for fuel. Filled up, nipped in to pay and went back to move the car so the next person could refuel whilst I did my shopping. I can't understand the mindset of someone who'd be happy to inconvenience others by spending more than a minute or two picking up stuff in store.

We have a smaller supermarket at our local garage. Ok it's not a big supermarket but it's big enough to do a weekly shop at and it is all one store so you pay for petrol at the same counter. Luckily the pumps are designed in such a way that 2 or 3 people doing it at once aren't going to cause queues.

@Poonu utterly shocked at this!! there is very little in my tesco petrol station to buy, just the usual papers, juices, sandwiches and sweets. why arent they told to pay for the fuel first and move their cars??? can believe that they dont know they are holding up all the other customers in the queue! I would be livid and start shouting the odds inside the garage shop!!

@NamelessNancy thank you - I got the feeling plenty of others would be more than happy to build up a queue

People at my local petrol station park by a pump to go in and shop when they're not even buying petrol. There are actual parking bays for them to use instead but they always leave those empty and park at the pumps. Just why??

Where we live the esso with tesco is the only local shop open on a Sunday. They have designated 4 pumps as only pay at pump, but that still doesn't stop someone paying at pump, then leaving their car at the pump and going to the shop.
Some people are just thick and ignorant

The bottom line is these places are extremely badly designed, there isnt enough room or space to get by or pass cars, there arent enough actual parking spaces yet there are lots and lots of things to buy which take a while like hot food or hot drinks etc etc.

Blame the layout and the way the shop is run, not the customer. And just be patient

Also I thought you shouldnt move your car before you've paid for fuel, which adds another problem

Seriously?

I am in Ireland and recently one of our petrol stations have started selling M&S food and the queues the other day were very annoying with people getting fuel then spending an eternity perusing the foods and coming out with bag loads. Another my own local stations has a subway inside and there are genuinely assholes that fill up with fuel and go in and sit down eating a sub inside. Should not be allowed but it is.

I may have to quote this thread next time there is a "What are the advantages of EVs" thread ( We've not had one for a few weeks so anytime now I expect).

I see no problem with it. You can't pull away from a pump until it's paid for. You can't expect someone to go inside pay, (unless it's pay at pump) move their car to the back of the queue and then into another car space to then pick up some bits. At least in my local one you'd have to pull back out onto the main road and join the queue to get into a normal spot, and most petrol stations I've seen are like this.
There may not have been a queue behind when they went in.
The shops are set up for people to buy more than the usual things, so this is the shops fault not the consumer for using it as intended.
If there is a queue of 15, just go somewhere else?
I'm disabled and takes a lot of energy to fill up my car and do shopping, so I will do both at the same time if I can otherwise one often needs to give.

It’s the faffing around I cannot stand It’s as though they don’t realise what they are doing?

Only if you completely left the forecourt would you be considered as trying to evade payment, not for just moving your car to a different place within the same garage estate.

But in that scenario, you’d just park in one of the spaces first to do your shopping - so you’re not blocking the pump - and then fill up on car after wouldn’t you? That way it keeps the way clear for people who do just want to refuel, pay and get on their way. I appreciate you have additional challenges, but if you do things in a different order then you can still accomplish both of your chores. Plus you totally can pull away from a pump without paying, you just can’t leave the garage itself. I regularly move my car to a space away from the pump if I think I am going to need longer in the shop, it’s never been an issue - on the contrary, people are grateful for the consideration.

Move to a parking bay after pumping fuel

Of course you can I do this every time I fill up and have never had any issue

I think it depends on the layout of your petrol station doesn't it?

Our local has an M&S attached and whilst you probably couldn't do a "Full" shop you could definitely come out with a few bags. I'm another who didn't think you could leave the pump without paying and at our local I don't see how you could.

You drive in, parking spaces are immediately on the left then the pumps and store are on the right. It's a little one way loop so once you're done at the pump you can't get to the parking spaces without driving out and driving round by which point they've marked you as a "none payer" no?

I rarely buy petrol so have a question about how the payment works. Assuming I don't pay at pump, do all pumps now store multiple transactions? So can I fill my car, move it to a space and faff about shopping while the person behind me fills up their car? Can they even pay before me if they aren't shopping? And then I just go to the till, say 'Pump 7' and the cashier pulls up my transaction?

I've seen a couple of people be told off over the years for moving their car before paying and one shouted at over the tannoy so I don't think I'd do that. The pump didn't let you fill up next car till paid either.... Or maybe on thin night out through it was the staff manually not letting it restart. Generally I wouldn't do a massive shop at petrol station but I kind of think it's mildly annoying but a layout problem. Save as having to wait to use the air machine as the cars at pump/queuing for pump are blocking way even though none if then want air so it's free.

I agree that this very much depends on the layout. At the petrol station. I usually use, the parking spaces are beyond the pumps and still in sight of the cashiers, so they wouldn’t assume that you weren’t paying until you got to the exit.

You might not be able to do "a full shop" but some are big enough that people can easily spend 20 mn in there. If your car is not parked, but blocking a pump, you are a twat.

Grab a drink and a bar of chocolate on the way fine, doing a food shop is just no.

I think this may be the crux of the issue. If you fill up, , then move away, , even if you remain on the forecourt with every intention of paying, then I would fear being labelled as a “drive-off”? And can a pump be re-set for the next customer if the earlier customer hasn’t paid yet?

Its anoying but the petrol station is at fault here by making it an option. Dont have a shop attached , limit the time or make it pay at pump for shopping with a car park.

I do this as pay at them pump