Picture this – you're tired after work, the sun has already set, and the frost has set over Australia. You look down at your petrol gauge and see the bright orange light.
You muster up the courage to brave the weather and fill the car up, only to grab the handle at the bowser and get nothing. You try again, but nothing. You look inside at a front desk and the petrol station attendant is missing in action.
You wouldn't be alone in your frustrations waiting for them to switch the pumps on for you, as a user recently took to Reddit to express their dismay.
"Anyone else get annoyed waiting for the petrol station attendant to turn the pumps on? I hate standing at the station making eye contact with the person behind the counter to hit the button to switch the pump on."
"The other night, it felt like zero degrees, and I just got a blank stare by the person working behind the counter for like five minutes before they finally activated the pump. Again, is it just me? Or everyone else? Any petrol station workers in here to explain why? Or is it to just watch and laugh?"
Other users joined in with their frustrations, while others didn't even realise that's why the pump doesn't work at times.
"Always get the wait for the pump to start, then when you go to pay, they are out the back somewhere stacking chips," said one user.
"It's under-staffed petrol stations. I've just started leaving, I'm not waiting," said another.
While many others didn't even realise that the attendant manually switched it.
"I might have had a huge Eureka moment here. I grew up in a country where we had people pump our fuel for us. Sometimes, it takes three seconds or 20 seconds for the flow to start. Have I got the angle wrong... have I pushed it too far in? Are you telling me that all this time, I've just been waiting for the attendant overlords to just turn the thing on?" proclaimed one motorist.
"This thread has been a useful revelation. I have always wondered why sometimes the pump doesn't seem to work when I am standing there flipping the trigger like an idiot," said another.
Drive contacted several major petrol stations in Australia, and we understand that the pump is manually activated by the attendant for a number of safety reasons. To ensure that if someone comes in to misuse the pump, or the attendant believes there is a chance the drivers will drive off without paying, they will not activate the pump.
Australia and Europe are the two continents where it is most common to pump your own fuel and then pay after, while in South and North America you pay before pumping for security reasons. Some African countries will have someone at the bowser pumping it for you, which is also a common occurrence in Japanese major cities.
However, in China, the most popular option is to pay with a card at the physical bowser, which is becoming a more common occurrence in North America as well.
The cashless prepaid wave has hit Australia, with Ampol actually rolling out a number of self-serve petrol stations under the "U-Go" brand. There are currently 20 around Australia, and they do not have an attendant or even a storefront; you just tap your card on the bowser and pump.
There is also already an option to do this on bowsers at most major stations, but most still require an attendant to press the button. If you hate waiting for the attendant to switch the pump on, this might be the next best thing for you to try.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
