Full-Service Gas Station Multitaskers Are a Nuisance

by Posted on

We have all seen these folks with atrocious full-service gas station etiquette. You know the type. Heck, you might even be one of these people.

They are convenience store gas station multitaskers. Their multitasking just happens to occur at the expense of other unsuspecting consumers.

They take up a pump then decide to go into the Wawa, Sheetz, Mobil, etc to do some shopping while their car is filling up. Unless they are filling up an obnoxious SUV like a Suburban, Tahoe or Escalade, they never get back to their car before their tank fills. Their cars end up sitting there, taking up a pump, and holding others up. I’m not talking about self-service PA, where you have to enter the store if you use cash. This applies to the full-service, multitasking jerks of the world.

I encountered one of these tools yesterday at the Wawa on Route 70, just west of the Benihana in Pennsauken. The gas station area buzzed with PA plate activity with gas prices hovering $2.00/gallon.

While waiting for a pump, a car from Virginia pulled up to another pump. The occupants spoke to the gas attendant then they both decided to exit their car and walk the thirty yards or so into Wawa. Ironically, they parked next to a sign advising them to remain in their car.

Nope. They had to go into Wawa. They couldn’t wait the five minutes max that it took to fill up their Toyota Solara?!

The car across from multitaskers pulled up, got gas, and rolled on. When that pump opened, I grabbed it. I, too, filled my tank and moved on while this couple from Virginia remained inside the store.

Here is their car, nozzle returned after getting their $20 of gas just taking up space. A minimum of two other patrons could’ve pulled up and got gas while these folks were inside, apparently ordering the world’s largest Shorti. This is a classic Rules of Civilized Life violation.

I get it. People are busy, but I don’t know how busy you can be during a pandemic with minimal activities available. It doesn’t require other-worldly observation skills to see the place is busy with cars waiting for pumps. It just takes a shred of decency, an ounce of awareness, a milligram of courtesy to realize you’re holding up others who have done absolutely nothing to you.

Get your gas and then go into the god damn store or vice versa. It’s not that hard.