As The Station Turns 10/22

 Today started off normally, and didn't stay that way. The Late Guy came by to tell me that the state wants the station to stop pumping premium or plus fuel until they do a through test of the storage tanks. So I rushed to get out of order signs written out and to put them on the pump. Two things, there was no scotch tape in the drawer so I had to cut strips of packing tape and of course I got mobbed by people while I was trying to do it. I finally got everything ready, got to the door and discovered that the Manager had already marked the pumps. As usual nobody told me the second half of the story.

As the Manager was closing the safe bill reader jammed up. This meant I was going to have to bundle drop money and I wouldn't be able to get any money back out. I've worked here long enough to keep extra coins and bills just in case.

There was a homeless guy hanging around, he's been here before. He isn't trouble, he buys stuff and then sits outside with his dog. However today he wasn't moving on, this is a clear sign that he's going to try to set up shop and become a problem. So I got the thankless task of having to go out and tell him the owners don't like loitering. At least he didn't try to argue with me about "free country" and all that other crap. 

A truck driver came in and made the comment that he wished he got paid to stand around all day doing nothing. I didn't say "and the horse you rode in on A-hole". I also considered saying "I wish I got to sit on my fat ass in a truck all day" but again I kept my mouth shut. I did flip him off as he was leaving.

I wanted to look up something about the local dump but as soon as I touched my iPad someone came in. He got some stuff and then kept jamming his card in and out of the reader and then hit all the wrong buttons. In the end the machine locked up. I had to open the second register long enough to run his card, which he once again tried to run wrong but I took it away from him and ran right, and then close the register. Meanwhile I had to unplug the reader at my register and let it reboot. Honestly, running cards is a simple thing and if you can't figure it out, tap it. Meanwhile I forgot what I was going to look up. A couple of hours later I remembered, I'm trying to find out about disposing of an old fridge. Looks like I'm going to have someone haul it off.

My very next customer wanted to prepay for the pump, half on his card and half in cash. However since they are two different prices so it's an either/or situation. He decided to just use the card and it was rejected. He finally just dug out the cash, which he could have done in the first place.

Some guy was being extra rude so I enjoyed forcing him to come back and sign his credit receipt.

A woman said other places were out of fuel. I wondered which station she was talking about but she didn't say. It would explain why it was busier than normal. 

And then the rain rolled in, and it rained hard. Naturally I got busy and they tracked up the floor. It got dark enough that I had to turn on the canopy lights but even though they are open across the street they left their lights off. And yes, the Part Time Woman was on shift over there.

The Boss ran in and out and "whoopsy" I forgot to tell him about the bill reader on the safe. I had a future reason.

Someone called looking for the Manager. I told them that she comes in from 6 AM until 2 PM so they said they would call back. Then I remembered that she doesn't come in on Friday so the guy would call in the morning and Mrs Late Guy will have to tell him to call back on Monday.

It was my second day of being able to do the ice uninterrupted but since it was raining so hard I put off doing the trash, I took care of it just before the end of the shift. 

Since business was slow I did a good once over on the restrooms, they have been stinking and I have to wonder if the graveyard shift has been properly cleaning them. As I was scrubbing I noticed that the new toilet seat in the mens room is already cracked. They need to stop buying the cheapest one they can find because in the long run it's costing them more to keep replacing them.

I actually got the floor mopped and it stayed clean until it was dry. Of course I got the usual 9 o'clock rush and they went out of their way to find the puddles outside so they could get their shoes wet before they came in. Oh well, since it was almost shift change I considered it to be not my problem. 

I got ready in advance for shift change and as soon as the Crazy Lady got in her drawer I rushed to get everything done. I was hoping she had customers when I punched in my last safe drop so she didn't see that the bill reader wasn't working but she was concentrating on counting the cigarettes and must not have seen it. I took my last bundle drop and and hid it under my paperwork in case she was watching. I then rushed out and left. I know it's evil but I was hoping she gets a $100 bill in the middle of the night and then discovers the safe isn't working. Oh how she'll go off. But thanks to the new schedule I won't see her until Wednesday and by then she'll have found something new to be pissed about. 

10/22

I went out for a morning walk and dropped by the West Side Station to say Hi to the Weekend Guy. Things are the same for him, I guess he's covering Monday and Tuesday since the manager is taking a week off. As far as I know Mrs. Late Guy will be covering Wednesday and Thursday. Since I have Monday off I'm gonna have to make a plan to visit again, if the weather is nice. Other than that it was the same complaints as usual.

I also went by the Haunted Station, I hd gone by earlier in the week and told the Late Guy I was going to need keys and he said he would take care of it. I asked again today and he hadn't gotten me a copy. Honestly, he's not the best manager. The place is still unstocked but I guess he's getting a big order on Saturday, which he's going to have to put out. I also figure he hasn't updated the prices in the register. He had the time to take care of all this last week but didn't. 

He also told me that the tank inspectors said the Truck Stop tanks have too much water in them. Here's a bit of insider information, stations are allowed to have a percentage of water in their fuel tanks but if it reaches a high point it becomes a problem. The solution is to have a pumper truck come and suck off the top layer but if the problem happens again it means you have a potential leak. If you're luck it's in your intake caps but if you're out of luck it means digging up the tanks and replacing them, which costs a lot of money and will shut the station down for about a month. At least I can work at the Haunted Station but the graveyard shift would be screwed. I guess we are at a wait and see point. I figured things were going to change over the next few months but this should get interesting. Then I came home and made sure I didn't answer my phone.