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10 Things Almost All Gas Station Clerks Understand

By Kathryn K

By Kathryn KetchumPublished 6 years ago 6 min read
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These are some of the top things most grocery store gas station clerks understand. If you are reading this you might be agreeing or adding to this list, or perhaps you are someone who has always wanted to know what the clerk in the booth deals with. So let's begin on this journey of the top 10 things me and my coworkers can all agree with.

1. The Bathroom Situation

Okay so if your kiosk is anything like mine then you have your main area where everything happens, then you have your storage room on the side of the building, and then in the back is the restroom. So it seems like every time that you need to go use the restroom all your pumps are filled with cars and you have a line of people who would like to pay for their fuel or get cigarettes. I can't tell you how many times I have had to hope for the best and chance it at times!

2. Lunch Breaks

Okay so at my store our board doesn't have the gas station clerk on it, so our managers kind of have to remember us. There has been many times were we had to call the store to remind them "Heyyyyy, yyyeeeeaahhh I'm still out here sooo can I get someone to take over so I can get food?" Not to mention that we only get one break and that is for lunch and that is it. So, if you go to up to your clerk and they seem like they aren't in the best of moods their lunch could be pretty late.

3. Snacks and Drink Situations

Look, if your kiosk doesn't have a cooler outside or a snack tray outside, then most likely WE DO NOT SELL ANY! I'm serious here, everyday I get asked at least one time a day, "Hi, yeah so do y'all sell any cokes?" I'm telling you right now that in my head I'm telling you how idiotic you are since you can see all around you and inside my kiosk that THERE ARE NO DRINKS! So please if you don't see any, then guess what, we don't sell any here.

4. How Boring It Gets Inside the Kiosk

Okay so we have to watch all the pumps, our screen, the customers, and we have to make sure that everything runs smoothly. Let me tell you right now I have so many game apps downloaded onto my phone because of how bored I get. Listening to the radio gets boring once you have heard the same twelve songs over and over again. Sudoku has been one of my favorite things lately.

5. People Who Drive Off

Yes we know that you are going to do it, yes we already written your information down and yes it irritates us so much. Stop doing this to us please. Oh if you have done this and are thinking awesome I got away with it! Think again. Most likely all of your information was already given to the police station. For real though nothing pisses us off more than when y'all do this. Seriously guys why, just stop and pay for the fuel. Don't make us pissed off for the rest of our eight plus hour shift that we most likely wish we didn't have to be at.

6. Understanding Customers Through the Microphone

Look I understand some of y'all don't like to talk to anyone, but if I have to turn up my volume just to hear you say one word and I'm looking at you like a lost dog, then we might have a problem. I have guessed on so many people's orders before, yes most of us do this, actually almost all of us have had to do this more than once. The customers who are so soft spoken are one of the hardest to understand, if anything write it down for us. We can't always understand you.

7. Storm Situations

Okay I'm from the south where we have hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes. Now let me tell you, during the hurricane that recently happened we had tornadoes popping up all around me. My kiosk is seriously bolted by only five bolts. FIVE! There was a tornado that was 5 miles from me. I can't tell you how many times I thought I might die tonight in this small kiosk. Not to mention that if it starts flooding it floods in the kiosk too. Some of us have small markings of how far the water has gotten. Also, at eight in the evening when all of the town's power goes out and you are there in the dark, alone, you start questioning why you work out there.

8. Fear of Being Robbed

Look when I got trained out there the very first question I asked was "By any chance are those windows sounding us bullet proof?" The answer I was given "uhmm maybe?" Yeahh uhm that totally makes me feel better. Okay yes we have a panic button, but no one has used it and I'm thinking that with my luck it doesn't work. So being out there late at night with these shady people walking up to me in a hoodie with their hands in their pockets totally doesn't freak us out at all. So, the fact that anyone if they really wanted to could rob us totally doesn't freak us out at all.

9. Keys

Look I have a lanyard that has fifteen keys on it. Do you want to know how many are used? Three... Three keys are only used. What in the world are the other keys for?! We carry around all these darn keys and only use three and wonder what the hell we are going to use the other twelve for. There aren't even twelve other locks. Like why?

10. The People

I can not tell you how many strange and odd people I have and others have encountered while working out there. These are the people that won't go in the store dressed how they are, but by all means they will pump gas. I have seen people in their underwear, costumes in the middle of march with no other event going on for said costume, people who don't match one bit at all, oh and of course my favorite the people who have legit just walked out of the hospital and are seriously still in their hospital gowns. Why people, why? I remember getting trained and that first day this guy with IV's still hooked to him and he is still in his hospital gown came up and asked for Pall Mall Blue 100's. I took his money looked at his stomach that was bleeding and looked at his arm which was wrapped in gauze gave him his cigarettes and totally forgot to give him back his change. Oops.

So did you agree with this, or by any chance would you be willing to work as a gas station clerk for a store?

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About the Creator

Kathryn Ketchum

New to writing, but it is one of my passions that i'm not the best at. So i'm here just getting by and hoping for the best. Did I mention i'm a major nerd with video games.

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