I patiently waited for two customers ahead of me to pump their gas at the local Costco gas station. The customer in front of me just started to pump his gas. The person in front of that vehicle finished and was about to drive away, then does. With an open spot in front of the customer in front of me, I decided to wait till he was finished. Easy to then pull to the first pump, allowing someone to drive their vehicle behind me to the second pump.

I look across to another pump/gas lane. That next customer is waiting for an open spot. I see the person eyeing the recently opened spot ahead of the man pumping gas in front of me. I shake my head no. What does that mean to the person? Does it mean I am not swinging around the vehicle in front of me to get to the open spot? Or does it mean, don’t think about it as I am here and will slide into that first spot when the customer in front of me is done?

I meant it to mean … stay in your own lane … I will take that spot when my path is clear! I drive an 18 foot Ram Promaster van, not the type of vehicle to slip in between other vehicles at a busy gas station, such as Costco. Plus, give it a minute; be patient. The person in front of me will finish up and leave very soon. Then I will move forward!

Nope … the customer in that other lane slinks into the first spot in front of the vehicle in front of me. I’m now hoping my patience is a virtue. The man in front of me finishes pumping gas. The person in the vehicle in front of him is trying to open their gas cap. After contorting their body to undo their gas cap every which way, and apparently with no success, they drive off. Is that karma? The person in the vehicle in front of me drives off too.

I pull forward to the first spot and another vehicle follows behind me. This is the way I think it should work. After jumping out of my vehicle and opening my gas tank, I pull the gas nozzle and start pumping gas. It has been 6 weeks since I have last pumped gas due to my travel elsewhere ….  here I am thinking, pump gas and get my bill … but wait a second, that is not how it works at a Costco gas station! What has happened!?!

I stop pumping gas at $3.99. The nozzle is returned to the machine and I think about what just happened. Using my Costco and credit card, I then pump my gas. With a full tank, I leave the station looking for the vehicle of the person who had difficulty with their gas cap. No person or vehicle is around. No attendant and the Costco store is not open yet so I leave.

I spend some time thinking about all this. A person pushed their way into that spot at the pump, could not open their gas cap, left with no gas, and paid for another person’s gas … be it $3.99. Wow, that’s not really a good day for the individual!

After considering various ways to remedy the situation since someone just paid $3.99 for my gas, I called the local Costco administrative team. I then had to call the next day and ask for a specific person. Don’t get me wrong; I asked myself, should I really worry about this person paying $3.99 or their having to fight with their credit card company over a bill that is not theirs? I mean they were ridiculous in their behavior to jump ahead and get their gas … and then they didn’t. 

The person I am though wanted to resolve this since I would always hope someone would do the same for me. Yes $3.99 is not going to make anyone starve or go bankrupt …  as a matter of fact they may not even notice the charge. Yet I know what happened!

So, long story short … Costco will call the individual and verify it was them and not someone else trying to use their card … then remove the $3.99 bill from their account. That’s the way it should work; thank you Costco!