As petrol prices rise, try to dial back the pump rage people

Tuesday, 8 February 2022

It is perfectly reasonable for motorists to be angry about rising fuel costs, but don’t take it out on the staff. And don’t take your steering wheel off to do it either.

OPINION: As the price of petrol smashes through the three dollars a litre mark the Motor Trade Association (MTA) issued a press release asking motorists not to take any frustration out on the person behind the petrol station counter.

Surely, you are thinking to yourself, no rational, reasonable human being would ever think to blame the poor sod behind the counter, who is quite likely on the minimum wage, for fuel price increases?

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Well, sadly, I am here to tell you that paying for petrol removes all rationality and reasonableness from quite a lot of people. I know, because I was one of those poor sods behind the counter for a number of years.

MTA Energy and Environment Sector Manager Ian Baggott said in the release that it was “important to remember the bulk of the price drivers pay for petrol is made up of taxes.”

Taxes account for more than half the price we pay at the pump. (Video first published in May 2019)

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“It’s understandable that motorists feel frustrated – for many people it’s the last thing they need right now. But don’t blame the petrol companies, and especially, don’t blame the person behind the counter.”

Now, unlike Ian, I couldn’t really give a toss if you blame the petrol companies: yes, absolutely the bulk of petrol prices is taxes – 52 per cent of the per litre costs consists of fuel excise duty, the emission trading scheme levy, and GST, according to the MTA – and there are a lot of other costs associated with getting it from the ground in those hot sandy places to your local service station, but they aren’t exactly teetering on the verge of going out of business, even though the actual cost of oil is largely out of their control.

Petrol has broken through the $3-per-litre mark, and it doesn’t look like it will drop back any time soon.

So blame them all you want. Blame the Government all you want too. Hell, blame the Easter Bunny for all I care – it’s that person behind the counter that people need to let up on, because it’s a largely thankless job anyway, and one that sees you dealing with people who are making what can only ever be a grudge purchase. And they can often be quite unpleasant about it too.

While I met many wonderful people during my years on the forecourt, I was also on the receiving end of a number of full-throated rants about how I was personally forcing someone into poverty because it cost them 2 cents a litre more to fill their late model Mercedes-Benz. These weren’t just people venting about the general cost – they were fully blaming me and the other staff personally. Yes, it was weird.

I once interrupted a bloke blaming me for a price increase by saying “too right – I’m going to buy my second superyacht off the back of that extra $3 it's costing you to fill your Commodore”, a deeply sarcastic aside that actually seemed to drive home how utterly irrational he was being. After a stunned silence he muttered something like “Well, it’s obviously not you…” as he scuttled quickly away.

And I do get the need for people to vent about fuel prices, but just remember that even when you are just venting and not actually blaming the people you're venting to, those people are being affected by the prices rises just as much as you. Possibly even more so – there aren’t any employee discounts on petrol and the pay isn’t exactly at the top of the scale – so just give them a break.

But also remember that having a rant at someone serving you is not only pointless, it may actually work against you as well.

One of my most satisfying moments doing that largely soul-crushing job was the time I was up the ladder changing the fuel prices on the sign out the front of the station – that's right; none of your fancy electronic signs for us!

A beaten and filthy used import Toyota wagon came roaring in, slammed to a halt in front of the pumps and a small and remarkably angry man leapt out, his face already purple with righteous indignation.

'YOU'RE PUTTING UP THE PRICES AGAIN??!!' he literally screamed up at me as I was perched up a ladder, juggling plastic numbers and letters, desperately trying to not drop any because they shattered easily, and we were already reduced to using a few capital “I”s as “1”s.

He then shrieked something along the lines of 'I can't believe you are putting them up again! How can you do this? Don't you realise this will cost me a thousand dollars more to fill my car?!”

I might have my numbers off a bit with that last recollection, but you get the idea – he was ranting.

“I will show you!” he howled in an act of defiance that was sure to teach me a lesson. Me personally, the person wearing a supplied work shirt that always smelled of petrol no matter how many times it was washed and the cheapest shoes I could get away with in public because the diesel always ruined them anyway.

“I’m only putting $10 in!'

Yep, that showed me alright. I felt the effect almost instantly as I sat atop the ladder with the passive face of someone who has worked in retail long enough to just not care any more. He angrily dribbled a miserable amount of fuel into his car, before stomping inside and slamming his money down on the counter, then leaping back into his car and taking off again, still ranting the whole time.

From atop my ladder, I hadn't said a word from beginning to end.

I silently finished changing the prices, climbed carefully down the ladder – successfully managing to not drop any precious 1s – and said to the startled woman who had witnessed the tantrum: 'I probably should have let him know that I was actually putting the prices down…'