A Clerk's Memories of a Gas Station from Hell

A few years ago, I worked at a gas station in a popular little southern college town. My gas station experiences were some of my darker ones while living there, because I had a constant stream of shady customers for the eight hours I was working. A manager would be available early in the day, but for most of my shift, I was on my own.

I counted out change for $100 to a woman one time, and she dropped her hands to her bag and continued to stand there as I checked out the next person. When I was finished, she began to have a tantrum and claimed I didn't give her all of her money. A line of irate morning customers, on their way to work, had to be halted so my manager could count the drawer and determine who was being truthful.

A man spent a lot of time loitering in the parking lot. He would ride around the parking lot on his bicycle, and then beg for change when anyone walked by. He did this for entire shifts, and then he would come inside, with a huge handful of change, grab a multi-pack of alcohol from the freezer and plunk everything down on the counter.

As I watched change roll across the counter in different directions, he would ask, "Is this enough?" So, I would have to count mostly small change such as pennies and nickels and then tell him, "No, you'll have to put some of that back."

Many customers attempted to scam me. Others yelled in my face because I did not have the ability to repair one of the gas pumps (even though there were several others to choose from). I thought one man was going to rob me because he waited beside the store in his car for fifteen minutes passed closing, and he was only sitting there.

I would receive creepy calls throughout my shift from guys who said they'd been inside and watching me. The calls would get me in trouble with my manager, because I wasn't supposed to be on the phone. Even when I wasn't working, the callers would call the store asking if I was in.

Then the final straw was when a couple of people drove away without paying for gas. I called 911, and I reported the theft. Despite a cop being in the parking lot next door, he waited a full 30 minutes and allowed the thieves to get away. So, the money came from my paycheck, and I promptly quit working at that vile place.

I realize others have had far worse experiences, and I was lucky to leave unscathed. This was my first job experience, and as a young woman, it was not an appropriate choice.

What have your clerk experiences been like?