AT THE PETROL STATION

Petrol prices are soaring high. In fact this is the new thing on the block these days .The newspapers, the news channels, the dharnas, the morchas, the bharat bandhs are all about it. To be honest the situation is alarming and it is getting very difficult for Indian middle class like you and me. But I am not writing this post to blabber about this same old stuff as you can read and hear about it anywhere and anytime.

Today I was getting my car refueled at the petrol station nearby my residence and there was a heavy volume of vehicles coming in for the same. Since it took quite a long time to get my turn I was just observing in general ‘what’s going on around me’. Now this thought came to my mind and to be honest it does every time I go to a petrol station. I was observing each and every person whose turn it was to get the refueling done. There’s one thing I observed common in 90% of the people and felt strange about it, so want to ask you also is that why does one need to get off the car and stand besides the employee to see each and every thing. Alright the petrol prices are touching skies and the petrol has really become very precious and valuable but you don’t need to get so fidgety and apprehensive about it. Is it the excessive lack of trust on the petrol pump employee and the fear that he is going to run away with 10 drops of the petrol for which you are paying? 

All you need to do is check the ‘ZERO’, if the desired balance entered is correct (both of which 99%of the times are absolutely correct) and for the curious ones how the litres you are getting for the same money is decreasing day by day and believe me all this is visible comfortably while sitting in the car from your window. Well if you are so interested in getting off your car and be a part of this whole process yourself I think you should in fact go to self service petrol stations which finally are being introduced in India. 

The automobile industry is always trying hard to provide more comfort to its customers and as a result of which several features like the push buttons to open your fuel gauge are being provided in your vehicles nowadays so that you don’t have to get off your vehicle but no we will get off and stand on the head of the employee plus waste time in getting off then getting back in your vehicle adjusting yourself again and on the whole wasting time of everyone else(at least the 10% of those who don’t have this strange habit) . I would really love to hear about the intent and the psychology behind this habit.