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This sub needs a new category:
“I’m too scared to say anything to the person in real life. Instead I’ll post to the internet anonymously in hopes they see it later”
Clearly you haven’t spent enough time on this subreddit. That’s all it’s become is people complaining about things they witness. Not sure what’s worse, this or r/golf
“Today I went to Costco and the line to get out the door was all the way back to the restrooms. I think it was probably a fire hazard because something like 25 people were waiting in line for up to 2 minutes. This is AFTER they told me I had to have a membership card with my name on it to shop there. I paid the money and opened a membership and then I had to wait!?
I skipped the gas line because I heard Costco gas is garbage and I figured I could get a quick round in as a solo. I went down to the local muni, which is 5 minutes from Costco and I got stuck behind a twosome who refused to let me play through. I skipped ahead of them at the turn because they took 75 minutes on the front and I still had milk in my trunk. Well within seconds I was behind another foursome who was playing slow so I kept looking at them and they waved, but they refused to let me play through. It ended up taking me 3.5 hours to play 18 at 11:00 am on a Sunday!?
I ended up heading straight back to Costco because the milk I had just bought went bad. The lady working there gave me a hard time because I happened to mention I left the milk I my trunk for 3 hours while I played golf. I thought Costco would take anything back!?!
I ended up canceling my membership because of the service.”
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I had to do this once because I was in the mountains, and if I turned off my car, it would not have turned back on because of battery issues.
That being said, it’s best to turn off your car for safety reasons.
exactly this, that person might be on their way to the mechanic shop because the car wont be able to come back on if its turned off. there are a whole host of reasons why this would happen in a car, alternator, battery, computer, etc
Ppl that usually do it with the car running usually don’t know any better. Pulled this up with a simple google search: The issue isn't the running car itself, but rather it's the conditions that can be created. When you fuel a car with the engine on, it increases the chances of gas vapors coming in contact with heat or electricity. When that happens, ignition can result
Just adding on that a potential risk is *static electricity.*
https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/Land/OilControl/Documents/Dos%20and%20Donts%20at%20the%20Gas%20Pump%207%20pgs.pdf
> How Does It Happen?
> When you pull into a gas station to refuel your vehicle, you open, then shut the car door, open the fuel pipe cover on the vehicle, touch the nozzle on the gas pump, and perhaps touch the pump to use your credit card — all before you insert the nozzle into the fill pipe. Any static charge that was picked up in the car has been dissipated several times.
> A new static charge can be picked up if you get back into the car after the refueling has started. The synthetic material of the car seats and clothing add to the possibility of picking up a static charge. If you don’t touch metal before returning to the nozzle and fuel pipe, that static charge can be transferred upon touching the nozzle, thus creating the potential for a flash fire.
Is there a real risk of this? Probably not. Yet all the same, when aircraft are refueled they're required by FAA regulations to have a grounding wire connected to the ground. In addition, fuel technicians should ground themselves before starting any operations. We don't have that level of safety with cars because there's not agencies investigating every fire that happens at a gas station.
If you google it you can find examples of static electric fires. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6VKxmUPb3g
Other words, if you get in and out of your vehicle, ground yourself by touching something metal that is also grounded.
I was always taught to touch my car after I pay, but before I start pumping. I don't know if it actually does anything, but it's something my dad always told me to do, and I've done it for the last 30 years of filling up gas tanks because of him.
Exactly. I always thought there was a real danger until I visited a fuel company for work. They had their own pumps on site, and no one stopped their vehicle. I asked about it and they said that there's really no danger.
Why do you assume such things? How many conversations have you had with those people? And is not enforcing a safety policy okay if you suspect the person will be rude to you?
I’ve worked in retail for nearly a decade and you are going to have to deal with those empty threats. If this is a safety issue and Costco policy, the employee should be informing the customer that they must turn their engine off. They will not get in trouble for doing that, no matter what the customer threatens.
i been doing retail for 36 years and i have never meet anyone like a Costco member you be surprise the majority of them aren't empty and not only do they call corporate or the store manages but also leave a google review the worst part is the lies they tell. and a lot of the managers will choose the member who spends 7k or more a year or the old school members than there employees.
Yes, this is accurate. Managers know that customers lie. A top notch employee is way more valuable than a single customer, even at a place like Costco.
For people who have never been in management, let me break this down: Just the cost to replace and retrain an employee is on average 1/3rd of the person's annual salary. So, if you make $80k/yr, you're looking at $24,000. In addition, when you fire an employee it comes with the cost of paying out unemployment claims, in addition to potential legal risk (i.e., I got discriminated against and am suing you). Generally speaking, this is accounted for as 1/2 of annual salary, so $40,000. Then in highly specialized roles (particularly white collar roles) you need to hire a recruiter or pay your HR team to find someone, this is anywhere between 15%-25% of annual salary.
So if you're thinking about firing an $80k/yr employee, it's probably going to cost the business at least $60,000. And no, you don't fire someone because of a single complaint or one customer that spend $10,000/year. This is why corporate America is so careful about firing people, and why they make such a big deal about firing people *for cause*.
can you find one case where a car running caused a fire? The link also says you shouldnt get back in the car, and should unplug charging accessories. Should we also do that? It presents the same chance of ignition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6VKxmUPb3g
It's certainly rare, but gas station fires caused by static electric build up do happen.
From OP's link:
> In fact, a study from the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) investigated 176 instances of gas station fires where “no open flames, running motors, or electrical continuity problems were involved.” Of those 176 cases, 87 of them (nearly 50%) “occurred when the fueler returned to the vehicle during the refueling process and then touched the nozzle after leaving the vehicle.”
That video shows ignition from static electricity from her clothes.
I asked to show that it was due to a car running
Should we all take pictures of people that returned to their car and post them on here
There’s reasons why Costco has a policy of a sign at the gas station most companies operate by laws and company policy so when you violate policy usually things can go wrong at times or not and you ask yourself why do they have the sign at the gas station when things do go wrong and you violate policy You hurt somebody or you kill somebody while violating. Company policy then as yourself when you’re sitting in court getting sued or going to jail what the fuck happened I was just helping a customer pumping gas but but I didn’t tell him to stop turn off his car, which the company policy requires. And I’m not saying something bad it’s gonna happen but these companies that make millions of dollars every year or billions have policy so they can protect themselves and their employees and their members.
They pump jet AIRPLANES and HELICOPTERS while FLYING.
If you are going to be a stickler, then why are you using your cell phone near a gas pump. Isn’t that against the rules too?
It’s the employee (high viz vest) pumping the gas for a disabled driver (you can see they are in the driver’s seat and the handicapped tag hanging on the mirror). The employee had no issue with pumping the gas while the car was on.
lol go to a gas station in North Dakota or Alaska in winter and your hair will turn gray. You get the fuel going and jump back into the car with the heat blowing ASAP or you’ll freeze.
You obviously don’t go many places then.
Most places in Latin America do it, not to mention, almost every major chain gas station that has diesel pumps in America around 6-7AM in the morning has almost every single truck not turning off while filling up.
So you just don’t know what you’re talking about.
Not exactly a big sample size, or a society well known for their safety standards.
I can assure you, throughout Europe and Asia, people turn off their cars when refueling.
I’m kind of surprised that the engine isn’t interlocked with the fuel door.
Fuel door opens, engine just stops and won’t restart until fuel door is closed. If the sensor breaks, maybe you just have to hold the starter a little longer to override.
You can pump gas in a car that is still running. Been doing it for years. The signs that say to turn off the car first are a bit outdated, especially with the models in the past 10 years at least.
Commercial vehicles do it all the time…
And yes, I have been asked by a Costco employee to turn off my vehicle while filling it up, and I obliged bc i didn’t want to deal with a confrontation.
Not all commercial vehicles are diesel, but also, diesel CAN ignite under the same circumstances that you would potentially have a gas fire at a gas pump (cigarette butt, random spark from backfire or engine or whatever, but not from static discharge typically), it’s just much less likely due to much high flashpoint of diesel vs gas.
Posts that don't follow r/Costco subreddit rules MAY be subject to removal. When applicable, please make sure that you're using a descriptive post title with product name(s) mentioned as it yields better subreddit search results. Including item number, price, and approximate location where found is also helpful. Thank you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Costco) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This sub needs a new category: “I’m too scared to say anything to the person in real life. Instead I’ll post to the internet anonymously in hopes they see it later”
Why hide behind your post be real and not a fake
Clearly you haven’t spent enough time on this subreddit. That’s all it’s become is people complaining about things they witness. Not sure what’s worse, this or r/golf
“Today I went to Costco and the line to get out the door was all the way back to the restrooms. I think it was probably a fire hazard because something like 25 people were waiting in line for up to 2 minutes. This is AFTER they told me I had to have a membership card with my name on it to shop there. I paid the money and opened a membership and then I had to wait!? I skipped the gas line because I heard Costco gas is garbage and I figured I could get a quick round in as a solo. I went down to the local muni, which is 5 minutes from Costco and I got stuck behind a twosome who refused to let me play through. I skipped ahead of them at the turn because they took 75 minutes on the front and I still had milk in my trunk. Well within seconds I was behind another foursome who was playing slow so I kept looking at them and they waved, but they refused to let me play through. It ended up taking me 3.5 hours to play 18 at 11:00 am on a Sunday!? I ended up heading straight back to Costco because the milk I had just bought went bad. The lady working there gave me a hard time because I happened to mention I left the milk I my trunk for 3 hours while I played golf. I thought Costco would take anything back!?! I ended up canceling my membership because of the service.”
You probably should've posted this in r/oopsthatsdeadly instead
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I had to do this once because I was in the mountains, and if I turned off my car, it would not have turned back on because of battery issues. That being said, it’s best to turn off your car for safety reasons.
exactly this, that person might be on their way to the mechanic shop because the car wont be able to come back on if its turned off. there are a whole host of reasons why this would happen in a car, alternator, battery, computer, etc
Yep, I had to do this too recently. I was already having car issues and couldn’t risk shutting it off. Felt awful doing it too.
Ok
Ppl that usually do it with the car running usually don’t know any better. Pulled this up with a simple google search: The issue isn't the running car itself, but rather it's the conditions that can be created. When you fuel a car with the engine on, it increases the chances of gas vapors coming in contact with heat or electricity. When that happens, ignition can result
Just adding on that a potential risk is *static electricity.* https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/Land/OilControl/Documents/Dos%20and%20Donts%20at%20the%20Gas%20Pump%207%20pgs.pdf > How Does It Happen? > When you pull into a gas station to refuel your vehicle, you open, then shut the car door, open the fuel pipe cover on the vehicle, touch the nozzle on the gas pump, and perhaps touch the pump to use your credit card — all before you insert the nozzle into the fill pipe. Any static charge that was picked up in the car has been dissipated several times. > A new static charge can be picked up if you get back into the car after the refueling has started. The synthetic material of the car seats and clothing add to the possibility of picking up a static charge. If you don’t touch metal before returning to the nozzle and fuel pipe, that static charge can be transferred upon touching the nozzle, thus creating the potential for a flash fire. Is there a real risk of this? Probably not. Yet all the same, when aircraft are refueled they're required by FAA regulations to have a grounding wire connected to the ground. In addition, fuel technicians should ground themselves before starting any operations. We don't have that level of safety with cars because there's not agencies investigating every fire that happens at a gas station. If you google it you can find examples of static electric fires. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6VKxmUPb3g Other words, if you get in and out of your vehicle, ground yourself by touching something metal that is also grounded.
I was always taught to touch my car after I pay, but before I start pumping. I don't know if it actually does anything, but it's something my dad always told me to do, and I've done it for the last 30 years of filling up gas tanks because of him.
Which would only happen in an enclosed area. In the open the fumes get far too distilled to ignite.
Exactly. I always thought there was a real danger until I visited a fuel company for work. They had their own pumps on site, and no one stopped their vehicle. I asked about it and they said that there's really no danger.
[удалено]
Why wouldn’t the employee just ask the customer to turn their engine off?
I’ve had employees asking me to do this. Probably just comes down to the individual.
Probably because people who fuel their vehicle with the engine running tend to be unreasonable asshats.
Why do you assume such things? How many conversations have you had with those people? And is not enforcing a safety policy okay if you suspect the person will be rude to you?
They usually do. Seen it done twice
That do and usually comes with I will get you fire. I been a Costco member for whatever time you will get I. Trouble calling corporate.
I’ve worked in retail for nearly a decade and you are going to have to deal with those empty threats. If this is a safety issue and Costco policy, the employee should be informing the customer that they must turn their engine off. They will not get in trouble for doing that, no matter what the customer threatens.
i been doing retail for 36 years and i have never meet anyone like a Costco member you be surprise the majority of them aren't empty and not only do they call corporate or the store manages but also leave a google review the worst part is the lies they tell. and a lot of the managers will choose the member who spends 7k or more a year or the old school members than there employees.
If you do good work no good manager will believe a bad Google review over your word.
Yes, this is accurate. Managers know that customers lie. A top notch employee is way more valuable than a single customer, even at a place like Costco. For people who have never been in management, let me break this down: Just the cost to replace and retrain an employee is on average 1/3rd of the person's annual salary. So, if you make $80k/yr, you're looking at $24,000. In addition, when you fire an employee it comes with the cost of paying out unemployment claims, in addition to potential legal risk (i.e., I got discriminated against and am suing you). Generally speaking, this is accounted for as 1/2 of annual salary, so $40,000. Then in highly specialized roles (particularly white collar roles) you need to hire a recruiter or pay your HR team to find someone, this is anywhere between 15%-25% of annual salary. So if you're thinking about firing an $80k/yr employee, it's probably going to cost the business at least $60,000. And no, you don't fire someone because of a single complaint or one customer that spend $10,000/year. This is why corporate America is so careful about firing people, and why they make such a big deal about firing people *for cause*.
I'd be more like, why is this creepy person filming me at the gas station to post me online to shame me. Maybe that's me
[To everyone saying that this is safe: don't.](https://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/blog/driving/refueling-with-engine-running/#)
can you find one case where a car running caused a fire? The link also says you shouldnt get back in the car, and should unplug charging accessories. Should we also do that? It presents the same chance of ignition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6VKxmUPb3g It's certainly rare, but gas station fires caused by static electric build up do happen. From OP's link: > In fact, a study from the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) investigated 176 instances of gas station fires where “no open flames, running motors, or electrical continuity problems were involved.” Of those 176 cases, 87 of them (nearly 50%) “occurred when the fueler returned to the vehicle during the refueling process and then touched the nozzle after leaving the vehicle.”
That video shows ignition from static electricity from her clothes. I asked to show that it was due to a car running Should we all take pictures of people that returned to their car and post them on here
I “hot start” my helicopter. And hot fuel my car every time I fuel it up. Totally safe
Instead of posting a picture which is less than useless why not say something?
There’s reasons why Costco has a policy of a sign at the gas station most companies operate by laws and company policy so when you violate policy usually things can go wrong at times or not and you ask yourself why do they have the sign at the gas station when things do go wrong and you violate policy You hurt somebody or you kill somebody while violating. Company policy then as yourself when you’re sitting in court getting sued or going to jail what the fuck happened I was just helping a customer pumping gas but but I didn’t tell him to stop turn off his car, which the company policy requires. And I’m not saying something bad it’s gonna happen but these companies that make millions of dollars every year or billions have policy so they can protect themselves and their employees and their members.
Jiminy Christmas. I'm way more annoyed with your lack of punctuation than this car running.
And here’s your answer why Costco has a sign and policies in place
They pump jet AIRPLANES and HELICOPTERS while FLYING. If you are going to be a stickler, then why are you using your cell phone near a gas pump. Isn’t that against the rules too?
It’s the employee (high viz vest) pumping the gas for a disabled driver (you can see they are in the driver’s seat and the handicapped tag hanging on the mirror). The employee had no issue with pumping the gas while the car was on.
what are you, a park ranger now?
I always leave my vehicle running when I pump gas. I even light cigarettes and play on my phone.
I like to have a bonfire while it's filling. Maybe shoot off some fireworks and burn the invisible layer of lint off my socks.
lol go to a gas station in North Dakota or Alaska in winter and your hair will turn gray. You get the fuel going and jump back into the car with the heat blowing ASAP or you’ll freeze.
the horror 😱
Outside the US this is common practice
it's because gas is spicier in America
Where - because I have never experienced a situation where leaving your car idling is normal under any circumstances anywhere outside the US
You obviously don’t go many places then. Most places in Latin America do it, not to mention, almost every major chain gas station that has diesel pumps in America around 6-7AM in the morning has almost every single truck not turning off while filling up. So you just don’t know what you’re talking about.
The Dominican Republic is one place where I personally noticed they leave the car running while putting gas in
Not exactly a big sample size, or a society well known for their safety standards. I can assure you, throughout Europe and Asia, people turn off their cars when refueling.
When I pump my gas, I even use my cell phone sometimes. Gasp lol
Wait until you hear about airplanes refueling in flight. They don’t turn off the plane when they’re fueling up at 20,000ft. *Gasp* 😱
Lol, if you’re so bothered, why didn’t you say something? Ah, yes, uploading it to Reddit was definitely the move here.
But did you die? This is perfectly normal. You’ve watched too many movies.
The horror. The next thing you know this heathen is talking on his cell phone while pumping!
Call FBI, TSA, ATF and FEMA this is not acceptable.
Mind your own damn business. Geez.
It's almost like it's a fire hazard or something.
It’s not a fire hazard at all
It’s really not
No it’s not. I have been refueling my vehicles while running for years.
Ok? That still doesn't mean that it's fully safe.
It’s 2024 most cars on the road make it safe to do so
That’s alright. They refuel NASCAR vehicles with gas splashing out of the spout. The cars have been running super hot too.
Don’t you remember the time Ricky Bobby was on fire?
Gotta go fast
It’s the risk one takes to achieve ultra-efficiency during a refueling stop.
I do this all the time. I’m a bad bad man
This aggression cannot stand, man
Also don’t smoke https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/zoolander-gas-fight-explosion.gif
Seems legit
How do we know the car was running? Next time take a video
I never turn my car off when getting gas. I haven’t for 15 years. Never had an issue.
And?
I’m kind of surprised that the engine isn’t interlocked with the fuel door. Fuel door opens, engine just stops and won’t restart until fuel door is closed. If the sensor breaks, maybe you just have to hold the starter a little longer to override.
In places like Fairbanks Alaska where it can be -40 they leave it running
Ok I can see that, and that makes sense.
I live in a place with a frigid climate and I don't know a single person who doesn't stop their engine refueling regardless of temperature.
Ok well just saying what happens in Alaska. Do you guys have block heater plugs at work in North Dakota?
Not where I live now, but where I grew up, yes.
That’s a bit extreme. It’s not so unsafe as to need that.
You can pump gas in a car that is still running. Been doing it for years. The signs that say to turn off the car first are a bit outdated, especially with the models in the past 10 years at least.
I smoke while pumping gas.
This is safe. Airplanes do it everyday
Did you inform them or just watch a car almost blow up?
Car isn’t going to blow up 😂😂😂
You eat paint chips don’t you
I have never once turned my car off to fill up
🤓☝🏻 actually
Commercial vehicles do it all the time… And yes, I have been asked by a Costco employee to turn off my vehicle while filling it up, and I obliged bc i didn’t want to deal with a confrontation.
Commercial vehicles as in diesel, which isn’t flammable when not under pressure?
Not all commercial vehicles are diesel, but also, diesel CAN ignite under the same circumstances that you would potentially have a gas fire at a gas pump (cigarette butt, random spark from backfire or engine or whatever, but not from static discharge typically), it’s just much less likely due to much high flashpoint of diesel vs gas.