THERE ARE LESS AND LESS ”FULL SERVE” OPTIONAL GAS STATIONS AND MORE AND MORE SELF SERVE. NOW FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO ARE DISABLED AND IN A WHEELCHAIR I CAN GET OUT OF MY CAR BUT STILL CAN NOT OPERATE THE GAS PUMPS BECAUSE THEY ARE TO HIGH OR HAVE CONCRETE AROUND THEM AND UP TO HIGH. SO I HAVE TO TRY AND FIND A FULL SERVE AND PAY THE EXTRA WHICH I THINK ISNT FAIR JUST BECUASE I CANT PUMP MY OWN FUEL WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO PAY MORE FOR SOMETHING I CANT CONTROL. AND IN THE CITY I CAN COUNT ON ONE HAND THE STATIONS THAT ARE FULL SERVE AND THEY CLOSE THOSE AT AROUND 9. I HAVE HAD TO DRIVE HOME PRAYING THAT I WOULDNT RUN OUT OF FUEL JUST BECAUSE OF THIS. AND NOT JUST ME AS A DISABLED PERSON BUT ALSO THEY ELDERLY SHOULDNT HAVE TO PUMP THERE OWN FUEL AND HAVE TO PAY THE EXTRA JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE OLDER AND UNABLE OR FIND IT HARD . AND WITH THE PRICE OF FUEL IT MAY ONLY BE A FEW CENTS BUT FOR A PERSON ON A FIXED INCOME EVERY PENNY COUNTS. AND STATIONS NOW A DAYS IN THE CITY USUALLY HAVE ONLY ONE PERSON WORKING SO I CANT EVEN ASK FOR HELP BECAUSE THEY CANT LEAVE THE STORE TO COME AND HELP ME. I LIVE IN THE COUNTRY AND I AM LUCKY ONE WAY I HAVE A FULL SERVE NEAR ME BUT IF I WANT TO GO TO THE CITY AFTER NINE AND HAVE NO ONE WITH ME I AM BASICALLY SCREWED. SO I KINDA FIND THIS A FORM OF DISCRIMANATION TOWARD DISABLED AND ELDERLY PEOPLE HAVING TO PAY EXTRA ”IF” YOU CAN FIND A FULL SERVE. AND WHEN I AM LUCKY ENUFF TO FIND A FULL SERVE THE KIDS THEY HAVE WORKING DONT EVEN KNOW HOW TO CHECK OIL OR EVEN OPEN A HOOD. I THINK IF YOUR WORKING FOR A SERVICE STATION YOU SHOULD HAVE SOME BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF A CAR ATLEAST HOW TO CHECK OIL . WELL I COULD GO ON ALOT MORE ABOUT THIS BUT THATS JUST MY RANT I WANTED TO GET OFF MY CHEST.
—JAYHHOOD
This article appears in Feb 4-10, 2010.
HOLY FUCKING WALL OF TEXT!
You could probably pull into a gas station and ask someone to help you( doesn’t have to be an employee) I know if someone in your position asked me for help I would most certainly pump their gas for them. You would be surprised in how many people would help you pump your gas, as apposed to crossing your fingers and hoping you get home on empty. Try it the next time your in pinch like that.
saw on elderly couple pull up to a station with a sign that they displayed in their window that said “fueling assistance required” and someone came out and did it for them….
Option?
you can be the Canadian Tom Mundy!
seriously… you’re already disabled, may as well piss everyone in the city off by profiting from it.
zZz… profiting???? tsk tsk tsk
This bitch is totally valid. It’s interesting gas stations are required to have wheelchair friendly public washroom facilities but the facility of their service is not held to the same public standard.
I felt ripped off suddenly having to pay for full serve or not having the option at all. The 80’s were somethin’ else.
Jay, this is a discrimination issue and you could file a complaint with the human rights commission but you might find better support speaking to local community reps about your plight and learning if others in your situation support your position. If they do your local MP will finally have something to do that matters. Call ’em up!
kay, the dude makes 100K a year suing people.
that’s most certainly profit.
and all the handy-capable people rejoice in getting upgraded facilities.
I was going to say “get off your ass and do something about it” but thought that may have been in poor taste.
I suppose the OP could file a human rights complaint specifying damages to see the law changed after costing taxpayers a settlement. The issue doesn’t seem trivial nor the way of fixing this problem a huge, impossible or even inconvenient endeavor so if he rallies the support of disability support groups and his MP to see the law amended this is not about the OP getting rich. It’s about the OP (and people like him) gassing up his transport he obtained a permit to operate on public streets. Even CrappyTire is required to provide wheelchair access when you’re waiting to have said vehicle serviced. The store is required to provide access at the front door, checkout and washrooms. Why not extend this privilege to the heart of the service the gas station offers?
Who cares if the patron can fit his wheelchair in the door to pay for gas or to use the washroom if the core of the facility is lost to him? I’ll bet if gas station owners knew this was a problem they’d comply with designs that work… and sell more gas.
“this is not about the OP getting rich. It’s about the OP (and people like him) gassing up his transport he obtained a permit to operate on public streets.”
hmmmm, why can’t it be both?
granted it’s not his motive, but if it were to be had, surely he would pad is yearly income with an extra 6 figures. I know I would… I’m debating running in front of a car on the way home just for that reason.
Handicapped or not, gas stations want you to get out of your car so it’s that much easier for you to go inside and pick up some milk and smokes and other things that are more profitable than gas sales.
Whatever happened to asking for help? I know that having to ask for help everywhere you go sucks ass, but it’s an option. Or maybe you frequent one location and let the staff know about your issue so they can help you?
Or you could move to New Jersey. Gas stations have to be Full Serve by law.
Despite what kay may tell you, there are compassionate folk in this city.
Yeah, this bitch is totally valid and brings up an issue I hadn’t even considered. Who knows when any of us could (any day) find ourselves in the same situation. When I get gas I always pull into the self-service lanes anyway (1. to not look totally lazy…. 2. to free up the full service lanes for those that may need it)
Jay, I’d like to think that even those hired without knowledge of checking oil or tire pressure would easily pick it up after, oh, ONE time…. The sad thing is, if you WERE to pull in and have to say, honk your horn or something, they would likely become annoyed right from the get-go. “Why is this fucker honking… what’s his problem?”
I would seriously consider contacting your MLA or some government type because these are the kinds of things they would consider worthwhile concerns. You never know……. I contacted an MLA because I wanted a job interview one summer at a place where it was about “who you knew”….. I was called the next day. It’s worth a shot. I would even back you as a concerned citizen.
I like Doc Fever’s idea of frequenting the same gas station in the meantime. Let them know you’ll be coming by at a certain time and you would like some assistance. By doing this not only would you get assistance and a sense of comfort knowing you won’t have problems, but they’ll come to know you. And if you’re super nice and give them candy everytime, they’ll come running as soon as they see you pull in…..
On a side note, z- i knew you were cruel, but you’ve shocked even me with your comments on this one!
I guess I am the only one who figures…if you can’t gas up your car. Then stay home!
Or better yet sign yourself into some care facility, & then not only will you not have to worry about gasing up the ole car…you won’t even have to wipe your ass if you don’t want to !
{ Doesn’t anyone know how to ASK for assistance anymore }
meh, I was holding back.
amazing what this anonymous forum can bring out in a person, it is.
even if it’s not anonymous to everyone.
I never thought about this before, but it is rediculous that full serve costs more, most people pump their own gas even if full serve is available don’t they? It’s not like if it was the same price as self everyone would just sit in a huge line-up idling their vehicles waiting to be waited on. Most people want to do things themselves (think self check-outs) nowadays, don’t they?
More, I hope you are the only one who thinks “if you can’t gas up your car. Then stay home!” This OP is obviously able to get in and out and operate his vehicle! And I’m sure if he/she is independant enough to be travelling alone, he/she would probably be happy to pump his/her own gas if it was possible to do so! Take the advice of some others on here, OP, and contact your MLA or whoever you can think of to have this changed…it really isn’t fair!
Oh and just ignore the ignorant asshats on here, they just want to get a rise out of us!
so op i guess you’re asking gas stations to hire a gas jockey to be on standby for disabled clients; well that makes total sense yea sure.
fuck lori, I’d love to fly if it was possible… just not so.
and I think you’d see some lazy ass people if it were the same price.
analogy….. hmmmm… tims food and coffee is the same price whether you go in or eat out…
but nooooo… people don’t sit there and idle waiting to be served, do they?
I remember the days when full-service was the standard and they even washed your windows and checked your oil. so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect gas stations to go back to the old model of a service station. They got rid of full service when they started attaching convenience stores to the gas pumps. Now they are just corner stores that sell self-serve gas. Any station big enough to have 2 people on at one time should offer to pump gas for those who can’t. If there’s only one person working, I can see why they can’t just leave the store to work the pumps.
Don’t they charge more for full serve because they have to pay someone to serve it? They’d charge more at a 24 hour facility because not only do they have to have multiple people on shift, but who in their right mind is going to work the graveyard shift and risk getting murdered for minimum wage?
I egg on the ignorant asshats on here cause I want them to continue to be ignorant asshats. If it weren’t for them these forums wouldn’t be nearly as fun. At least I know zZz isn’t an asshat at heart. Or wait- can I give that away? I don’t want to ruin your bad-ass rep……
I don’t think you’d see people waiting to be served if they were the same price. BUT- people would be going to whichever was free. You see people waiting in line for self-serve now. If they were the same price, people wouldn’t give a damn and go to either one
I still say people would idle..
and my mom says I’m bad ass so it must be true.
were it not for my bitch-release on here, I’m convinced I’d be intolerable in person.
sarcasm just oozes out of me, you see.
“asshats”?
Go back to /b/
Instead of bitching on TheCoast, contact Human Rights if you think you have a valid case, otherwise, suck it up.
really? comparing growing wings and flying to making self-serve pumps wheelchair accessable? really? This is not an impossible dream. And shrugging it off in a too-bad-for-you kind of way is so ignorant!
no no… you said
“And I’m sure if he/she is independant enough to be travelling alone, he/she would probably be happy to pump his/her own gas if it was possible to do so!”
…. but it isn’t.
same with me growing wings and flying… not possible but I would be happy to if it were…
see what I did there?
In zZz’s defence, I see what he’s saying. Some people are just lazy and there are those that would take a situation such as this and turn it into a circus.
To your point Miles, the gas station doesn’t do full serve anymore because they make so little on gas as it is, so why create a situation wherein you’re losing cash (a 2 to 5 cent premium doesn’t pay the wages for the one guy that you have on staff to do that) on a transaction? Uh-oh. I remember a bitch like this a while ago…
Meanwhile, people are such sticklers for gas prices, they’ve essentially said to gas stations as a whole: “we need to save 2 cents a litre, so we’ll pump it ourselves.”
I’m not sure full serve is the issue here. I think the OP would be better off in requesting MOVING FORWARD each gas station be designed in such a way that its pumps are accessible to wheelchair wielding customers. It wouldn’t be a hard thing to pass. This is a job for the OP’s MP.
Actually, the OP considers having full serve an issue.
Miles is right, self serve became the norm simply because station owners are just trying to lure customers inside to buy more stuff, and they don’t want to pay more employees. This way they can have one person on duty to cover all and squeeze more cash from you.
And why is full serve considered the lazy alternative? Funny talk considering the very essence of driving is to get somewhere with the least amount of effort. Buses? Too inconvenient, take too long. Walking? Too much like exercise. Ahh, but drivers aren’t lazy, cars are a necessity, right?
The way the wall of text presents is, if the OP were able to serve himself, the full service “issue” wouldn’t be one of discrimination.
TDF, we have legislation in place in response to the drive thru window. Do the math.
Kay, not sure I grasp what you mean? Drive thrus prove my point, don’t they? Drivers are lazy. I was just pointing out that a lot of people, mostly drivers, seem to call full serve a lazy act, but self serve makes them above that, as if one unlazy act cancels out the other. It’s like they’re picking and choosing what they deem lazy.
Anyway, I see what you mean about what the OP is saying. If he could navigate around the pumps, then there would be no issue. Gas stations are forcing drivers to pump their own, but the stations aren’t set up to cater to those with mobility issues.
I am physically disabled, and I pump my own gas. I don’t need a wheelchair or anything, but I have a hard time walking. I’ve never thought about this topic before, but I always use the self-serve pumps. Only for the reason it is cheaper. I am lucky to be able to get out of the car, with some pain, and do it myself. But I’ve never thought of the people who can’t get out and pump their own.
Ithink I read it above, why are there acessable washrooms, buildings, parks, cars, etc.
I have an interest in this ’cause it might be me in a few years.
Lets change the gas stations to accomodate the disabled!!!
There’s no doubt a drive-thru window is an invention of “convenience” but a product of “laziness”? I think even the traffic authority would argue that one. That’s like saying cars are the product of laziness (which you did) and more than one bitch here would set us straight on that one too.
don’t ya all just love progress.
It’s kinda silly that this is being considered a big issue. They have full serve at almost every gas station around until 9pm. Seriously if you know you can’t pump your own gas make sure you get to a gas station before 9pm if you’re running low. A friend of mine who worked at a gas station always said, it costs you the same amoutn to keep your gas tank full as it does to keep it always running on empty. No one is forcing you to keep your gas tank half empty and then running out so that you suddenly find yourself running out of gas after 9pm on a regular basis.
I know that the grocery stores are closed at 5pm on Sundays, so if I need something, I need to get there before 5pm. So can I cry foul if I’m in desperate need of milk and it’s past 5 on a Sunday?
PAS, what’s so hard about accommodating the needs of the mobile disabled? This isn’t about you knowing the hours of the grocery store, this is about not having to fuck around to get gas when you’re disabled, a problem YOU don’t have. Think outside the box… and if you or your baby needs milk past 5 on a Sunday you can pay a convenience charge and go to your local convenience store. The OP has no such option where fuel is concerned.
It’s been suggested the OP know the protocols of each gas station they may happen by after 9PM AND they should pay extra for their full service gas 100% of the time. It’s been suggested they shouldn’t ever need gas after 9. It’s been suggested if they’re able enough to drive or get out of their vehicle they should be able enough to reach the equipment. It’s even been suggested the disabled rely on YOU, Asshole Haligonian (who might stab you for looking at them let alone talking to them), for assistance when they need it. On behalf of the OP, FUCK YOU!!! The OP’s independence is just as important as your own.
Well OP, you shouldn’t be driving at all then. Period. No ifs, ands or buts about it. If you can’t even reach up high enough to get ahold of the gas pump handle, how the fuck do you clean the snow off your car? Let me guess, you’re one of the assholes that drives around with the snow flying off your car, impairing the vision of the other drivers. Driving is a PRIVILEGE, not a right!
I really hope you are enough of a douchebag to make this into a “human rights issue” like fucKtard is saying you should. Because if you win, it’s gonna open up the doors for all kinds of free shit for everyone else.
PAS, while I like your post, there are places to get milk 24×7. not sure about gas… maybe the pay-at-the-pump kinds…dunno
and ay with a k, the metro transit has these new-fangled buses that accommodate the disabled with their pimpin’ hydrolics.
Don’t you ever step outside the box, NW? Don’t you ever just READ? I’m suggesting this is a job for the MP, not the human right commission… yet.
What exactly are you worried about? Having wheelchair accessible pumps is not going to affect you one way or another. Any new design requirements resulting from the complaint will be implemented moving forward. The cost of pump installation will go DOWN given lack of concrete.
Think outside the box once in a while.
The point is that there are times when you can’t get things. And milk was just an obviously bad example. I can’t get beer whenever I want it, and since neither beer, nor gas are necessities in life, theres no reason that the city should cater to either of us. I think that if it were brought up that people who are unable to use self serve because of disabilites shouldn’t have to pay more for full serve, they would totally win on that front. But they don’t need full serve pumps to be open 24 hours a day. They have about 16 hours during which they can easily get full serve. The OP is screwing themselves over by letting their gas get low enough that they need to worry about gas bars not being accessible to them after 9pm. That’s certainly not the fault of the city/gas stations.
there ya go… though I had to pry it outta ya, I knew you had it all along.
PAS, gas is not a necessity??? WHAT??? You realize the energy industry is the largest on the planet and your government calls that energy “essential service”, right? What’s not necessary is the consumer tax levied on every drop but that’s another bitch.
PAS, do you think independent mobility after 9PM is not a necessity too? (Jesus, help her out of the box of me me me)
PAS, why do you think ALL public business are required to provide wheelchair access? Apply that thinking to the core business of a service station then wake up! A new wheelchair-friendly design for the pumps is required. That’s all. I’m sure you’ll get over it since such a change won’t affect you one iota.
Does gasoline bring us water and electricity? No it doesn’t. Gas is not “essential”. Maybe to you it is, but in the greater scheme of things, it isn’t.
I put gasoline in my generator. In turn it powers my electric water pump.
Actually my point is in the greater scheme of things “energy” IS an essential service. So essential the value of our dollar and economic health the world over is affected by its handling. Obtuse is NOT becoming when it makes you spew reactionary, combative garbage, Fever. I’d encourage you to keep reaching but you might.
While it actually isn’t a necessity, the OP can be perfectly independent and mobile after 9pm, he just needs to make sure that he fills his tank sometime before that.
The fact that there is full serve for most of the day is the company doing their part. If the OP is driving around using up gas, then he has lots of time to refill that gas. Unless he is doing all of his driving, all the time between 9pm and 5am, and can’t get out during the day, he doesn’t have a valid bitch.
Thanks ZZZ, I just needed a little push!
“Actually my point is in the greater scheme of things “energy” IS an essential service.”
And your point is completely unrelated to the bitch. If we’d been talking about energy I would have said energy. We were talking about cars, and gas for your car is not a necessity in life.
I’m here to help. 🙂
just curious Kay where it should stop?
should everyone be required the ability?
what about verne troyer?
he can’t reach the pump unless it’s 3 ft or less off the ground…
so should all the nozzles be put at 2.5 feet high?
that’s kinda fucked since everyone else would have to bend way down to get to it.
(not to mention the fact that he likely can’t even reach the tank to begin with…)
the only way I can see it working is making it mandatory that someone is available at every station at all times it is open to pump gas.
with the strain on service stations as is and them closing up shop, that may well be a killer.
But what would happen to our “essential” services?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
kay, I’m not being obtuse. In fact I’m being very literal. Gasoline is not essential. Electricity to power your home is. But that’s not the issue here, is it? Stay on target, kay.
You just don’t like it when someone challenges your idiotic ideals.
Watch this it’s interesting:
http://www.megavideo.com/?v=P0ZSEPOT
Although I don’t know how much it applies to the OP since this isn’t America… still
I don’t see electricity as being essential…unless you make it that way for yourself.
When l moved to the country… in an area where locals told me about the ongoing power problems…wind blows ,power goes out. Sun shines power goes out. gets foggy…something to do with salty fog & transformers, you must have read about that crock, but the power goes out.
So I installed a seperate chimney for a nice large woodstove, even bought a couple of those fans that sit on top of it & make their own electricity from the hot stove, to more evenly spread that heat, I can even cook on it & do so even when the powers on. Bought some lanterns & make my own beeswax candles. Have a water tank in my loft so when the electriicty goes down & my well pump doesn’t work I use gravity to keep my toilets flushing.
You don’t need electricity..it just makes things easier, & if you ever grow enough braincells …or at least get enough of them firing in sequence so you can actually plan for lifes possible problems. You would have already realised this. If you can’t plan ahead, you could try following the little bit of advise in my last post…which was in brackets & ASK SOMEONE FOR HELP ! U.S.F !
It’s not the electricity that’s a necessity, More, but the heat and warmth it provides, as you have shown in your example. Electricty and oil are simply the most common ways of achieveing such things in our society.
People are stupid…when Juan happened & out here in the boonies we had no power for 13 days. I simply drove my truck down to Elmsdale( where you can drive your vehicle right down to the river) & loaded up several 45 gallon barrels of water using a sump pum hooked to an inverter plugged into my truck & went home & used a garden hose & the same pump rig to refill my header tank (about 200 gallons) needed to do it every 3 or 4 days…could have rationed water & used less ,but it wasn’t that big a deal.
Burning wood heats my place. I don’t “need” electricity. I like most everyone else like the convienience, but I plan ahead. Which is what the OP should be doing if they have a gas issue. Find out where they still pump gas for you & go there, when you have a situation where your out somewhere & ther is no full serve, ask for help.
Speaking of planing ahead I’m already buying components to set up my own solar/wind electric generating system. So I can get off the grid & be more self sufficient, & no longer be a NS Power Slave…you know they dictate, you pay, they dictate more…you have no choice>>>monopoly<<< you pay more !
Your gov’t considers energy essential and since your gov’t speaks for you… your gov’t also finds equal access granted to our handicapped population essential. There is an easy design solution. WHY shouldn’t we implement it if we’re not a bunch of self-centered pricks?
As has been pointed out, the OP simply needs to plan ahead a bit more…just as I do with a diesel vehicle that is 13’6″ high, and needs room to turn…I can’t use evey filling station either.
Also, the cement curbs around the tanks aren’t going away…they are there for your safty to prevent old folks in RV’s from dragging their trailer’d SUV into the pumps!
Finally, what filling stations have you tried lately? The ones I use have the pump nozzle on the front, rather than the side…and they are pay at the pump…all at a height of about 42 inches. You don’t even need to go inside anymore.
I do empathize with the added dificulty of having to get in and out and around your vehicle in a chair…but I’m sure it’s a small price to pay for the freedom that having your vehicle gives you, and everyone else. As one poster said, it’s a great “priveledge” to drive!
Remember, please, to also be sure your headlights, tailights and windshield (as well as snow, as has been pointed out) are well cleared off at every stop. This is a safety requirement for every driver.
thanks
be safe.
I think REALLY what’s happening here is that the OP would like a discount on his full-serve gasoline.
I wouldn’t be opposed to people with severe mobility issues getting a small discount that would allow them to get full-serve gas at self-serve price. I bet the OP would find it easier to “plan ahead” then!
However, I would then also demand to see harsh penalties for the thousadns of folks in canada who are ABUSING disabled stickers already! Like the DOT people parking in the handicapped spot, or the yuppies at Costco doing the same.
IF the use of such a sticker by true handicapped folks is going to cost ME money out of MY pocket, I’m fine with it, but I want severe fines for those caught abusing it.
“the OP simply needs to plan ahead a bit more”
Did we say the same to people in wheelchairs when they needed to pee and found themselves and their wheelchairs out in public? Did we tell them to pee before they left the house (plan better) or did we implement a law seeing equal access to our disabled population? Yes we whined about having to install ramps at the front door and hand rails in the wash room but does it really cost that much? Not moving forward, it doesn’t.
The concrete will go and be replaced by those thick poles I seem to always bash my door on when getting out of my car at a gas station.
Even if only the extra money this guy HAS to pay for full service motivates this bitch it’s still a valid bitch. Why should our handicapped population who actually paid more than you for their driving permit be “privileged” to pay more than you for gas? Ever?
Fuck the discount. Let industry plan ahead with equal access seen on the horizon.
I’d like to know where all of these full serve stations are that have attendants till 9:00. Every one I’ve seen around here sends the attendants home no later than 7:00, and most of ’em don’t open till after 9:00am.
What is it about full serve gas stations that gets people so upset, anyway? I see what was trying to be said a while back about conveniences that aren’t considered laziness (drive thrus, drive up ATMs…) so why is paying extra for someone else to pump your gas considered lazy?
“”Did we say the same to people in wheelchairs when they needed to pee and found themselves and their wheelchairs out in public?”‘
Erm, no we didn’t, and I suppose this point is valid…but the fact remains that if it were ME, I would plan ahead for BOTH things. In fact I do.
Having an aversion to smelly unclean public toilets, I plan my day to arrive at a nice truck stop “just in time” each day…I recommend, in Canada, the Irving Big Stops, out west the HUSKY, and south of the border the Flying J’s or the TA.
And again, I’m wondering just WHICH stations are “inaccessible” to the OP…most of the new pumps seem pretty accessible, as far as they can be…I mean it is CLEARLY a dificult thing to use a chair to get out and pump gas, no matter HOW the pump is positioned…