Yesterday as I was driving my tire pressure indicator came on telling me that it was low. It was raining outside so I stopped at the nearest gas station where the attendant filled the air in my tires. When he was done I asked if there was any charge and he said no. I couldn’t help but feel uneasy with this person. I had been to this shop before and have always gotten wonderful service but this was someone new. I thanked him and as I proceeded to get into my car he said you can give me a tip. I told him that I didn’t have cash on me. He told me to charge it on a credit card. He said I should give him $5 or $10. I really felt awkward as I felt a kind gesture was now changing to a shady one. I didn’t feel good about this but to get this done with I said fine put $5 on my card. He shook his head and proceeded to charge a $10 tip on my credit card. I just froze and found myself speechless. I asked him for a receipt and then he huffed and printed one out for me. I told him that he couldn’t command a tip and that too of a certain amount but didn’t know what to do. He then proceeds to go to my car and put the covers on that he had with him that cover the air spouts on the tire. My desire was to leave an uneasy situation without causing too much of a conflict.
I found myself disturbed by what happened. I couldn’t get it out of my mind and that too the uneasy way that he was gazing at me. I was overcome with a very bad feeling.
As I got home and thought about it I felt what he had done was really unethical. You can’t say no charge and then force a tip on someone. It was the way he approached this that just didn’t quite settle right.
I ended up calling the corporate customer service number. Thankfully I had a receipt so I was able to give a name of the person along with the trans#, time, and location of the incident. The agent told me that this was definitely something that they don’t condone and that this complaint would be relayed to the regional manager. I didn’t give my number but just my email address. I stressed the point that I didn’t want another customer to be caught in such an awkward situation. I contemplated calling my credit company to dispute the charge. I didn’t think to ask for the manager of the store as I really just wanted to get out of the scenario.
What would have been the right thing to do in this situation? Should I have called the police? Should I dispute the charge on my credit card?
I think you did the right thing in following up with the corporate customer service. Did they happen to give you the phone number of the regional manager? Maybe you can call back and get his info, and ask him to reverse the charge?
I suppose you could dispute the charge, but since you agreed to it (by default) at the time, I don’t know if you have grounds. I would - just to be safe - cancel the card and get a replacement. That employee proved himself shady once, I wouldn’t trust him. I would never go back to THAT gas station.
And watch a You Tube video on putting air in your tires. It is really easy to do. I carry around a pump in my trunk for emergencies. It is smaller than a briefcase and plugs into my cigarette lighter to power it.
I would dispute the charge immediately. You can tell customer service at your credit card company that you did not authorize the amount the person put on your credit card.
As an aside…I wouldn’t have tipped at all in this situation…and I’m a big tipper.
I guess I’m a curmudgeon. I always have cash, and leave a $20.00 in car. I always tip a gas station attendant who helps me fill tires, or someone at a tire store. Generally $5.00. So, in your situation, I would have said, “please charge $5.00 to my credit card. I’m sorry I don’t have cash on me”.
If I’ve been polite and specific as to the amount, I would indeed question the $10 charge. I may call the credit card company to alert them to check on future charges. I wouldn’t call the police, as I assume they are busy enough with real crimes.
I hope the OP doesn’t see me as being critical. Someone I know lives in an inexpensive 55^ community. She complains that Uber/lyft people often do not come. No one she knows tips these drivers. I suspect there is a correlation.
I agree you did the right thing by following up with the corporate office. I would never have charged a tip. That seems very shady to me and I’d keep close tabs on that card.
FWIW pressure sensors in newer cars are very sensitive and it can change with temperature fluctuations. Rarely do you need to put in air immediately.
I guess I’m confused how this person put a $10 tip on a CC at a gas station? I don’t think that there is a tip line on the CC statement at gas stations I go to.
Good for you to get a receipt and I don’t know how this person thought that this was going to fly?
I go to the 10 minute oil change place or the tire store when my low pressure light comes on. My husband thinks that turning off the light is optional and it bugs me like crazy until I get it done. I can never get the pressure gage to work right for me.
Oh and I never tip. Never even thought to. But I am a customer at both places I go to.
You can and should dispute with your CC on the basis that you authorized $5 and he charged $10.
I’d recommend keeping a tire pump in your trunk. I put one in my D’s trunk that she’s used a few times. She says every time she has to wave off guys wanting to help the damsel in distress, lol.
Thanks guys. It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to put air in my tires it was just that I had an injury and was not able to bend down to do it myself. If he had said there was a charge for the service I would have gladly paid. It’s just the way I was cornered in paying a tip I felt was shady. I reward good service but to ask for a tip and that too a specific amount was very aggressive and I just didn’t know how to handle the situation properly at the time. He charged it as labor and then pocketed the amount.
I’m an upfront kind of person and worked in lots of terrible jobs in my life, so… I would have begun by going to the ATM. You really should tip $5.00 at least for requesting this “service”. No there isn’t a charge. But literally these folks make next to nothing. IF I didn’t have cash and I really needed to go, I would tell him upfront, " I really need to get this done and I don’t have cash can I put it on a card or come back after I go to the ATM? Most/many places allow for cash back. I bet if you said something he would have said, no issue or don’t worry about it.
Here’s the thing, many people don’t tip. They really don’t. And they think it is ok to let someone change their oil or wash their windows or fill their tires gratis ( all which anyone can easily do).
Once you got yourself in that situation, I do think he should not have charged you $10 when you agreed to $5.00. But I really think the onus was on you to be fair and use the golden rule especially when working with someone who is likely very underpaid. ( I once gave a woman at my local gas station $10 for filling my oil and she happily told me she could now buy a book for her daughter tomorrow at the school book fair). Think of tips as polite respect.
Now, he’s likely in trouble for asking to be compensated for a service he performed. Calling customer service on him wouldn’t have made me sleep better.
Good to complain/report this terrible person. Better to NOT have given him any money. As above- do the credit card dispute.
For the future- continue to get free air. btw- it would only cost $1-2 at one of those self serve pumps, no way is it worth more for his already compensated by his employer time. Good for repeat business when this kind of work is done at no charge. I often got my tires checked for free at the store i bought them from when I went to a nearby one. I got a free replacement of a taillight bulb I purchased at a dealership- later in the day and they were standing around- took time for the old bulb to cool before being removed. Goodwill makes me think well of them- even though I got the luxury brand car later instead.
There are other times we would be willing to pay but things are free- that you can’t easily buy. Replacement screws and adjustments for eyeglasses where you did not buy them. Replacement of the metal piece that holds the watchband to the watch. A thank you and feeling good by both parties.
I think this worker stole money from this poster. She authorized $5. He put $10. I doubt that was an accident. And it doesn’t matter how underpaid he is. When someone says $5…you don’t just pocket $10.
In addition, listing it as “labor” is abundantly dishonest. If it was “labor” there would have been a $10 charge for the service.
I don’t mind tipping…and I’m a big tipper. But this transaction was wrong on many levels.
I would dispute the charge, and ask my credit card company to keep an eye on transactions. This guy should never have taken her credit card for a tip only.
If this guy is an employee and not the owner of the gas station, how is he even getting the money if it was charged on a credit card? Is he then taking $10 out of the till?
I do not use ATMs. I do not carry a debit card. Please do not assume that all of us do. This guy was a thief - plain and simple. A tip, even if expected, is optional. If I wrote $5 tip on my lunch bill and was charged $10, I would have contested the charge with my card.
(I tip 20-30% in restaurants and always leave cash for hotel maids, but people who demand tips might get nothing.)
@thumper1 You got what I was trying to say but explained it much better.
At the time I felt uneasy as he had the bolts that cover the air spouts on the tires. He wouldn’t put them back on till I paid him. So in a sense I couldn’t just leave.
He billed it as a $10 misc labor but it was clearly a tip that he commanded as he said there was no service charge. It’s as if he thought about it for a second and changed his mind. When I asked him to charge $5 on the card he shook his head in disagreement and said no he insisted nothing less than $10 tip. There was no tipline so he charged it as misc labor but he took it as a tip.
The issue is he kept using the word tip not service charge. Tip is voluntary and the customer decides on the amount. (He had no right to charge a $10 tip when I clearly said $5.) To me that is fraud or an unauthorized transaction.
Crazy… First this is just a service and no places charge for this. They just expect you to come back and use their service /get tires etc. There should be no charge and no tip. If you had some cash and want to give it then so be it.
What the employee did was basically stealing money. I would of called the owner of the store and report it. Yes, calling corporate. Sounds like he was a pro at it. You were not the first one it happened to.
Yes call your credit card company. Explain what happened and they will help to notify the business.
No one should be made to feel that they need to tip or do anything. It’s an involuntary thing you have a choice to do…
I see tip jars everywhere for people just doing there job. I get it and I am known to be a really good tipper but this just pisses me off.
If there is a next time just get the persons name and tell them you will come back when you have cash…
“At the time I felt uneasy as he had the bolts that cover the air spouts on the tires. He wouldn’t put them back on till I paid him.”
Just an FYI. Those covers (valve stem caps) are mainly there to prevent mud and debris from getting into the valve. They are not supposed to keep the air from escaping if the valve fails. You could have driven off without them and asked a friend or someone to place new ones on - get a bag from Amazon.
It was intimidation. The OP could of felt threatened or scared.
When I worked in a gas station in the later 70s, we would do lots of things for customers like this. We would say have a nice day and thank you for coming in with a smile. Now everything anyone does people expect to get tipped. Going to the ice cream shoppe… Getting coffee… So I need to tip someone for doing their job??
I swear I am going to put out a tip jar in my medical office and see what happens. Maybe a “paying for college” jar ??..
LOL