I work at a fuel station that is all card controlled. We don’t have any extra merchandise and we don’t take cash or checks. My manager keeps telling me to sell our stores credit cards and memberships (you have to be a member to get fuel here) but most people act like they don’t want to be bothered. I want to get a broader view on this so please share your opinions.
NO.
No, I generally think it is creepy.
Ooh, you have a tough job. I wouldn’t want to be talked to or have someone try to sell me something when I’m getting gas. Getting gas is a chore I just want to be finished with. If you tried to get me to buy a store credit card every time I came to get gas, I would find a new station!
I’d say your fuel station would do better business by accepting cash, major credit cards or debit cards rather than trying to get people to sign up for the store credit card. That takes time to fill out the paperwork and most people just want to fuel up and be on their way so I don’t imagine you get too many people interested in signing up.
Um, if you have to be a member to buy gas there, wouldn’t you already have a membership?
I also want fewer credit cards, not more. I will turn down store cards unless they give me a substantial savings — and even then, I am irritated that someone wants to dump yet another card on me. Why is not being a regular customer enough to get the nice savings, huh? Irritating. I could digress here and really go off… but no.
It sounds like an awful business format. I wouldn’t go to your gas station if I couldn’t pay cash. You are losing customers by the droves — not you, in particular, but the business. I also prefer places where I can get a cup of coffee, a soda or a munchie if I want. Fail, fail, fail.
Most of us drive up, get gas and go. Preferably as quickly as humanly possible. The places that make the process super quick will get more business. There’s a nexus of service stations not too far from me — the busiest and presumably most successful is also the fastest. It’s how-quick-can-you-pump-gas time. The lines there are longer, but move faster than at the other places. That place will have cars waiting for pumps, while the other places won’t have any lines — but people won’t get out of the line to move over because the other places are just slower.
People always used to talk when they put gas in the car, now they don’t, most of them don’t speak English so that may be why.
Well you can give it a try. You can say something nice first…like “hi how are you today?”. if they reply, you can try introducing the credit cards and memberships….talk about the benefits!