Paying at the Gas Pump

It's switched to prepay at all gas stations here in BC. You prepay in the station or use an Interac card at the gas pump.

Before the new regulation,I used to fill up and pay in the station. Now I'm using my Interac card at the pump all the time. What a pita! Who's making these crappy 'pay at the pump' controls?? No tactile feedback membrane keypads....Ughhh..

On one pump, I discovered the system couldn't keep up with my fast button pushing and I had to reenter my password...slooooowwwwwlyyyy.. 'Beep'....wait ..wait...wait..then a asterisk shows up on the screen. Arrrghh!!

And there's the annoying software... Do I want a car wash? Am I using a points card? I press no, no, no, no, no, no,,,Fk no!... and then wait a painful amount of time for the display to change. What's this thing clocking at?... 100khz? Even the receipt spits out too slowly for me.. I don't know how many times I've had to stop myself from yanking out the receipt when I see the first 1/4 inch.

Anybody think these pumps are messed up?

(Note: My fastest Interac transaction was within 5 seconds. That's the password typing time + system time to get an accepted response. Location: McDonalds )

D from BC British Columbia Canada

Reply to
D from BC
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I use credit cards at the pump. Those uP's are the slo-w-w-w-est damn things I've ever seen.

...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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Reply to
Jim Thompson

Most everybody here just uses a credit card at the pump, no password needed. Roughly half of the pumps around here ask for your zip code as a verification; seems that when somebody steals a credit card, the first thing they do with it is buy gas.

John

Reply to
John Larkin

I don't know what you guys are talking about! It used to take me a

*long* time to pump $25 worth of gas-- now it takes seconds!

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

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"it\'s the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
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Spehro Pefhany

John Larkin wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

lately,the gas thieves have been getting into the lower part of the gas pump(while the vehicle blocks the view from the store),bypassing the metering control,and then pumping numerous cars full,while inside the station,the registers indicate nothing.The thieves run car after car through,filling each up,stealing 1000s of gallons of gas at a time. They charge each auto for the fill;cash,of course.

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Jim Yanik
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Jim Yanik

A lot of the Canadian credit cards are dual-function- you can use them to directly debit from a bank account of your linked bank (the same function that uses Cirrus and Plus networks), I think) and one of several bank accounts, or as a Visa or Mastercard transaction. For smaller transactions they've been dropping the requirement for signature. The banks are trying to encourage separation of the functions on different cards, for security reasons AFAIUI. One advantage of the direct debit is that you can often get $100 or whatever cash back on top of the transaction and avoid visiting an ATM (and any associated fee). The retailers like that because it helps reduce the amount of cash they have to manage. Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

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"it\'s the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
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Spehro Pefhany

I thought every gas station had security cameras from half a dozen angles mounted on the overhead canopy. And visible on a rotating basis on a split screen from the operator station. Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

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"it\'s the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
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Spehro Pefhany

It takes longer to get your receipt than to pump the gas :-(

...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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Reply to
Jim Thompson

True enough! I haven't used an ATM in such a long time I'm not sure I'd know how anymore. I've become such a creature of plastic that it's rare I have even $20 on me.

...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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Reply to
Jim Thompson

But cash is so easy to use. I always beam out the max, $300, every few weeks.

John

Reply to
John Larkin

Neeeerp! I always end up with too many coins in my pocket :-(

Even at Jack-in-the-Box, swipe and out-spits a receipt, illegal "migrant" hands you your food (breakfast croissants only, the burgers give me indigestion ;-)... no coins!

...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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Reply to
Jim Thompson

Ahh...I think I'll switch to credit card at the pump. :)

Perhaps the lowest clock freq. is used to make software errors more improbable??? That or cheapo electronics used.

D from BC British Columbia Canada

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D from BC

I'm still waiting to hear a wacky news story of someone tunnelling under a gas station to tap into the gas tank. :P

D from BC British Columbia Canada

Reply to
D from BC

I think I have a 4 liter container full of coins. I treat it like leftover scrap metal. :P I might roll it all up one very dull day.. maybe in 2048. :P

D from BC British Columbia Canada

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D from BC

Neato.. One less card for a less bloated wallet.

D from BC British Columbia Canada

Reply to
D from BC

Actually with directional boring machines that is not so ridiculous.

Reply to
JosephKK

The UHaul lot in Tempe, AZ, reports gas thefts from parked trucks... via holes drilled into gas tank :-(

...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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Reply to
Jim Thompson

If someone could make a quick map of it versus time nation wide that would be informative about the levels and timing of gang activity.

Reply to
JosephKK

Jim Thompson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

that's happening all over.

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Jim Yanik
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Jim Yanik

JosephKK wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

they could probably also use that technique for auto burglaries/thefts. (not nation-wide,but locally)

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Jim Yanik
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Jim Yanik

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