Give me 3-4 minutes and my curiosity will usually run wild and I will Google for something. So, today, thanks to the hold-open clip at the Costco pump, I had those 4 minutes with two free hands. In some states, those clips are still not legal due to concerns about static electricity, so I would have been facing the car. Instead I was taking photos of the pump.
Costco for gas? You have to be a member, but I find it is always 10 to 15 cents a gallon cheaper than many competitors (nationwide it may be over 20c cheaper). And the gas is Top Tier rated – has detergent additives to better protect engines from carbon buildup and deposits on the intake valves. As a result there are some Costco locations where the lines are long, even when they have three pumps on each side of the lane, and 8 to 10 lanes. So readers there may not call Costco gas pumps a thing of beauty.
But back to the pump. The hoses are extra long and allow you to fill from either side of your vehicle (factoid – most German cars have caps on the right. Most Japanese cars in US have cap on left. In Japan they don’t. Most Ford cars are on the left but the Focus was not. In rental cars, I learned a long time ago to look for the icon which shows which side the cap is. But I am usually baffled by where to find the button to unlatch the cap door).
The lanes are unbelievably clean for a high-volume gas dispensing area. There is always an attendant walking around even though the facility is completely self-service – helping those who need it, directing traffic, and also watching out for open container safety violations. The receipt printers always seem replenished. The pumps are about to get Apple Pay so should shave a few more seconds from the visit and hopefully reduce skimming scams.
And if you are curious – the pumps are made by Gilbarco Veeder-Root. They are also into software for fuel management and point of sale among other functionality. And Gilbarco traces its history back to 1865 – just think how far gas pumps have come!
So next time you have 4-5 minutes at a gas pump, thank me for all this useful trivia
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