U Gotta Be Kidding Me: Gas Receipts

After a long day at work, in the gym and at the baseball practice field in the 'Ville Tuesday, I had to cap it all off with a trip over to the 'View to put some gas in the truck.

Why drive to the 'View, you ask? Simple. Got no money in the bank account until payday, so if I want to continue to drive to work I have to put a little gas on the trusty Shell credit card, and the only Shell station close is in the 'View. So I have to drive eight miles or so just to buy freaking gasoline.

Coby and I jumped in the truck and cruised over with the gas gauge sitting below the "E." Back in my younger days it would never get close to a quarter-tank. Now, I use every last drop with the unbelievable hope that gas-per-gallon prices will at some point return to at least the price of a Starbucks Grande Mocha. And with a truck that is currently in its 13th year, well, I pretty much know exactly how much fuel is left in the tank by now. Old Blue and I are in tune.

Anyhow, I get over to the Shell and see that the gas price there is $3.99 per gallon. Sonofagun! Who needs that much money in the world to where you have to charge a guy four bucks for purchasing just enough gasoline to mow his yard once!!! There are a lot of things out of whack in the good old USA these days, and greed is right at the top of the list. Oil companies are sucking the blood right out of our veins and laughing all the way to the bank.

But that's not necessarily the subject of today's "U Gotta Be Kidding Me" post. We'll save that for another day, the day when my Shell card actually maxes out a week before payday and I really have a gas shortage. Got no idea how I'll make it to work then...

Standing at the pump, I determined to put 20 bucks worth of gas in the tank in an effort to make it to payday. That gave me the grand total of about 4.8 gallons of gas, which pushed the the gauge just a tad above the quarter-tank mark. Unbelievable!

Then my "U Gotta Be Kidding Me" moment. I go to all that trouble of driving over there to get this stupid gas. You stand there at the pump barefoot (don't ask) and swipe the card, watching your life savings go up in fumes until it gets to $20. Then you miss the mark and end up with a $20.03 tally.

I need a receipt of course, so I punch "yes" in answer to the pump's "Need a receipt?" question. Then I wait. And wait. And wait some more...

"Please see cashier." U Gotta Be Kidding Me!!!!

Here's a tip -- when the consumer is having to pay these kinds of prices for gas, the least the seller can do is make sure the pump printer has receipt paper! I use the gas card for the sole comfort of not having to walk in the store, stand in line and pay or get a receipt. Please, please make sure I don't have to do this.

There are certain gas stations in the area I know without a doubt when I go there that paying at the pump is out of the question. I might as well have a truckload of cash to a) buy five gallons and b) pay inside for the gas I do buy.

My biggest problem with gas cards, debit cards, etc., is not keeping the receipts or forgetting to enter them into our online register. My wife has a coronary when she goes online to update the checkbook and discovers a dozen missing debit receipts for varying reasons. And it's a very painful experience around the house for everyone.

But I will not go into a store to get a slip of paper that says I paid for gas at the pump. That's why I use the credit card for crying out loud!!! Please, please make sure there's paper at the pump. That's all I ask.

Or maybe the price of paper is going up along with the fuel. In that event, I'll go with Dunder Mifflin maybe for all my paper needs in the future.