Service Station Attendants
Sell fuel, lubricants, other automotive accessories, food and drink at service stations.
Night shift at the roadhouse
You are a service station attendant working alone from 10pm to 6am at a roadhouse on a quiet stretch of highway. It is 11:40pm on a Friday. A few trucks have rolled through, the shelves need restocking and there is no one else on shift. A car has just pulled up to pump three.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I just filled up at pump four and I am in a bit of a hurry. Here is my card, but I think it might be declined, it has been doing that. Can I just drive off and you can charge me next time I come through?
Tell him that is fine, since he looks respectable and you want to avoid trouble
He does not come back. The shortfall is recorded against your shift, and your manager asks why you let a customer leave without paying.
Let him go with a promise to pay tomorrow, after writing down his plate and name
You have a record, which helps, but nothing makes him come back. The shift sheet shows an unpaid sale that you will have to explain.
Ask for another way to pay, or take his details and call your manager
He finds a second card in his wallet and pays. If he had not, you would have recorded his details and reported it, and not chased him.
I can smell fuel strongly near pump two, and it looks like some is coming from the bottom of the nozzle. A couple of kids are standing close by. I thought somebody should know.
Go out with a mop and clear it up quickly, since it is only a small amount
You are right next to the spill without having made it safe. Fuel is not something to improvise with, and nobody else knows what you are doing.
Call your manager first and wait for instructions while people stay near the pump
The manager gives good advice, but while you were on the phone the fuel kept running and the children stayed close by. Stopping the pump comes first, then the call.
Press the emergency stop, keep people back and call your manager
The pump is shut down and the area is cleared. Your manager arrives with the right equipment, and the cause is found the next day.
Just a packet of the usual and a bottle of whisky. Oh, I left my wallet at the car. You can see I am old enough, can't you? Come on, it is late, I am only down the road.
Say you need to see his ID for the alcohol, and hold the items while he fetches it
He grumbles, then comes back with his licence. The sale is made properly, and you have followed the rule that exists to protect everyone.
Sell it to him, since he looks old enough and it is a quiet night
He may be old enough, but you cannot be sure. If he is not, you are the one responsible, and you could lose your job.
Sell him the packet but not the bottle, and say nothing about why
You avoided the problem, but he leaves confused. A short explanation about ID would have made it clear.
How it went
By dawn the shelves were stocked, the spill was handled safely and nobody had been served who should not have been. Service station work looks simple, but on a night shift alone you are the whole workplace. Would you be comfortable being the person in charge at three in the morning?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The driver who needed more than fuel
A fictional case set in a fictional highway roadhouse and service station that stays open through the night.
The situation
Kiran was the night attendant at the Mulga Flat roadhouse. At two in the morning, a long-haul truck pulled in and the driver came in to pay for fuel. He was polite but slow, rubbed his eyes several times and lost track of what he was buying. He told Kiran he still had four hours to drive to make a morning delivery. Kiran noticed that his speech was a bit slurred and that he nearly walked into the door on his way out.
What they did
Kiran did not lecture him. She offered a free glass of water and said the rest area behind the roadhouse was quiet and well lit, with a place to park for a few hours. She mentioned that the next stretch of highway had a long, straight section, and that most drivers stopped before it. She did not push him, but she said she would turn the sign on in the lounge if he wanted a short sleep.
How it turned out
The driver parked for two hours and left refreshed. Before leaving, he thanked Kiran and bought a coffee. He told her he had nearly gone on, and that he always planned a stop at the roadhouse after that. Kiran kept the lounge sign on from then on.
What would you do?
- How did Kiran notice that the driver was not himself?
- Why did she offer a quiet place instead of telling him what to do?
- What do you think night shift is like for someone who works alone?