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Self-pay gas station pumps break across NZ as software can't handle Leap Day

arstechnica.com

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Re: Self-pay gas station pumps break across NZ as software can't handle Leap Day

#11

Post by mminer237 »

vinay427 wrote: post #9
chimpansteve wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had a driving licence in the UK for 26 years, and have never once paid for my fuel before filling up. This is normal everywhere in Europe at least, to the point where I suspect the US is the outlier

I’ve driven in the US and the UK (among other countries) and haven’t paid before filling up in either. Is this a result of paying with cash or other non-card methods, as pumps in the US seem to require inserting the card first probably as an authorisation? I also don’t drive that much these days so may be misremembering things. The only issue I had with payments was in a station in a small town in Italy which refused…

Putting a card in before pumping is considered "prepay". They'll put a hold on your account to make sure you have the money. There isn't much point to post-pay with cards.

10–15 years ago it was common in the US where you would pull up, hit "pay inside", pump all your gas, then go inside and pay at the register. Now because of theft, if you want to pay with cash, virtually all stations require you to go inside, pay for x gallons of gas, and they'll turn on the pump to give you that much. Which is annoying because unless you're really good at guessing, you can't just fill it up anymore.

Re: Self-pay gas station pumps break across NZ as software can't handle Leap Day

#15

Post by theultdev »

mminer237 wrote: post #11
vinay427 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve driven in the US and the UK (among other countries) and haven’t paid before filling up in either. Is this a result of paying with cash or other non-card methods, as pumps in the US seem to require inserting the card first probably as an authorisation? I also don’t drive that much these days so may be misremembering things. The only issue I had with payments was in a station in a small town in Italy which refused…

Putting a card in before pumping is considered "prepay". They'll put a hold on your account to make sure you have the money. There isn't much point to post-pay with cards. 10–15 years ago it was common in the US where you would pull up, hit "pay inside", pump all your gas, then go inside and pay at the register. Now because of theft, if you want to pay with cash, virtually all stations require you to go inside, pay f…

Well you can fill it up, but you have to run back in to get your change.

If you have two people one can wait, start it once the other pays, then you both go to the bathroom and pick up the change on the way out.

Re: Self-pay gas station pumps break across NZ as software can't handle Leap Day

#16

Post by AdamJacobMuller »

theultdev wrote: post #8
chimpansteve wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had a driving licence in the UK for 26 years, and have never once paid for my fuel before filling up. This is normal everywhere in Europe at least, to the point where I suspect the US is the outlier

That used to be normal in the US, nowadays most pumps are automated. You can fill up 24/7, even if the store is closed.

cries in new jersey

Re: Self-pay gas station pumps break across NZ as software can't handle Leap Day

#17

Post by berkut »

pants2 wrote: post #2

Gas stations in New Zealand are interesting because for the majority of them you fill up before paying inside. They trust you not to drive away with their gas. Self-pay gas stations are relatively new.

That used to be the case, but definitely Pak N Save and Gulf stations you pre-pay (at least put your card in and approve it) before hand...

Re: Self-pay gas station pumps break across NZ as software can't handle Leap Day

#18

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

ipqk wrote: post #14
rekabis wrote: post #12

[flagged]

[flagged]

This is a predictable outcome of the rise of scripting languages that operate on date strings or permit illogical manipulations of broken down time. There's something going for a simple integer epoch that sidesteps this altogether.

Re: Self-pay gas station pumps break across NZ as software can't handle Leap Day

#19

Post by jopsen »

pants2 wrote: post #2

Gas stations in New Zealand are interesting because for the majority of them you fill up before paying inside. They trust you not to drive away with their gas. Self-pay gas stations are relatively new.

Yeah, I was shocked how many gas station are manned.

In Denmark they are almost all unmanned, and if manned you still pay at the pump with a credit/debit card.

The manned gas stations are for serving hotdogs :)

Re: Self-pay gas station pumps break across NZ as software can't handle Leap Day

#20

Post by jopsen »

mminer237 wrote: post #11
vinay427 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve driven in the US and the UK (among other countries) and haven’t paid before filling up in either. Is this a result of paying with cash or other non-card methods, as pumps in the US seem to require inserting the card first probably as an authorisation? I also don’t drive that much these days so may be misremembering things. The only issue I had with payments was in a station in a small town in Italy which refused…

Putting a card in before pumping is considered "prepay". They'll put a hold on your account to make sure you have the money. There isn't much point to post-pay with cards. 10–15 years ago it was common in the US where you would pull up, hit "pay inside", pump all your gas, then go inside and pay at the register. Now because of theft, if you want to pay with cash, virtually all stations require you to go inside, pay f…

When you can pay with card at the pump, the only remaining users for "pay inside" are thieves and the occasional cash-only customer.

Also no surprise they don't want you to pay cash, that means dealing with cash which is expensive.

Employees at the gas station could spend their time selling hot dogs instead :)

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