May 29, 2008

Not keeping up with the price of gas

I bought gas at the Phillips 66 station in Parkville last night.  The van tank holds approximately 23 gallons and it was nearly empty.  Price was $3.799, so that's an $85 fill up.  Towards the end of the fill up, I noticed the flow slow and then stop exactly on $75. Apparently the pump had authorized my card for $75 and it wouldn't allow me to pump any more.  I had to complete that transaction and then initiate a second one to pump the last $10.

At $2/gal, $75 would fill any tank except the largest commercial vehicles.  At $3.799, $75 won't fill an ordinary Ford Freestar.  You think they should change the pump software to authorize a higher amount?

4 comments:

Matthew Irvine said...

I think they should change something, but I'd rather they change the price of fuel rather than the debit card authorization amount. :)

Taylor said...

I had this exact thought today at lunch when I filled my 26 gallon truck.

Nick Nicholaou said...

My tank holds thirty gallons... and this is a constant hassle. It's also a good reminder to those of us in IT of how those whom we serve feel about us when we don't pay attention to the little details.

David S. said...

The limit you hit (it's $50 for some cards, $75 for others...one is Visa one is MasterCard I believe) is set by the card companies, not the gas stations. Most stations here have a sign to that effect, "the authorization limits are set by the credit card companies, please start again if you need more." At least you can blame the right peeps :-)