Expat is baffled by something at servos: ‘It's a bit annoying’

When you've lived in a country all your life, it's easy to take the everyday norms for granted.

But for expat Tate Duane, a simple trip to a servo turned into a cultural conundrum that left her scratching her head.



Duane shared her confusion about the Australian way of filling up a car with petrol in her video online.

It wasn't just the lack of 'clicky things' to hold the pump in place or the absence of pay-at-the-pump options that puzzled her, but the entire process of refuelling.

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Tate Duane was confused about how fueling up cars works in servos. Credit: @twaynne / TikTok


In the video, she expressed her bewilderment.

'Australia, I love you, but I’m so confused. I’m at the petrol station pouring [petrol] into the car for the first time by myself…Tell me why you guys don’t have those little clicky things that hold it [the pump] in place,' she said

‘You have to really stand here the whole time, which is a bit annoying.'

Her confusion deepened when she tried to prepay for her petrol, a common practice in the United States.

The attendant's response left her flabbergasted: she was told to start filling the car.

This led her to question what happens when someone needs petrol in the middle of the night, and there's no attendant on duty.



'Also, what do you guys do when you’re trying to get [petrol] in the middle of the night, and no one’s working at this service station inside?’

‘Are these things just open 24 hours? Because in the United States, you can literally just go tap your card on the machine right there, pump and drive away, and it’s locked until you do that, so you can’t steal [petrol],’ she added.

Duane's video sparked responses from her followers, with some seizing the opportunity to tease the expat playfully.

One user joked, 'We used to have those clicky things that hold the trigger down, but after a series of events where kangaroos kicked the pump handles…' while another quipped, 'Fuel is free over here just fill up and drive off.'

Others offered more serious explanations, stating that the 'clicky things' were removed for safety reasons.



‘You fill up your car, then you go inside and pay. There are surveillance cameras. If you don’t pay, they’ll report you to the police,’ one person said.

‘We are trusted here to pay after putting fuel in,’ added another.

However, some Aussies would prefer the American way.

‘It’s the only thing America does right. Pre-paying stops drive-offs and allows unmanned fuel stations to continue servicing customers,’ said one.

‘I wish we had the card swipe thing. I hate going inside to pay,’ agreed a second.

Several users also couldn’t believe Duane wasn’t called out over the loudspeaker for using her phone to film the video while filling up.

You can watch Duane’s video below:


Credit: @twaynne / TikTok


Duane isn't the first expat perplexed by the Australian petrol station experience.

South African expat Mahle Majola also expressed her surprise at the self-service nature of Australian petrol stations, questioning how Aussies could be 'so trusting'.

‘How are there no petrol attendants?’ Majola asked in her video.

‘There is no one here. You basically fill the tank yourself based on how much petrol you want, and then you go inside and pay.’



However, that’s not always the case.

In a previous story, a mum was dragged out of her home for failing to pay the car fuel for $58.

She explained her Apple Pay didn't work, but later, she received a court notice. She thought if she paid, she wouldn't have to go to court, and the matter would be resolved. You can read more about this story here.
Key Takeaways

  • An expat shared her confusion about Australian service stations on social media, questioning the lack of pay-at-the-pump facilities and 'clicky things' that hold the pump in place.
  • Tate Duane was surprised to learn that Australians fill up their car first and then go inside to pay and was unsure of how the system works during the night.
  • Some online users played along with her confusion, while others explained the system and mentioned that safety reasons led to the removal of automatic pump latches.
  • The article also highlights differing opinions among Australians, with some preferring the American pre-pay system to prevent drive-offs and facilitate unmanned fuel stations.
What do you think, members? Which way do you prefer to fill up your car? Let us know in the comments below.
 
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There are a few servos that have prepaid in Perth but I don't like using them anyway. Costco are open good hours but you need to be a member to use their fuel pumps. If you sign up and download certain servo's apps, you can pay from your phone and don't have to go into the shop. Maybe she should do a bit of research before posting these whining, complaining videos. These ex-pats need to realise that not every country does the same things as the USA. We are Australia and have Australian ways. If you don't like the way we do things, you can always go back home.
 
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Good thing it's not like when servos were rostered for the weekend. Checking the newspapers for one close to you. If none available locally using 2 shilling coins in self serve pump. Ah! How times change.
Whoa! Serious memory flashback to the 70s, there!.... Driving back into Brisbane at night, any day of the week, was deadly if you didn't have the presence of mind to refuel at an all-nighter outside the Brisbane City boundary. Coin-op pumps were pretty thin on the ground, and always charged higher than the normal price per litre. The one at Upper Mount Gravatt particularly springs to mind. When the non-coin-pump price was around 22c/litre, the coin bandit would charge an effective 30c, and wasn't it fun carrying around all that shrapnel on a "just-in-case" basis! There was nobody around to whom you could voice a complaint if the coin-pump short-supplied, either.... Never would be missed.
 
Had the reverse problem when I first visited Los Angeles in April 1992.

I was cutting across, from Anaheim to Westchester, avoiding the freeways and other major roads.

I stopped for 'gas' at the corner of West Florence and Normandie, with no idea of prepaying for it.

But a very helpful attendant got me on my way, very quickly. He was very eager to see my white face out of their.

Fortunately, it was early morning so the locals were still sleeping off the night before.

Otherwise, my little detour might have been my last.

It was Wednesday the 29th, the day the Rodney King verdict was handed down. The same day the South Central riots started @ Florence and Normandie.
 
Well we can whinge about the opposite, if you prepay you don’t know exactly how much you need. If you pay for more than you need you have to wait up to 4 weeks to get your refund.
There is plenty of 24 hour servos around in the big towns and cities. You just have to use a thing called a smart phone and google maps or a petrol app.
 
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We had coin operated pumps in the 60"s and these needed you to prepay the amount of fuel needed. No cards in those days.
However due to constant failures where the coin machine failed and as long as you had fuel pumping it just did. I remember one such garage in Sydney's south where you carried a bucket in the boot. All our mates would go to this servo when word got around and fill up for nothing. Needless to say these pumps were quickly retired.
 
We had coin operated pumps in the 60"s and these needed you to prepay the amount of fuel needed. No cards in those days.
However due to constant failures where the coin machine failed and as long as you had fuel pumping it just did. I remember one such garage in Sydney's south where you carried a bucket in the boot. All our mates would go to this servo when word got around and fill up for nothing. Needless to say these pumps were quickly retired.
OH TUT !!! Poor little Yanks. Why do they always expect us to be a junior USA? Surely you can see when you are running short on petrol so commonsense tells you to FILL UP.
 
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OH TUT !!! Poor little Yanks. Why do they always expect us to be a junior USA? Surely you can see when you are running short on petrol so commonsense tells you to FILL UP.
My sentiments exactly. Who would be travelling in the middle of the night needing fuel anyway???
 
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Wow standing there for a whole 3 minute out of your life to fill your car must be such a hard task and then to go and pay because you expect some lucky to be at your beck and call. Want to live here, except our way of life.
 
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Well we can whinge about the opposite, if you prepay you don’t know exactly how much you need. If you pay for more than you need you have to wait up to 4 weeks to get your refund.
There is plenty of 24 hour servos around in the big towns and cities. You just have to use a thing called a smart phone and google maps or a petrol app.
Have you noticed how many stupid people do not know how to use a smart phone, they used to be called an ignoramus. The only thing they know about is how to take a selfie! But I digress, I use the Petrol Spy app and go to the Liberty servo whose prices are cheaper than Puma/Caltex even after the RACQ 4cents discount.
I can explain why the sky is blue and describe a spiral staircase with my hands in my pockets and use a swipe pump for petrol but I can't explain why MS Windows sh!ts itself regularly.
 

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