Major Culture Shock: The Differences of American and Australian Petrol Stations
- Replies 23
For many Aussies, a trip to the petrol station is just another part of their daily routine, as familiar as making a cup of tea or tuning in to their favourite radio station. But for those who've come to Australia from overseas, the experience can be quite the culture shock.
This was the case for Tate Duane, an American expat who recently stormed the internet when she shared a video of her being confused after visiting an Aussie petrol station for the first time.
The California native (who is now living in Melbourne) shared that her confusion started when she was told by an employee that she needed to fill in her car first before paying for it. Meanwhile, In the US, customers are required to pay at the pump first.
‘Listen, Australia, I love you, but I’m so confused,’ she started.
‘I’m at the petrol station pouring gas into the car for the first time by myself…I just went in to try and put $50 on the pump or just to give (the employee) cash because you don’t have the tap-to-pay at this thing,’ she continued.
‘I don’t really know what I’m doing here because there’s nowhere to swipe your card out here,’ she explained.
She then went on to ask what Aussies do when they’re trying to get petrol in the middle of the night with no employee inside the service station.
‘I mean, are these things just open 24 hours? In the US, you can literally just go tap your card on the machine right there, pump and drive away. It’s locked until you do that, so you can’t just steal [fuel],’ she stated while noticing that the pump didn’t have a feature that would automatically fill up her car.
She continued: 'I’ve seen other people do (it), but tell me why you guys don’t have those clicky things that holds it into place?'
'You have to literally stand here the whole time, which is a bit annoying.'
Before ending her video, she asked if someone could explain and clarify these things for her.
Tate’s video, which was viewed over 300,000 times, was met with thousands of responses explaining how petrol stations worked in Australia.
‘We are trusted here to pay after putting our fuel in’, one commenter said.
Another social media user explained, ‘The clicking thing was removed years ago for safety reasons, they can fail and not turn off. People can often forget to take it out and drive off with it still in the car. Most servos are open 24/7 with someone working.’
Another reminded: ‘Just letting you know you’re not allowed to be using a mobile phone while pumping petrol in Australia as it’s a potential fire hazard.’
You can watch Tate’s full video below:
What do you think about this story, members? Do you have similar experiences you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments!
This was the case for Tate Duane, an American expat who recently stormed the internet when she shared a video of her being confused after visiting an Aussie petrol station for the first time.
The California native (who is now living in Melbourne) shared that her confusion started when she was told by an employee that she needed to fill in her car first before paying for it. Meanwhile, In the US, customers are required to pay at the pump first.
‘Listen, Australia, I love you, but I’m so confused,’ she started.
‘I’m at the petrol station pouring gas into the car for the first time by myself…I just went in to try and put $50 on the pump or just to give (the employee) cash because you don’t have the tap-to-pay at this thing,’ she continued.
Tate Duane shared her confusion over American and Australian Petrol Stations is social media Credits: Connor Forsyth /Pexels
‘I don’t really know what I’m doing here because there’s nowhere to swipe your card out here,’ she explained.
She then went on to ask what Aussies do when they’re trying to get petrol in the middle of the night with no employee inside the service station.
‘I mean, are these things just open 24 hours? In the US, you can literally just go tap your card on the machine right there, pump and drive away. It’s locked until you do that, so you can’t just steal [fuel],’ she stated while noticing that the pump didn’t have a feature that would automatically fill up her car.
She continued: 'I’ve seen other people do (it), but tell me why you guys don’t have those clicky things that holds it into place?'
'You have to literally stand here the whole time, which is a bit annoying.'
Before ending her video, she asked if someone could explain and clarify these things for her.
Tate’s video, which was viewed over 300,000 times, was met with thousands of responses explaining how petrol stations worked in Australia.
‘We are trusted here to pay after putting our fuel in’, one commenter said.
Another social media user explained, ‘The clicking thing was removed years ago for safety reasons, they can fail and not turn off. People can often forget to take it out and drive off with it still in the car. Most servos are open 24/7 with someone working.’
Another reminded: ‘Just letting you know you’re not allowed to be using a mobile phone while pumping petrol in Australia as it’s a potential fire hazard.’
You can watch Tate’s full video below:
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