I was driving from LA to San Francisco and stopped off at Buttonwillow to fill up on gas. I looked around at the prices posted at each gas station and saw that Mobil was the cheapest at $2.30. Being tired and sore from the trip, I used my card, started the pump on regular, and ran inside to use the bathroom.
When I returned, I set the nozzle back and got a receipt. Upon looking at the receipt, I saw the price listed for gas as $2.40. Concerned, I went inside to ask the attendant if there was a mistake.
I didn't even get to finish my question. She interrupted me with "It's $2.30 if you pay with cash, $2.40 by card. It's on the sign outside." As if I'm not the only person to raise this issue.
I looked outside. "What sign?" I asked.
"It's outside, " she replied. I looked again, seeing nothing but the large signs quoting the gas prices.
"I don't see a sign. Show me where it is, " I demanded.
She didn't budge, didn't even LOOK at me. She just kept repeating "it's outside" and waited for me to leave. Frustrated and just wanting to be on my way, I went back to my car.
As I was staring at the sign, trying to figure out exactly WHERE it said prices differ by payment, I noticed a smaller sign underneath. It was colored yellow, unlit and with text that couldn't be read from where I was sitting at the pumps. I could only assume this was the sign she was talking about. I took a picture with my cameraphone (can be seen here: http://img. Photobucket.com/albums/v80/Wiccat/temp/1262007.jpg) and made my way back onto the freeway.
The entire time, I kept glancing at the small yellow sign. I couldn't read the text at all, not from the pumps, not from the road, not from the onramp to the freeway.
This makes me very angry, as it's an obvious cheat to make customers pay more. From the attendant's attitude, they KNOW it's a cheat. What I thought was the cheapest station in the bunch turned out to be the most expensive.
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