Why do the petrol attendants cheat you?
First of all, the petrol attendants in Nigeria are one of the least paid in the country, in fact an average petrol attendant is paid between ₦10,000 - ₦15,000 monthly, but a smart attendant can make his salary in one day by cheating customers.
Ideally, when a petrol attendant resumes for work, he/she takes the reading on the meter on the fuel dispenser, which they call The Opening Meter, and after they close for the day, the reading on the meter, called The Closing Meter is taken by the attendant. Then, they multiply the difference in the readings by the cost per litre, which is the amount they deliver to the manager. If there is any surplus cash, the attendant takes it.
Unfortunately, the surplus money is simply a product of manipulation/cheating of petrol buyers by the fuel attendants on a daily basis.
How Nigerian Petrol Attendants Cheat Customers in Filling Stations
Ideally, when a petrol attendant resumes for work, he/she takes the reading on the meter on the fuel dispenser, which they call The Opening Meter, and after they close for the day, the reading on the meter, called The Closing Meter is taken by the attendant. Then, they multiply the difference in the readings by the cost per litre, which is the amount they deliver to the manager. If there is any surplus cash, the attendant takes it.
Unfortunately, the surplus money is simply a product of manipulation/cheating of petrol buyers by the fuel attendants on a daily basis.
How Nigerian Petrol Attendants Cheat Customers in Filling Stations
TRICK 1: Recall or TIM/CAL button
On the fuel dispenser there is usually a button labelled ‘Recall, TIM/CAL’ or any other label, depending on the machine. The essence of the button is to enable the attendant to see the past sales.
If you want to see your last ten sales, you just press Recall, then the number you want to see etc, depending on the number you want, and it shows you the amount.
Beyond seeing past sales, petrol attendants use it to cheat and make money from the customers.
For example, if a petrol attendant sold ₦5,000 worth of fuel to (Customer A), and the next customer (Customer B) also wants to buy ₦5,000., the attendant will clear the screen to ₦00.0 and tell Customer B to look at it (A way of gaining your trust and making you relax) then when they observe that the second customer (Customer B) Isn’t paying attention, they will sell some quantity, like ₦3,500 for example and press Stop or Cancel, depending on the machine, then press Recall 1, and Ok, With that, ₦5,000 will appear on the screen and that is what the customer will see on the meter, believing the sale is complete, meanwhile the attendant recalled the previous sale.
This can be done in less than one second.
In fact, some attendants could go to the extent of writing out some past sales on a paper where they can easily have a glance to know which number to recall when a customer is distracted or looks away, since many people prefer to buy based on price and not litre.
TRICK 2: Fake hang the nozzle
Almost every petrol consumer is knowledgeable that when the nozzle is hanged on the pump, the readings revert to zero. Thus the fuel attendants have also found a way to manipulate it to make some money for their pockets.
What they do is that they gently hang the nozzle, such that it won’t click to rub off the old sales and revert to zero, so they fake hang the nozzle, while the dispenser is still running, so if a new customer comes, they simply continue from where they stopped from the previous customer.
This trick is used a lot during fuel scarcity, or when customers are in a hurry to buy fuel.
This trick is also easier for the fuel attendant if the last sale was in a small quantity.
TRICK 3: The Okada/Keke Napep advantage
Most times, the Okada and Keke Napep's tend to buy petrol in small quantities, for example like 2 or 3 Litres of fuel.
After dispensing fuel for the Okada/Keke Napep, if the next buyer intends to buy fuel in his car or a big jerry can, the fuel attendant will use the Okada/Keke Napep advantage, because of the small quantity sold previously and continue to dispense fuel into your car tank without clearing the previous sale.
For example, if the previous sale to an Okada, Keke Napep or even a commercial bus is about ₦350, the fuel attendant will gently place the nozzle, and naturally, when the next customer (The Car owner) sees that the attendant removed the nozzle from the dispensing machine, he believes that it started from zero. However, it is not always the case, thus the car owner is automatically cheated by ₦350.
TRICK 4: Get friendly, distract and cheat.
How many times have you visited the filling station and you notice that the fuel attendant is trying to chat you up. If he is not talking about the government, religion or politics, he is most likely to dive into football, especially if he noticed you are a fan of a particular club.
'Oga mi up Arsenal o, me i be Barcelona fan, we go beat Arsenal all the time'
The trick is to make you get very comfortable, argue with him and take your eyes off the fuel meter.
Sometimes the attendant can even get his colleague to distract you, so he can focus on fuel pump to cheat you.
He can ask you questions like..
'Sir/madam do you need engine oil' or 'Sir you need to balance your wheels'
TRICK 5: Pretend not to hear you, fake ignorance, smile, apologize
This is another trick used by fuel attendants, when you request to fill up your car or
jerrycan for a particular amount, for example ₦4000, the attendant will sell only ₦1000 worth of fuel, when you ask him why he didn't fill up for ₦4000, the attendant will apologize and smile innocently and say that he/she heard you say you wanted to buy ₦1000 worth of fuel, and thus pretend to continue filling the remaining ₦3000, by pretending to reset the meter and fill up your ₦4000 worth of petrol and so you pay ₦4000
But the attendant just cheated you, and this is how...
He did not reset the meter to ₦0.00 , he continued from the ₦1000 point till he got to ₦3000, so in reality you only get the petrol worth ₦3000, but pay ₦4000
TRICK 6: Intervening the Dispenser Nozzle
It is generally found that the pump attendants keep their fingers tight on the nozzle and interrupt the flow of fuel manually. In this way, the required amount of fuel gets short. With these type of tricks, the pump staff saves probably litres of oil in a single day that accumulates to his personal surplus profit for the day.
If you are suspicious about a certain fuel station, step out of your car and ask the attendant to move away from the dispenser while filling. If you still feel that he is cheating stop him from filling your tank and call the manager and lodge your complain. If nobody at the station admits their fraud or deny any assistance, reach out to DPR https://dpr.gov.ng/index/contact-us/
As we visit the filling station today, always remember The Golden Rule: Never take your eyes off the meter
On the fuel dispenser there is usually a button labelled ‘Recall, TIM/CAL’ or any other label, depending on the machine. The essence of the button is to enable the attendant to see the past sales.
If you want to see your last ten sales, you just press Recall, then the number you want to see etc, depending on the number you want, and it shows you the amount.
Beyond seeing past sales, petrol attendants use it to cheat and make money from the customers.
For example, if a petrol attendant sold ₦5,000 worth of fuel to (Customer A), and the next customer (Customer B) also wants to buy ₦5,000., the attendant will clear the screen to ₦00.0 and tell Customer B to look at it (A way of gaining your trust and making you relax) then when they observe that the second customer (Customer B) Isn’t paying attention, they will sell some quantity, like ₦3,500 for example and press Stop or Cancel, depending on the machine, then press Recall 1, and Ok, With that, ₦5,000 will appear on the screen and that is what the customer will see on the meter, believing the sale is complete, meanwhile the attendant recalled the previous sale.
This can be done in less than one second.
In fact, some attendants could go to the extent of writing out some past sales on a paper where they can easily have a glance to know which number to recall when a customer is distracted or looks away, since many people prefer to buy based on price and not litre.
TRICK 2: Fake hang the nozzle
Almost every petrol consumer is knowledgeable that when the nozzle is hanged on the pump, the readings revert to zero. Thus the fuel attendants have also found a way to manipulate it to make some money for their pockets.
What they do is that they gently hang the nozzle, such that it won’t click to rub off the old sales and revert to zero, so they fake hang the nozzle, while the dispenser is still running, so if a new customer comes, they simply continue from where they stopped from the previous customer.
This trick is used a lot during fuel scarcity, or when customers are in a hurry to buy fuel.
This trick is also easier for the fuel attendant if the last sale was in a small quantity.
TRICK 3: The Okada/Keke Napep advantage
Most times, the Okada and Keke Napep's tend to buy petrol in small quantities, for example like 2 or 3 Litres of fuel.
After dispensing fuel for the Okada/Keke Napep, if the next buyer intends to buy fuel in his car or a big jerry can, the fuel attendant will use the Okada/Keke Napep advantage, because of the small quantity sold previously and continue to dispense fuel into your car tank without clearing the previous sale.
For example, if the previous sale to an Okada, Keke Napep or even a commercial bus is about ₦350, the fuel attendant will gently place the nozzle, and naturally, when the next customer (The Car owner) sees that the attendant removed the nozzle from the dispensing machine, he believes that it started from zero. However, it is not always the case, thus the car owner is automatically cheated by ₦350.
TRICK 4: Get friendly, distract and cheat.
How many times have you visited the filling station and you notice that the fuel attendant is trying to chat you up. If he is not talking about the government, religion or politics, he is most likely to dive into football, especially if he noticed you are a fan of a particular club.
'Oga mi up Arsenal o, me i be Barcelona fan, we go beat Arsenal all the time'
The trick is to make you get very comfortable, argue with him and take your eyes off the fuel meter.
Sometimes the attendant can even get his colleague to distract you, so he can focus on fuel pump to cheat you.
He can ask you questions like..
'Sir/madam do you need engine oil' or 'Sir you need to balance your wheels'
TRICK 5: Pretend not to hear you, fake ignorance, smile, apologize
This is another trick used by fuel attendants, when you request to fill up your car or
jerrycan for a particular amount, for example ₦4000, the attendant will sell only ₦1000 worth of fuel, when you ask him why he didn't fill up for ₦4000, the attendant will apologize and smile innocently and say that he/she heard you say you wanted to buy ₦1000 worth of fuel, and thus pretend to continue filling the remaining ₦3000, by pretending to reset the meter and fill up your ₦4000 worth of petrol and so you pay ₦4000
But the attendant just cheated you, and this is how...
He did not reset the meter to ₦0.00 , he continued from the ₦1000 point till he got to ₦3000, so in reality you only get the petrol worth ₦3000, but pay ₦4000
TRICK 6: Intervening the Dispenser Nozzle
It is generally found that the pump attendants keep their fingers tight on the nozzle and interrupt the flow of fuel manually. In this way, the required amount of fuel gets short. With these type of tricks, the pump staff saves probably litres of oil in a single day that accumulates to his personal surplus profit for the day.
If you are suspicious about a certain fuel station, step out of your car and ask the attendant to move away from the dispenser while filling. If you still feel that he is cheating stop him from filling your tank and call the manager and lodge your complain. If nobody at the station admits their fraud or deny any assistance, reach out to DPR https://dpr.gov.ng/index/contact-us/
As we visit the filling station today, always remember The Golden Rule: Never take your eyes off the meter
