Empire gas station attendant problems

dj_john69 · Post by **dj_john69** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 2:14 pm

Did anyone else encounter problems with the Empire gas station attendents this year either coming or going to BM ??

I did.

On Monday about 7:30pm we arrived to the gas station to refuel my rv. Of course there was a line and cars/rv's/trucks everywhere as expected. I pulled off the road as far as possible so others could pass me. Once i got to the pumps, some drunk asshole starts filling my tanks. In the meantime, im washing my windshield so i can see heading back to Sparks. Im not even half way done when the guy says i need to get my piece of shit out of their way. I told him i was almost done and i'd be out of their in 2 minutes or less. He says i need to get the fuck out of there right now. Oh, there was 2 other vehicles blocking me from leaving by the way. I told the guy that i couldnt move until the other vehicles infront of me moved. The guy then starts cursing and yelling as he gets in my face. He was yelling so loud that other burners could hear him and walked over to see what was happening. He was getting close to me and i felt in danger so i stepped back a few steps. He keeps saying i need to get the fuck out of there right now or else he would fuck me up !! I again told him i couldnt move due to the other 2 vehicles were still parked in my way. He says i need to get them to move. I told him it was his job to get them to move and NOT my job. Then another attendant comes over and tries to get this asshole away from me. He left for a few minutes giving me a few seconds to explain myself to the 2nd attendant. He understood my situation and said he would get the other vehicles to move. A few minutes later, the asshole attendant comes back yelling and cussing at me again. I told him there was no need to yell or cuss. I told him that he needs to show some respect to burners...those of us that keep that fucking shithole open. He said "fuck you and Burning Man". Thats when i got defensive. I started telling him that i spend about $200 on gas when i go there and he should be a little bit more understanding about the traffic and chaos around the gas station. Finally, the 2 vehicles that i was blocked in by moved and i got into my rv. I go to close my rv door and the asshole is still yelling at me saying he should fucking kick my hippy ass. I shut my door and drove off.

Needless to say, i called the gas station and store owner to complain about the way i was treated with cursing and violence by an employee. Whoever answered the phone said that she would pass my contact info to the owner but i havent heard back yet.

Did anyone else encounter any problems this year ?? My 10 previousl years i havent had a single problem with anyone there. Its always been smooth and a nice place to refuel. The worst expirence prior to this was the owner been way to drunk on his margarita and trying to double charge me. I called him mistake and he admitted his mistake.

Please post up if you too had any problems with this gas station or its attendants.

Thanks.

~John

Apollonaris Zeus · Post by **Apollonaris Zeus** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 10:02 am

Next time stop at the other Gerlack gas station!

AIIZ

Kinetic IV · Post by **Kinetic IV** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 10:19 am

Apollonaris Zeus wrote:Next time stop at the other Gerlack gas station!

AIIZ

Year #1 of attending BM I had trouble with the gas station in Empire. The attitude was so bad I haven't been back since and I thought I'd stop at the Texaco station in Gerlach...I think it's Bruno's. The attitude there sucked that year, and then this year I got disgusted that they turned the pumps off at night, not even allowing credit card pre-pay sales like thousands upon thousands of other gas stations across America does, some of which are located in even more remote spots than Gerlach.

So as far as the gas stations in Empire and Gerlach are concerned...while I want to support local businesses in this case both of them can go fuck themselves. I'll carry in extra fuel cans and make sure I have enough fuel to handle Exodus and get me back across Jungo Road to Winnemucca. It's a hassle but it's better than dealing with the attitude, ancient pumps, traffic issues, and owners who don't have much business sense to take advantage of a golden opportunity.

Apollonaris Zeus · Post by **Apollonaris Zeus** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 10:28 am

I was trying to make a joke and didn't realize that there were TWO gas stations in Girlack!

Never had to buy gas there either!

AIIZ

Kinetic IV · Post by **Kinetic IV** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 11:07 am

Apollonaris Zeus wrote:I was trying to make a joke and didn't realize that there were TWO gas stations in Girlack!

Never had to buy gas there either!

AIIZ

Sorry to spoil your joke but you hit one of my BRC annoyances.

Rabbi Dali Rick · Post by **Rabbi Dali Rick** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:49 pm

I thought it was just me... when we pulled in (during the day, monday) we were getting gas and it seemed the attendant seemed a little course and unusually mean, while trying to move people through the line. They seemed almost insulted that he had to wait on burners. We can make sure that he does not have that problem by keeping people abreast of the situation and make sure they fill up before they leave Reno or Sparks, and direct people to the other gas station. Is it legal to sell emergency gas from a fifty gallon drum on the side of the road? We need to send a clear message that we can do without them leaving the question can they do without us....

the rebbi

dj_john69 · Post by **dj_john69** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 8:57 pm

Just a quick update: The gas station owner NEVER called me back after leaving 2 messages. FUCK THAT GAS STATION !!!!!!!!

Im still very bitter about that fucking asshole attendant...KARMA is a bitch !!

~John

we0ne · Post by **we0ne** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 12:01 am

I won't bore you with all the details, but last year I was sprayed down with water by some fuck nuts working at the station. Luckily the police were there anyways and reminded them what constitutes assult. Needless to say, we didn't stop there this year and managed to help 5 or more cars from stopping there either.

It says it all when they post sign stating "last stop until burning man"

stabrippystabstab · Post by **stabrippystabstab** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:22 pm

WOW i am sooo sorry about that yelling incident. I doubt he was drunk. (yes i know him personally) He gets very stressed and pissed off when it comes to people leaving their vehicles while fuleing because he is trying to get everyone in and out as soon as possible. He has a temper, and i appoligize on behalf of the town of empire. You should have just punched him, he is quite frail. haha.
as for the water incident. I too was sprayed by water. I will wholey blame that on the booze. I yelled at him and a few others for spraying water at people because he dosnt know how anyone is gonna react, not everyone takes that stuff kindly. I tryed to take the water from him and he broke my finger on accident. Again, im sorry about your experiences and I encourage everyone to pack their gas starting from reno or fernley.

ps. pack it in pack it out means never try to throw away your trash in empire or gerlach because everyones super anal about that and they will yell at you. people are assholes eh?

EspressoDude · Post by **EspressoDude** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 6:35 am

re: gas station

3 years ago prior to our first Burn, I called the station to inquire about hours of operation, etc. Don't remember the guys name, but he was friendly and courteous. When we got there I introduced myself, said hello, shook hands, smiled, got our gas, paid and left.

The next two years were good experiences also. Keep in mind that these folks are probably used to about a hundred cars a day or so, and when the line of cars stretches to the horizon, and some spacecase starts wandering around and can't move the vehicles promptly, it can be stressfull. Just think about your own job. If you suddenly had to do 10 - 100 times more work in one day than usual, you would be stressed also.

Help the folks helping you do their job as efficiently as possible, be friendly, etc.

Archantael · Post by **Archantael** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:12 am

Considering my experiences with the Gerlach (and Empire) gas station people, I'll eat the cost of buying extra gas cans and straps to hold them on and just bring what I need to bypass the whole damn mess. It's not worth the hassle. Not to mention my generator didn't run too well on their gas...but it ran fine on the stuff I bought at Winnemucca.

pinemom · Post by **pinemom** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:15 am

working there would remind me of the old days working at the Hyatt lake tahoe, when the bell boy would run down and tell our hostess, 3 tour busses just arrived! the next 8 hours would be 500 people, coming in grumpy and tired from the road wanting to hurry up and eat so they could go dump their hard earned money in a machine, worse they would lose their asses THEN come in and EAT!!!!!Nice grumpy huge amount of people!

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:06 am

Jeez-damn. They aren't gas-pumping machines, they're people.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:47 pm

At the place where they have the store and ice cream,
I asked the guys at the station if it was always like this.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 3:31 pm

Ugly Dougly wrote:Jeez-damn. They aren't gas-pumping machines, they're people.

Well, it probably IS a good idea not to add to the problem-- get your gas before Empire and Gerlach!

I didn't stop for gas in Gerlach-- I'd have to look at a map for where I finally stopped. We were travelling pretty early in the day (I don't recall which side of midnight we left the playa), so traffic wasn't too bad, even at the gas station we stopped at.

B.

Empire gas station attendant problems

Empire gas station attendant problems

Now That You Mention It....