Does anyone else have this happen to them?

I'm at a gas station and a lady pulls into the pump across from me and begs me for a few dollars...claiming she is out of gas and needs to get to x. This is the third time this has happened to me this year. Is this just a TN thing?

that has happened a few times to me as well. Although I have noticed they do that after they have bought a pack of cigarettes.

Never happened to me. I must have that "screw you" look.

Wait! It was Tennesse? Was it my crazy sister? She lives there and is always out of money because her husband spends it on drugs. He's a winner and she's a winner for staying with him.

What was the question again?

Perfectly normal, this has happened to me a lot. Often i am holding a knife and wearing a ski mask when i ask though

You should give them $3 and say if they had a Prius they should be able to make it fine on this much gas.

Never had that happen but I assume it's around the same station?

[quote name='Falang_Golfer' timestamp='1387848061' post='8341693']
You should give them $3 and say if they had a Prius they should be able to make it fine on this much gas.

Never had that happen but I assume it's around the same station?
[/quote]

No, not really. They have all been in a different city. I have always gave them some money just because they might actually need help.

Lots of pressure on people.

I am sure none of us would like to beg for money.

We just don't like to see it because it reminds us

That could be us.

It's happened to me but not in Columbus... Last time I recall it happening was while I was Oakland for work.

"Sorry, nope."

One thing I've seen on video is they do that, distract you from looking in/at your car, and if you go ahead and turn your back on the car, their co-hort goes in the other door and does a quick grab of anything they can quickly get their hands on. After I've seen that on video, I always pull my keys out and lock the car. Do a goole search on "gas sliders".

--kC

Never happened to me at a gas station, but I've had it happen at the super market. Someone tells me they're hungry, I usually give them a dollar. Some years ago, there was a homeless guy hanging around my town. Really a pathetic looking guy, he'd camp out somewhere in town. The police were always rousting him. I'd see him, and give him a dollar when he asked. One day, he asked me for spare change. I told him this was his lucky day, and handed him a $50 bill. He thanked me, asked if I was a minister, and basically could not have been more appreciative.

A couple days later, I read in the paper that a homeless man was found stone drunk outside a bar, and arrested. I never saw the guy again. Must have been my buddy.

I've never been approached by someone getting gas. Maybe it's because I only get my gas from one station which is in a nice town. I would give someone money but I'm always on the cautious side.

They dont need help. 99% of them are scammers. They will go straight to the liquor store or buy a 40oz at the station. Or they will not get gas and just drive off. Been there done that.

Had a pregnant lady come up to me at a Costco gas station a couple weeks ago asking for a few dollars for gas. I told her that you can't pay cash at a Costco gas pump and offered to pay for a couple gallons to get her on her way if she wanted to pull her car up to the pump. She paused and then asked if I could give her a ride to her "mom's" house.

As much fun as it might be to get carjacked/mugged/beaten/etc., I had to politely decline.

Boxing Day, I'm on my way to the golf shop to buy my Christmas presents that apparently my family completely disregarded in my Santa list.

I stop to get some gas, and there's a dude at the opposite side of the pump from me. He's talking to himself - which is always a good thing when you're dealing with strangers - right?. It's obvious that he can't figure out the "pay at the pump" deal.

Initially, I ignore this guy and pump my own gas. Finally, and inevitably, it comes. "Hey, once I put my card in, what do I do next?"

I chuckle to myself, as this is not rocket science. I am polite, and explain that he has to pick his grade of fuel, then pull the pump out and fill his van. (To make matters worse, they're out of regular grade fuel and only have premium, for which they are charging regular price as a "Happy Holidays" deal, I guess.)

Now comes the entertainment. I spent the next 5 minutes explaining to this guy "No, your van won't blow up on premium gas - [i]even on the highway[/i]" and "Yes, I agree that the gas companies are making a mint off fuel sales when there could be alternatives to petrochemicals as a combustion agent." (He then referred to the Oil Companies as a "buncha ball washing bastards", which is both hilarious, and has some merit.)

In the meantime, the pump has timed out, as this Mensa candidate didn't pump his fuel before going off the reservation on his political tangent. A few cuss words and a bunch of confusion later, he asks me what's happened.

I explain that the pump has timed out, and he has to re-insert his credit card and start fueling. The whole process begins again, where he asks me why there is no regular fuel, etc, etc. Then, he states "I don't know why this is so damned hard to do, it's just buying gas!"

I question this with "Well, how did you drive your van this long only filling up gas this one time?"

He's clueless. I left him standing there, credit card in hand, still not a drop of gas in his van. His wife, obviously getting impatient, sitting in the front seat.

How do some people make it through the day without eating their own arm?

R35

Yeah, I've had it happen several times. It's definitely not just a TN thing, because it's happened to me in SoCal.

I usually flip the guy a few quarters and make him promise to not waste it on food or gas. "...It has to go towards cigarettes and/or alcohol..." This usually gets a smile out of them, and at the very least, I've made someone feel better for a few minutes.

I'm with bscinstnct on this one--you never know what one's circumstances are, and it can't feel good to have to ask.

Call me a sucker I guess, but the only time I say "no" is when I don't have anything on me.