Nurse the Hate: The Shell Oil/True North Store Situation

Sept 11, 2019

Shell Oil/True North

10346 Brecksville Rd.

Brecksville, OH 44141

Greetings,

On August 9^th I attempted to fill up my tank with gas at Store #362.  When I began to pump the gas, I was immediately sprayed as the connection from the hose to the nozzle acted like a gasoline sprinkler.  I thought to myself, “well this is certainly unpleasant and I would like to make it stop”.  I immediately moved to place the hose back on the cradle when the real fun began.  The hose then became completely disconnected from the nozzle and  began to spray gas all over myself, my car, and the immediate area.  I would describe myself as “soaked” in gasoline.  Please note, this is not my ideal end result when I visit one of your gas stations.

I entered the station and attempted to report the situation.  There was a line of customers waiting to buy the variety of delights you make available at your True North stores, so I can understand the trepidation of the clerk to address my situation of being drenched in gas and having a live gas hose spewing fuel on the pavement.  After all, the spicy jalapeno roller dog is a taste treat to say nothing of the refreshments abound from the fountain drink area.  One does not want to get between a hungry customer and their 99 cent chili cheese dog, eh?  However, I was surprised to announce “Hey, you’ve got a real problem out there!  You’ve got gas spilling all over the place!” and receive a “Huh?” in the tone of a Canadian goose from the clerk.  The key to the disconnect was the tone.  After I repeated the situation as well as pointing out I was soaked in gasoline, the clerk called out “Patty!” and ignored me to ring up the next customer.

I was told to fill out “the incident report”, which I did.  This was Store 362 on August 9^th at 12:20pm.  The incident occurred on Pump #9.  I can provide a photo of the completed report upon request.  Here's the way I see it.  Your hose completely disconnected from the pump.  It ruined my clothes (A pair of Lucky Jeans, a Banana Republic button down shirt, a pair of slip on Chuck Taylors, and a ratty ass pair of boxer briefs).  It also soaked the side of my car, which I had to get detailed.  This included the interior of my car, which was also sprayed as the window was down when I started to pump the gas.  All told, I am out $544.49 with the combined replacement cost of the clothes and the auto detailing.  I did not include the cost of the boxer briefs which were, to be fair, in a condition I would call “bleak”.  Nothing looks more sad than a pair of old boxer briefs soaked in gasoline, let me tell you.

If you review the security tape, I think you will see not only the confirmation of the event as per this document but also a startling lack of urgency on the part of the employees considering it was reported a hose with gasoline was emptying into a full station of customers.  Oh well, I suppose one does not have the choice of Grade A potential employees at your typical Shell station.  Maybe you guys have a “priorities” webinar you could run for employees when you issue them those sporty smocks and name tags.  Just a thought.  "Things to do in order when a customer is soaked in gas due to our negligence.  1.  Address the customer's needs.  2.  Ring up the guy buying smokes and a Slim Jim."

I am very disappointed I have not received any feedback from your company.  It has been a month my friends.  I must warn you, I expect to be fully compensated for your negligence regarding this incident.  I am not going to take some sort of automated form letter combined with a $25 gift card.  I must insist on total compensation for my clothes and service for my automobile.  It has been a month without any response to the “incident report”.  I am hoping you take a moment and rectify this situation ASAP.  I am not going to let this go.

Sincerely,

Greg Miller