“I never pump round numbers, ya know.” 

Almost every time I go to a gas station, I think about this story.

When I was in high school, one of the jobs I had was working at Tim Hortons (I’ve worked in 4 stores for two different owners over three different employment periods. True story. I know the hell that is Tim Horton’s very well). This Tim Hortons was special though. It was my first time working at the franchise, and while I was trained at an actual store, I worked at a gas station located just down the street from the main store.

The greatest thing about the gas station Tim Hortons was that it wasn’t open 24/7 like the other locations. It was amazing! We opened at 6 and closed at 11. Just like the gas station. Of course, if the gas station was open, then so were we. This is also where I fainted for the first time, but that’s a story for a different post.

Since our little wall of goods was located inside the gas station, anyone working at the Tim Hortons could hear the conversations going on at the gas station counter and vice versa. Sometimes it proved to be highly entertaining. We were also able to talk to each other when no one was in there, so that was nice too.

One day, a gentleman comes in to pay with his credit card. His total was something completely random, like the amount in the title of the post, and then instead of just continuing to pay, he decided to tell the worker a story:

I never pay with round numbers, young lady. Do you know why? Pretty sure the attendant just kind of muttered why under her breath, not caring at all. Well, ya see, most people will round their gas purchase to the dollar, right? A nod in agreement. But I don’t. I always make sure it’s some random number just in case my credit card ever gets stolen. If I look at my statement and see a whole number at a gas station, then I know someone has stolen my card and I can report it. Smartest thing you can do! 

Now when I’m pumping gas, and I’m watching the numbers get closer and closer to the dollar, I always wonder if that old man is still doing that. I guess it’s a good idea, right? Who actually pays attention to that? I always try to get it right at the dollar. How about you?