Dont usually fill up at Shell garages but I was running low and it was near, anyway I pull up at the pump and then start to fill and the pump switches of after about £3. A garbled voice comes over the tannoy the only word I could understand was "stand", So I knock my side stand down and wait, garbled message repeats again totally unintelligible. I close the tank and head in, taking my helmet off because We are all criminals dontcha know. I ask the attendant what's going on and she says "you have to get off your bike to fill it up" Me " I can't fill it up because it's on it side stand then" Shell Garage Attendant "Sorry, that's our policy" Me "So I have fill up here then drive to another garage to actually fill up?" She didn't have an answer to that so I chucked the £3 over and left, 5 mile down the road, pulled into Morrisons garage and filled up no issues whilst sitting on the bike, I'm sick of being treated like a second class citizen because I ride a bike. Well Shell have lost a bike and a car customer as far as I'm concerned and I'll be writing to them to tell them as much. To top it off the attendant handed me a leaflet entitled "Helping our motorcycle customers feel even more welcome"
I had the same once I am afraid it's done to some dumb arses that forget to put there side stand down fall off on the forecourt and spill fuel everywhere....
I know some stations I used to use that introduced that rule. Like you say they no longer get my custom.
I had that experience once with contrasting results. 1st time was on my own bike. Voice over the tannoy told me to get off as they shut the pump down (didn't ask, told me) so like you I went in paid the couple of quid or whatever and went and filled up down the road. Later that day I went into the same garage again and did the same again, but this time I was on my Police bike. Not so much as even a murmur. I didn't say anything to the pump attendant as it was a different one so was probably none the wiser as to what had happened earlier. Anyway, long story short, it transpired that this was not the first time that off duty colleagues had been told to get off the bile when filling up ther own bikes so my base inspector who was also head of the motorcycle wing quickly closed down the account with this garage which meant that all our cars, bikes, accident unit which were usually filled up at least twice a day plus all the local Panda cars went somewhere else. They also lost out on the extras that we often purchased like food, drink and so on. The garage chain owner pleaded with my boss not to close the account but the damage had been done. It must have cost him thousands a week in lost revenue. But it was too late and the new garage actually gave us a much better service. The original garage is no longer in business. I wonder why?
It's a safety issue , if you are sat on your bike filling it with petrol . If a spillage goes onto the engine and the bike goes up in flames you'll find it very hard getting off it while it's like a bonfire . Hence getting off , if it went up in flames while your stood there you can run off . That's what my mate in Traffic police told me
Oh I understand why they do it, but I've been filling bikes up for over 35 years, I know it's a dangerous substance so I don't piss about when filling up, maybe they should ensure their pumps don't squirt out leftover petrol before you get it into the tank.
What I do is pull up to the forecourt, before I put my side stand down I remove my helmet and gloves ( which re assures the forecourt attendant I am not a drive off, and being on such low wage do they really need some ass making their day harder and putting them in a threated position. They are just going through protocol) . I then fill up, pay, then go. Everyone is a winner. Can't believe coppers are apposed to this.
Coppers aren't opposed to it. But if you are going to make rules they should be applied consistently. It is the hypocrisy that winds me up. I will give you a example, same principle different scenario A number of years ago I was out with a group of buddies on our own bikes on a social ride and at the end of the ride we called into a local pub for a pie and a pint. We ordered our food and were sat quitely in the corner not bothering anyone when the landlord came over and said "Sorry, we don't serve motorcyclists". When I asked why his attitude was I don't like them, they are trouble and they should all be banned. Fair enough, everyone is entitled to their opinion and so he refunded our money and we left..... A few days later I had to attend a crash right outside the very same pub I had been asked to leave a few days earlier. This time I was on my job bike. It transpires that one of the drivers involved was the landlords son. I am dealing with the crash when the landlord comes out and asks if I woud like to go into the pub have a coffee and interview his son indoors. I politely declined the offer and carried on dealing with the crash. The landlord became quite insistent that I went into the Pub and spoke to his son inside, and so I politely said "I cannot go into your pub, I am banned" Puzzled the landlord asled me what I meant so I explained to him what had happened a few days earlier when he kicked us out and that the ban still applied because I was still a motorcyclists and he said it was a banket ban to all motorcyclists because we were trouble and should be banned. The look on his face was an absolute picture. He was very apologetic and said he did not mean to discriminate and he only banned or had a dislike for bikers based on something an old friend of his had told him many years previously and he assumed it was gospel and therefore true. Anyway, when he realised that to own a bike cost more than the average car, we took a lot more training and spent a lot more money than the average car driver, and discussed that you could have 100,000 people at Donnington for the GP with just 2 coppers inside the circuit unlike a few hundred for a football match with the same numbers, then penny started to drop. I never did go back, but I am led to believe that motorcylists never got turned away again whilst he remained the landlord and in fact a few clubs actually went onto have it as their meeting place. The bottom line is if you are going to discriminate, then there has to be consistency, and as far as health and safety is concerned when it comes to filling the tank when sat on the bike, how many times has anyone actually heard of a bike bursting into flames? In 40+ years of riding, I have heard of it once or twice as riders tend to be quite carefull especially when they are sat on it. I have seen more cars than bikes blow up when being filled.
TC promote your Force, who were the architects of getting a garage shut down just for being professional?
Strangely enough, I actually watched a video explaining the reasoning of this issue the other day. Can't remember who the rider or team was but as the rider pulled in to fuel up, the fueling nozzle was not in the tank properly and the fuel spilled all over the bike and rider, fuel went down engine and the heat ignited, rider jumped off bike on fire and the bike obviously dropped on the floor with the fuel pouring out and fire spreading. Now imagine this on a forcourt, not exactly the best situation hence as you stated, you have to get off the bike and put stand up then fuel. You have to get off to pay anyway (unless paying at pump) so it's not really worth getting wound up about.
Read what I said. They were not shut down by the Police service. The Police do not have that authority. The fuel account was simply taken away from them and given to someone else. But the service was poor and it was the poor service that caused the shut down as members of the public stopped using them. If you offer a poor service, then it is no surprise that they do not survive.
You have properly danced around the question there. What Force are you in? Maybe they relied on your Force as their income and why do you think they show impartiality to a Police bike that pulls up (and not tell you to take your helmet off) should be any different than a normal rider?
I do put my stand down so if the bike caught fire ( I have never seen this or heard of it happen to anyone) the bike would not fall over. What I now have to do according to H&S fascists is part fill my bike while standing beside it, then lift the bike off the stand so it's unbalanced and whilst also holding a petrol pump in the other hand fill up the tank properly. Now you tell me, which one is safer
No, I have not danced around the question. You are not reading what I have written. What has this got to do with taking my helmet off? Anyway, I am now retired and this happened many years ago and so it is irrelevant what force I was in. In any case, the garage had been on the brink of losing the account for some time, and if they are reliant on one traffic base for their income and survival, then thay have far more serious issues in terms of being a viable business. No they did not rely soley on our account for their income, they also had the local council, Ambulance service and any other service that needed petrol rather than diesel. And the point I was making was that they should have applied the same rules when I arrived on my job bike as they did when I was on my own bike, and FFS it was not related to taking off my helmet, it was about (if you had bothered to read the post) was about filling the tank whilst I was sat on the bike. I was told to get off the bike when on my own but nothing was said a few hours later on my job bike. So the whole point of the thread was that they should apply the same rules across the board so they should have been consistant.....
Nicely said TC. They should apply the same rules throughout and not rely on the individual's opinion of the riders. Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
I just wish these filling stations were more concerned about the diesel spread all over the forecourt, more chance of sliding off on that sh*te than forgetting to put your side stand down before stepping off the bike
Never a truer word said And that is the whole crux of the matter. And you don't just have to be on the bike. I have seen people go a gutser as a result of unkowingly walking through it and I have seen many a car crash happen on the forecourt as a result of the drivers foot slipping off the pedals because their soles are covered in diesel. So good point well made Kentblade....
I just go to the same local garage they know my bike and lid design don't take lid off...even put credit card in with gloves on....faster than a TT pit stop. ....lol...
Attitudes toward health and safety now is completely different . One person in our company lost an eye due to an accident at work . That is out of all our plants worldwide . Ever since then it's been compulsory for all employees to wear safety glasses upon entering the factory . Regardless of what job your doing or if you need them or not . So the way they look at is although it's very rare they completely rule out the chance of the same happening again . Health and safety rules seem to get worse all the time
