A young American woman in Australia has several questions after visiting a gas station for the first time.
Tate Duane moved from California to Melbourne in 2022 and couldn’t get over the fact that Australians can fill their tanks before paying for fuel.
Tate expected to pay the amount he needed first, which is the norm in the United States.
“I’m so confused that I’m at the gas station putting gas in the car for the first time,” she said in a video.
“I just went in to try to put $50 in the pump or give (the employee) cash to put it in because you don’t have a tap and pay, but she (refused).”
Tate Duane moved from California to Melbourne in 2022
Tate explained that the gas station worker was also confused.
“She said, ‘What are you doing? Don’t you have a license plate?” I was like, “A license plate? That?”‘
The American did not expect to be able to fill her car’s tank before paying.
‘I am stupid? I really don’t know what I’m doing here, because there’s nowhere to swipe your card here.
‘In America, you can just tap the machine with your card, get the milk and walk away. It’s locked until you do so you can’t steal gas. I’m so confused…someone explain to me.’
Tate also asked questions about what to do in an emergency or after hours.
‘Also, what do you guys do when you’re trying to get gas in the middle of the night and there’s no one working at the gas station inside? Are these things open 24 hours a day?
Several gas stations in Australia are open 24/7, but some also have tap and pay options.
Another aspect that differentiated Australia was having to refuel yourself.
She revealed that American stations have an automatic lock that fills as much as you paid for and the pump physically attaches to your car.
“Tell me why you don’t have those things that click to keep (the bomb) in place,” Tate said.
“You have to stay here all the time, which is a bit annoying.”
Some Australians shed light on the matter.
“Here we are trusted to pay after putting in fuel,” said one.
‘The prepaid system seems crazy to me. How do you know how much you need? What happens if you pay $50 but only get $40?’ asked another.
“The clicking mechanism was removed in the ’90s for safety reasons,” one woman explained.
“They can fail and not turn off, and people forget to take it out and drive away with it still in the car. Most servos run 24/7 and there is someone working.