To the New Jersey gas attendant too busy on his phone

Since I live an hour away from the station, and like to arrive early to prepare before going on-air at 6 a.m. for my weekend show, I usually hit the road shortly after 4 in the morning. Sundays, at those hours, tend to be fairly quiet on the roads.

The same can be said for the gas stations. To be honest, the only place I usually find long lines at that time is in drive-thrus like at Dunkin'. Why? I don't know. I guess even on Sunday morning that's the place to be, but that's a story for another day.

This particular morning I decided to stop and fill up the gas tank. Yes, I could've made it to the station with what I had, but I didn't want to do it on the way home. Plus, it's usually quiet during those early hours.

So I got to the gas station, and as expected, no other vehicles were at the pumps. I also didn't see the attendant at first, but again, that's not really unusual at that hour. Sometimes they're inside and only come out when a car pulls in.

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Looking toward the front of the building, I did see someone who looked like the attendant sitting down on a bench looking at their phone. After about a minute or so, he didn't budge, so I decided I'd get the pump started myself.

So I get out and remove the gas cap. It was at this point the attendant finally put his phone down and started walking over, at which point I let him take over.

A few more minutes go by before the fill-up is complete. I'm still the only car at this station, so you would think the attendant would quickly come over and finish up.

But where was he? Back on that bench in front of the store, and back on his phone again. From my point of view, it looked like he was either texting someone or playing some sort of game.

Again, in those early hours, I could only imagine how slow things may get, so I was patient. But then about two more minutes went by and he was still engaged on his phone.

At this point, I needed to get going. Still, I wanted to be patient and give him just a minute more. But one minute later, he's still staring at that screen.

So I get out of my car again, take the pump out myself, and put the cap back on. And I'm constantly watching to see if he notices and comes over. He never did.

I then got back in the car and drove off. Being my car was facing the direction of the store, I was able to see him. Not once did he look up or seem to notice I was leaving. He just stayed seated and focused on that screen.

I know we have full service at the pump in New Jersey, and I do get it can take the attendants a while to get to everyone when it's busy. But at 4:30 in the morning with nobody else there, should he get a pass?

Especially since he was glued to his phone. Like I said, the only leeway I give him is that I'm sure it can get incredibly boring at that hour.

If we had a self-serve option, I would've been in and out of that station within minutes. But since we do, I added around an additional five minutes or so on top of what it took to actually pump the gas, because I was waiting for him to do his job.

If New Jersey is going to keep full service at the pumps, can we please make sure the attendants are paying attention? If they can't do that, then it's another argument to finally allow self-service in The Garden State.

Not directed toward all gas attendants, because I've had my fair share of incredibly quick and courteous attendants that I look forward to seeing. This was a station I normally don't stop at, and, because of the attendant's phone addiction, I probably won't stop there again in the future.

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The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.