Wednesday, August 06, 2008

The last straw.

The final nail in the coffin.

The end of civilisation as we know it.

Dubai Eye Radio is reporting:

Some ENOC and EPPCO petrol stations will be trialling self-service petrol pumps from August 12.

ENOC has been handing out leaflets to customers at certain sites to make them aware of the changes.


The leaflet also provides instructions on how to fill vehicles with fuel.


This will be the straw that breaks the camel's back, the final piece in the jigsaw that opens the floodgates to expats leaving.

You heard it here first.


Dubai Eye have it here.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Noooooooooooooooo!

The Last Ephor said...

So...disenfranchisement, perpetual gridlock, never ending construction, second class citizenship, highly restricted speech, 30% rent increase and inflation are all fine but ask them to pump their own gas and they'll flee? You're an odd lot I'd say.

Seabee said...

Duffy, they are but minor irritations compared to the threatened removal of the pump attendants!

Abdullah Ali said...

I dunno... I kinda find it interesting. I wanna see what will happen. Looking forward to it :p

Anonymous said...

How can I smoke, use my mobile and fill up my car all at the same time??

Em said...

hardly the last straw...

Seabee said...

Dave you'll soon get the hang of it. Just watch and learn from the other customers.

The Last Ephor said...

Tangental question: How much is gasoline/petrol over there?

Dubai Photo Story said...

I'm looking forward to it. I am sick of waiting endlessly for the attendents to serve me anyway.

The one area of interest is the methodology. One way will be the american way... push credit card in....fill gas.... stop....card automatically charged. Guess what...atleast we can get back to using our credit card!!!! yummy!!!

i*maginate said...

Am all for streamlining, but done backwards front, not the other way around.

Sorry for the attendants.

ahirunopekkles said...

think of the positive side..its still exercise.

Anonymous said...

Alisha Fikri, a British national originally from Pakistan, said she had often come across motorists lighting up a cigarette at petrol stations right next to the petrol pump.

"Imagine the disaster that such motorists can bring when they are allowed to put fuel in cars. I did reprimand one of them but was bluntly asked to mind my own business.


The above bit from Gulf News shows one cultural aspect of many people in Dubai. To them, driving badly, smoking in petrol stations, breaking queues, throwing garbage on the street etc. is part of their "own business" and no one has right to interfere.

Singapore style laws are the only way to deter such people

Seabee said...

i*, quite right. I made fun of it but there is a serious side. There's no discussion about all the people who will lose their jobs. And the safety aspect is worrying too.

DPS, no, credit cards are not back in. According to the reports we'll have to go into the shop and tell them which pump, which fuel and how much we want, and pay by cash. They'll set the pump accordingly and it will cut off when the correct amount of fuel is delivered. I always simply tell them to fill the tank, which won't be possible with the new system.

Duffy unleaded is US$1.40 per US gallon.

Anonymous said...

Why do they have to make it complicated? The queues inside the shop are going to be insane - you've got on average 8 or 12 pumps outside and one cashier inside the shop. Its not gonna be pretty, especially with those among us who don't beleive in queuing.

Back in the UK in the summer I noticed how cars sit at the pump while the driver is inside paying and the queues build up behind them. The current system is so much more efficient, fill, pay go.

Yup, its the end of civilisation as we know it!

Seabee said...

A queue in Dubai Rose, now there's a novel idea. It's much more likely to be a rugby scrum free for all pushing and shoving crowd around the cash till.

The Last Ephor said...

Seabee,

Gas has plummeted to $3.85. Seriously.

Seabee said...

Duffy think yourselves fortunate, it's more than that in the UK and in Australia. You all have huge taxes on it, here we don't and the price is fixed by the government.

rosh said...

Neat post Seabee. The large majority of customers, are gonna be smoking, talking on cell phones and shoving way their way thru queues. It's beyond me what kind of savings are EPPCO/ENOC hoping from taking away those poor attendants paychecks. Does that mean gas prices at EPPCO/ENOC are gonna be lower than ADNOC's? Guess not.

Cold hearted, self centered, greed mongers!