Jeremy Tauri: Trust awkward dilemma at the pump

Service stations seem to have an issue with trust.

Ever had an issue with trust? Service stations do. Well, at least those that expect all their customers to prepay,

I'm sorry to say that I avoid prepay stations religiously and I wonder how many other people share a similar view and what impact it has on business.

I wonder if an attended forecourt makes a difference -- I have an inkling that it does.

I know why they do this prepay business -- it's the lack of trust for some of the customers. It's the robberies, and drive-offs and there are safety issues for staff, especially late at night.

It's no one-off thing that service station owners are trying to prevent. It is a regular occurrence, which I'm assuming insurance isn't going to continually cover.

But does a prepay system really mean more money for a business owner? Is it better to have no customers or a percentage of drive offs? Either way, it's not a pleasant thing to rationalise or forecast.

I know margins are generally small at the pump -- a lot of service stations I see only really make money on grocery items.

If ever I did drive away accidentally without paying, I'd be embarrassed and have no problem fessing up, paying and apologising. I know my wife has prepaid then driven off without filling up.

I wouldn't want the attendant's pay docked for my mistake. And I sure wouldn't want my mug on the photo board outside the servo. I also sympathise with the business owner. I've read comments on social media saying this is a risk for business owners. The fact anyone thinks they should just accept this as risk is as ridiculous as docking a worker's pay.

Those problems, the real problems of theft and robbery, are social problems. There are people who think it's acceptable to do this.

Trust is one of those unmeasurable things that has an impact on how a business performs. How a business drives positive relationships will help in its success.

Jeremy Tauri is an associate at Plus Chartered Accountants.