I have had a gas credit card for 24+ years with the same company. I pay it off every month, and the customer service has been fantastic, until they were bought out, or taken over. I suspect there are deep layers of true ownership of the company now.
I have always had a plastic card to stick in the pump. I fill my tank, and collect my receipt. I received my bill yesterday and in the envelope was a slip of paper inviting me to, in 3 easy steps, install an app. My card will be no good as of December 31, 2023 and from then on I will be using my phone to fill at the pump.
They are offering 10 cent a gallon discounts if you register your own credit or debit card on the app. Or you can have a 20 cent a gallon discount if you register your bank account on the app. (Of course all this discounting can change at a moment’s notice whenever the company decides). The extra incentive to hurry “lemming like” to grab the app. Your next three fill ups will give you 30 cents a gallon discount. Gone is the discount if you pay cash.
So, you no longer can give your card to someone to “go fill the tank”, they have to take your phone with them. I am disabled so now I have to go with to the pump, or be without my only form of emergency communication. Elderly people who have very simple cell phones will not be able to install an app. If they did have a smart phone they would have difficulty using the app.
After 24 years of ease and convenience, I will now have to accompany the person to the pump and activate the pump. Or drive around to the building and pay cash. This is one way to drive customers into the station to purchase the overpriced merchandise. But the Americans Disabilities Act people might want to see if they can build a ramp app. to help this situation.
There was one positive 5-star rating which blew me away. This customer was thrilled that he no longer had to pull out his wallet, put the card in pull it out, push buttons, and then push more buttons to get a receipt. All that WORK, was gone with the advent of the APP. For those who wonder where the work ethic went to die, and why “no one wants a real job anymore.” Look at the frogs in the slowly heating pot. These types of frogs do not seem to notice they just tied their checking account to cyberspace with a company they know nothing about.
A trip to the website to look at the customer reviews was the big eye-opener. The overwhelming majority of customers gave scathing reports on the attempted use of the APP. One man lives in a Western state, and a charge appeared on his bill from a station in a coastal state to which he has never been. He is in a long process of trying to get his money back. The reviews convinced me, I will sadly be leaving the Company I had come to trust and appreciate for their hometown service and excellent products.
I refuse to spend one second of my life cleaning up after a system that appears to be at the starting gate with two broken legs. I will pay cash, until the powers that be force us to go digital, by then with divine intervention I will be off the planet.