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A gas station can be a borderline surreal place to be after dark. Whether you prefer to avoid them or frequent them, here are some of the strangest things night-shift workers have experienced at gas stations.
Promoted to Leader
“I didn’t think much of it, [it] wasn’t the first time it had happened, but then they started blowing the tornado sirens,” one worker wrote. “All the sudden there’s a bunch of adults and families looking at little 16-year-old me for answers.”
A First Night to Remember
This night shift worker reported having an unforgettable night:
“Years ago, I worked overnight [shifts] at a gas station in a pretty bad neighborhood in Florida,” he wrote. “My first night working there an older guy came in, walked up to the counter, and reached across and punched me in the jaw pretty hard.”
Sleepover
“So, my store closes up at 10 p.m.,” another worker wrote. “I come in one morning at around 4:45ish to find an old Native American man passed out in our kitchen.”
This situation sounds worse than it is, but after finding the man lying on the floor, this worker called the police. The Native American man had been locked out the night before and didn’t have a phone!
Pizza Please
This user recalls pizza slices disappearing from the counter during his shift. For this to have happened, someone would’ve had to have entered a code that would’ve made a loud sound.
“It showed me ringing out a customer, then going and neatening up the shelves. Meanwhile, on the front counter camera, a couple of minutes after I left the counter area, the camera got shaky and then went to static for 30 seconds or so. When it came back on, the pizza was no longer in the case.”
Jackpot
“I started doing my cleaning duties when I noticed a penny on the ground,” one employee wrote. “I picked it up, kept sweeping, until I noticed a dime by the door. This wasn’t unusual since people drop change all the time.
“As I was picking it up, though, something caught my eye as it blew past the door. I went outside, looked right, nothing, looked left, and there sat a fat *** of cash. It was nearly $300 laying on the ground.”
Change of Plans
Imagine someone approaching you at work and asking to wear your company’s uniform. A user commented about having this experience. The man who’d approached him was looking to back out of his plans with friends and needed the uniform to sound convincing.
Free Pamphlets
It seems some people are natural promoters. Someone recalled seeing a man walking from pump to pump, taking the company’s ad pamphlets. The witness wasn’t sure what the man would do with them.
No Gas Left
“Well, one night… we see a truck coming up the road being pushed by four guys and followed closely by a police car and another car,” one person wrote. “The truck is clearly out of gas, and having worked [at the gas station] for a while, this is more common than people think…”
This was a normal day, except this time, the cops showed up and pointed their weapons at the people pushing the truck. Apparently, they’d robbed a nearby gas station but forgotten to get gas.
A Dark Sense of Humor
“[A man dug] in his pocket and [handed] me a couple dollars, except his hand was completely melted, fingers were missing, and the skin was burned off,” another worker wrote.
“I was 17, and it was 3 a.m. on a Saturday night,” he added. “My jaw dropped. I froze with the money in my hand. He just politely said, ‘Hey, you owe me some change.’ I fumbled to finish the sale and send him off. I apologized for my reaction, and he just blew it off. Then he said, ‘I get that a lot, but I’m a hell of a lot of fun around Halloween!’ We both laughed about it.”
A Kitten Gets Saved
This user rescued a kitten and still cares for it over a decade later.
“I placed him inside a Lay’s plastic tote, closed the top, and put a brick on top so he’d stay in it,” one person wrote. “[I] took him home after my shift [and] put him on the patio. [I] surprised my family the next day with a surprise kitten.”
Sorry Not Sorry
“When I was in high school, I worked at a gas station, and one night I heard a loud crash and stuff started falling off the back wall,” a worker wrote.
“Puzzled, I just sort of stared at the wall, and then a guy—clearly ***********—walks in and says, ‘Ya, sorry, I backed into your building, but I’m not paying for any damages.’”
Are You Thirsty?
“Another time I had like 20 police officers in my store at the same time for no reason,” a final person recalled.
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