I should be legally allowed to smash those screens if they play ads while I’m pumping my gas.
You used to be able to mute them by pressing one of the side buttons but now that just cancels your transaction and stops the pump.
I don’t need advertisements shoved in my face every second of every day.
You guys have ads on your gas pumps?
Ok the US is really the preview of the dystopian future companies imagine.
It’s annoying but I wouldn’t call it dystopian.
At least where I live, it’s an equal mix of “wear your seatbelt”, “don’t text and drive”, and weed dispensaries.
It’s not exactly prime advertising space, so you really just get PSAs and weed.
Worst part is when you’re getting gas late at night, say after driving back from a family dinner in another city and so you’re tired and full, and you’re all alone at the pumps on an otherwise quiet night.
Something deep inside the pumps makes them decide to start playing their advertisments from all the pumps at once, but they’re not perfect, so they’re just a little out of sync.
So it’s dark and you’re tired, relaxed, and almost home. When out of nowhere, from all around you, comes the stereophonic cacophonous cry of “B-B-B-BONGS! B-B-B-BLUNTS! AND MORE, AT THE HOUSE OF DDDDANKKKKK!”
It’s definitely annoying, but I wouldn’t call it a dystopia.
You used to be able to mute them by pressing one of the side buttons
That only mutes the shit that plays constantly from the pump even when nobody is there using it. Once you start pumping, they start playing different shit that can’t be muted.
Depends on the station. I am still able to mute at most of the stations I’ve used recently.
Standing there pumping gas is one of the last vestiges of just stopping and being there.
Last time I discovered a machine’s ads couldn’t be muted, I stopped the pumps and I’ll never go back to that gas station.
The level of disrespect is mind boggling.
Alright I haven’t been to a gas pump in a few months, but when did they start playing ads??? Shit is crazy. Maybe I just never noticed, come to think of it I’ve never been the one pumping the gas before
They’ve been playing ads for at least a decade… though in the early days, some of the gas stations near me played some cringy jimmy kimmel shit instead of ads (somehow, i preferred having my ears violated by the ads)
Yet one more thing that makes me thankful to have gotten rid of my car completely… not being dependent on gas stations is super liberating.
I don’t drive much anymore, but when I did I would avoid gas stations with screens (aside from payment screens obviously). If I saw that an unfamiliar gas station had one, I’d get back in my car and get gas elsewhere even if it was a tad more expensive. Forced viewing of advertisements makes me violently angry, and I don’t need the stress of trying to repress that anger
