raket

I was almost a victim of a raket at a gasoline station the other day.

I told the gasoline boy clearly, "Diesel, 500." And he repeated that after me. I was waiting for him to tell me to look at the counter (is that what it's called?) and see that it's at 0.00, but he didn't. Well, I didn't mind. I closed the van's window, and was busy joking around with my sister and my godson while waiting for the guy to finish. A few seconds into the filling process, I saw him take the nozzle out, and he started doing something like he was taking something out of the hole, like a plug or something. I didn't mind again. What do I know? There could have been a plug.

A few minutes later, he told me, "Ma'am okay na po." So I prepared to leave. I didn't ask for a receipt because I thought it was just a waste of time. For some weird reason, I looked back at the counter, and saw that the first number was a 4, instead of a 5. So I put the van on reverse (the numbers at the counter were already out of my sight because of the hose/tubes blocking my view), and looked at the numbers closely. He filled the tank with only P450.00 worth of gasoline. I saw the gasoline boy at the cashier's booth, handing the cashier the payment I gave him, and saw that the cashier handed him back some money/change. I signaled for him to come near, then asked him why he put only 450 when I told him to fill it up to 500. Then he said apologetically that he thought I said only 450. So I thought that was an honest mistake, so I told him it's okay and asked him for the P50 change, which he gave.

When I got home, I told my tatay about it, not because I thought it was a "raket" or something, but because I just thought it was weird. A few minutes later, he left the house and he was gone for a moment. Then came back, and told me that he went to the gasoline station and confronted all the gasoline boys there on duty, and asked for whoever was responsible for the incident with his daughter. He said nobody was admitting to it at first, but he kept on pressing until the guy finally spoke up and admitted his mistake.

I was shocked, and tried to argue with him. I told him he didn't have to do that, and I felt guilty that I could be the reason if ever the guy gets fired. Then my tatay told me that it was a "raket". He already experienced that twice, and that he almost got into a fistfight with one gasoline boy because of it. There was one time that he paid for 300 pesos worth of gasoline, but the gasoline boy only filled it up to 180. They do that because sometimes the drivers don't check anymore and just leave the whole process to the gasoline boys. So they think you wouldn't notice even though they did something wrong.

Jeez. I mean, because of the need for money, people resort to doing those kinds of things now? Any driver would be mad. Gasoline costs a fortune now so every cent counts.

So okay, I put in every single detail of that incident. Why? To warn others that those "manggagancho" strike when you least expect it (aside from the fact that I LOVE details, I'm a details girl). Lessons now when stopping for gas:
1. Look at the counter and make sure that it's reset to 0.00.
2. Watch as the gasoline boy fills up your tank.
3. Make sure he puts in the right amount of gasoline.
4. Ask for a receipt.

Oh well....

Check this out. Got this from Ala's site. It's really nice.