Poor attitude at gas station in Chaguanas

Might have been about a year ago, I arrived at the gas station some time after 10 pm. I pulled up at one of the pumps only to find the two “outside” cashier booths closed. A customer told me I had to pay “inside” – at the cashier that dealt with customers buying from the so-called Quik Shoppe.

So I had to line up with those needing gas and those needing junk snacks and sugary drinks.

Suffice it to say that it was a long wait, exacerbated by a cashier showing no urgency, oblivious to the long line of people waiting to be served. “Quik” certainly did not mean “quick”.

On enquiry, I was told that the outside cashiers close at 10 pm. I vowed never to buy gas there after 10 pm.

Fast forward to a few nights ago. I pulled up at a pump at 9.30 pm, fully confident that at least one of the outside cashiers would be open. Silly me. The cashier was still in the booth, counting money.

He said I had to pay “inside” since he had closed. But it was only 9.30. I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying so I decided to try the “inside” cashier.

I reached the door and peeked inside. The line was longer than I was prepared to wait. I asked the very polite security guard what time the outside cashier was supposed to close. He said he thought it was 10 pm but “talk to this lady,” a uniformed employee who happened to be passing by just at that moment.

Excuse me, ma’am, what time is the (outside) cashier supposed to close? Ten pm. But it’s only 9.30, why is it closed? Well, we close if the relief (cashier?) comes early.

So why tell customers the cashier closes at ten if it can close as early as 9.30? She, getting annoyed, grumbles something about doing that to avoid the rush. What rush? Mister, I eh have time to waste nah? And with that she stomps off and goes inside, “slamming” the door closed, leaving me to wonder what I said to warrant such unladylike behaviour. The guard and I looked at each other in equal bewilderment.

I’m sure many readers have had “cashier” problems at many places, mainly government offices: gone to lunch, not back from lunch, didn’t come out today, had to leave early, opening way past the advertised opening time, closing at 2 pm when the sign says 3 pm etc.

Now, at Brentwood, we have a private enterprise with a public/ civil (uncivil?) service mentality.

Is it really too much to ask that we do things at the times we say we’d do them? Forty-five years after Lord Kitchener immortalised in song “Any time is Trinidad time”, are we proud that the world uses the phrase “Trinidad time” as one of contempt? Can a nation that “has no regard for time” ever attain First-World status? To paraphrase Kitch with regard to Brentwood, “Dey say dey closing ten...dey closing but when?”

NOEL KALICHARAN via email