Costco gas is normally priced better than other gas stations however here are a few facts to consider.
1. Lines are usually long, so patience is needed.
2. There are no window cleaning amenities as I presume that would slow the lines down too much and impede on the flow of traffic.
3. The worst part about Costco gas, for me, is that they allow customers to travel-on to any pump regardless of which side of the car has the fuel tank. This is the dumbest of dumb and dumber actions. Why? Because the people to whom drag the fuel hose over the top of their vehicle and or around the back of their vehicles, cause a butterfly effect of the following...
a) the people pumping on the opposite side of their vehicle's gas tank are often times standing in the middle land which is designated for drivers to pass through but customers often times have to wait for these people, meaning their physical bodies, to move out the middle lane, in order to pass them.
b) most vehicles pumping on the opposite side usually pull the gas hose around the back of their vehicle and to compensate for this ACTION they actually tend to overshoot the pump so that the rear of their vehicle is past the pump rather then being parked more rear centered and parallel to the pump. c) It takes more time to walk and to stretch the gas hose out to a further distance then what is required
These three dynamics actually create unnecessary chaos! So I don't get why Costco supports this behavior.
Is it really too difficult to drive up to a pump that matches the side of your vehicles gas tank?
Once I was parked at the front pump of three pumps, and positioned my vehicle perfectly when this big guy in a big SUV pulls up and looks at me and ask me if I come to Costco often. I'm said yes, why? He then proceeded to tell me that I should have pulled my vehicle further forward, basically leaving the pump behind my vehicle, to leave him more room to pull forward. I was thinking, excuse me? Like what? I was trying to assimilate the point of his statement, as I had left more than enough space for a vehicle of any size to pull in behind me...so I was totally mind blown by his words, but then I saw him dragging the hose from the pump around the rear of his vehicle to the opposite side, and then I figured it out..."oh, I see, you are one of those pumpers, I exclaimed outloud!
I'm thinking, yeah I should not have parked perfectly in my space to pump on the correct side of my vehicle...wherein I take the pump handle and pull on the hose and use about three feet of it, to insert the spout, and seal the venturi, to take it from point A to point B, and somehow I should have had a crystal ball telling me the guy behind me is going to need extra space and practically move into my zone so he can drag and stretch the hose around the back of his SUV and then wrap it around the rear car panel, to access the gas tank, which is the furthest away from the pump that you can get as the hoses can only be stretch so far!
4) The best part about Costco gas is using a Costco Citibank Visa Credit Card because by using the credit card you BYPASS having to use your membership card, which reduces your time at the pump! When I had figured this out by sheer observation at the pumps, I asked a Costco employee to tell me all the benefits of their Credit Card, and I was given a long list and then I said well I'd like to apply for the Credit Card but not because of any of the benefits you mentioned and the employee was nice and she said oh really, and I said yes, I think your marketing department has missed the biggest selling point, I want the card so I can save time at the gas pump, so I don't have take my Costco Card out of my handbag and I don't have to scan the Costco Card and then wait and then scan a Credit Card and then wait, cuz with the Costco Credit card its on wave and your are done and dusted. read more