Taken at the pump

In Nicaragua instead pumping your own gas, an attendant pumps it for you. It sounds like a very nice service, but it is designed to keep people from stealing gas more than to service the customer. Unlike most full service stations in the states, you don't sit in your car and wait till your tank is full and drive off. Most times the the attendant will look at you and say "zero" and then start filling your tank. He is letting you know that your not paying for the previous persons tank of gas. If you are not watching the attendant, it is very possible that they will start where the last person left off and pocket the difference.

Well, ever since I was made aware of this little trick I have always made sure to watch closely to see that the attendant zero's the pump. The other day when stopping to get a little gas, I did the normal routine of getting out the car, telling the attendant what kind of gas I needed and how much. Well, instead of starting to pump the gas, he asked me a few more questions in Spanish. I was not sure what he was asking and wasn't sure why he would ask me something else since all they do is pump gas. Well, he continued to talk and as I walked towards the back of the vehicle he started to pump my gas. It hit me, that he did not zero the pump, and I quickly looked at the amount on the meter and saw that I was already over 300 cordobas. I told the attendant that he did not zero the pump and I should not be this high already. He responded with a few Spanish sentences which I could not understand and continued to 500 cordobas and stopped. When I again told him that he did not zero the pump, he proceeded to squeeze the trigger and push the button on the pump, as to say it would not zero and wasn't working. Not sure what to do since I had no proof and figured that all the other attendants would be sharing the profits, I handed him the 500 cordobas and left very frustrated. Clearly he took advantage of the fact that I was American and knew little Spanish.

After talking to a few of my Spanish teachers at language school, and still not feeling good about the fact that this guy was able to take money from me without knowing, I decided to return in the afternoon, but with someone who could speak Spanish (my wife:). When we returned that afternoon the same attended was still working. Tiffany proceeded to ask him his name and then proceeded with me to the office to find his boss. At the office she told a man who looked like he was in charge what happened. When she used the word "robbed" the man's eye's got real big. He asked who did this and when we told him, he proceeded to call him over. After talking for a minute with the attendant, he informed us that we would receive 250 cordobas of gas. He said that sometimes these things happen, as if it was a mistake. It was clearly obvious to us that this person in charge was not concerned that one of his employees stole from one of its customers. It may be very likely that he would even share in the profits of his employees stealing.

While feeling satisfied that we received what we were owed, I was disappointed that this type of behavior is accepted and goes unpunished. It is this type of corruption that plagues Nicaragua and frustrates its honest citizens. This same attendant who was willing to steal from me, will most likely be the victim at a later time of corruption. If only he knew that the cycle will only end of each person takes it upon themselves to do what is right. Considering he did not loose his job or was punished for what he did, it will be up to him to decide if he will steal again.