First of all, I shouldn’t have titled this post this way but unfortunately I cannot control my anger at what happened today. I’ve had three hours to calm myself down and I’m going to try my level best to be fair and offer a balanced approach to this situation.
Approximately 4:30 pm today, I stopped at the Husky gas station located at 7998 Dixie Road in Brampton, Ontario. I stopped at the pump number 12 and prepaid using my credit like I’ve done thousands of times in the past. I got in my car and drove around to get to the main street and all of a sudden I see two individuals running towards my car. My first reaction was to stop my vehicle and open the door. One of the gentleman started saying “sir you didn’t pay”. I was confused at that point but kept my posture but the second man behind him who spoke very little English came towards me with a piece of metal in his possession. It was very clear to me that he was about to smash my windows, had I not opened or stopped. I stopped my car right in front of the gas station and stormed inside and I have to be honest here, my choice of words weren’t that great but who can blame me for it? I PREPAID at the pump but these two fellows had no interest in talking to me. They threatened to call the cops for which I agreed and at the same time, I’ve called my credit card company and they quickly confirmed that the payment went through, not once but twice. At this point, I wrote my number and was about to walk away but one of the attendant was already on the phone with the cops.
I stood around until two Peel Police vehicle pulled into the gas station. The officers responding this call were Mr. Herritt (badge #3647) and Mr. Winters (badge#3443). They spoke with both parties and came to conclusion that they had no grounds to accuse me with anything. I went as far calling my credit card company again and let the officers listen in as a proof that my payment went through. I provided my business card and told them that I will be available to answer any questions, if the need arises.
Throughout this whole time, I kept telling the attendant that they were wrong to chase me with a piece of metal and how dangerous that was but both of them denied having done this to the officer or and refused to offer me an apology. Now, I still haven’t forgotten the incident two weeks ago where a gas station attendant was killed by a driver who tried to flee without paying. I fully understand how hard thousands of attendants across this country work so hard under very difficult conditions. You guys do an amazing job and I respect you.
I was always told that when you’re wrong, you have to admit to it and learn from this but in the case of these two guys, it was not the case. I followed up by a phone call an hour later to ask for their names so that I can file a complaint with Husky but they refused even after I told them I will be talking about my experience on the internet. The answer I got was that they see people like me every day and are not afraid of the power of internet.
I did some research and found out that Husky is not present in the world of social media. This is a surprise to me. I mean who doesn’t have social media presence in this day and age right? Anyways, with the help of a few friends, we were able to find out the customer service number as well as a gentleman by the name of Mel Duvall who is the Media & issues officer. I gave him a quick call and explained him the situation but I was told to send him and email and that he will follow up. I followed through with a call to customer service where I spoke with a lady by the name of Jane who referred this incident to the district manager by the name of Matt. The district manager ensured that he will go to the site on Monday morning and review the surveillance tape. I will forward a copy of this blog to everyone involved and will keep you guys posted.
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