Google gas pumps: the savior of lost men
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Nov 7th 2007 7:52AM
posted Nov 7th 2007 7:52AM
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how about ad-based gas prices??? the longer you watch, the more of a discount you get. ay google?
How would that work, most of the price at the pump is either the cost of the fuel (N. America) or in tax/duty (Europe). For example in the UK, 85% of the price (US$7.75 per gallon) is either VAT or duty. The retailer takes very little in profit at the pumps, hence self-service.
Plus, we need high duty on fuel to persuade people to out of their cars and onto buses/trains.
Great - so the car behind has to wait how long while the people in front spend all their time browsing, not counting the time it takes them to learn how to use it first. Sounds like a punch up waiting to happen.
Pet hate? People parking on a pump, then not using it and going straight into the shop.
Possibly why bullbars were invented.
Also, the cheap GPS units are getting widespread, and many cars have GPS as an option. Not to mention cell phones with GPS feature. I think in the nearest future the majority of drivers will use their own GPS of some sort and those pretty screens would collect the dust and display advertisements only.
Wouldn't it be better to put a Google LCD kiosk or two on every gas station for those computer-literate occasional drivers? That will be cheaper, I guess.
I strongly believe the initial idea behind those screens is advertisement (including Google itself). They included maps functionality just to disguise the ads.
@Electomodo
DUH! thats what I don't understand, Why would google do something like this for free? It just doesn't make sense. Plus who cares about some ads? Thats how life is, everything is out to get money. Hell, even church is a business these days( actually its been like that for ever)
Friggin' brilliant idea
I agree too that this is a brilliant idea. But taking into consideration that most American drivers might opt for a NavSys in their next car purchse ... does this really make sense unless Google can manage to profit from it?
until theres a 6 car backup for the pump becuase some ass has been using the map for 12minutes.
that sort of brilliance?
this is gonna cause just as many problems as it solves.
You could solve the backups by limit the map to only work while you're actually pumping gas plus an extra minute or two - then have it reset.
@joe
so if you dont have to fill up then you have to go into the ministore anyways, ask and suffer the humiliation anyways?
that kills the point of it... they should just have separate kiosks between the pumps or off to the side somewhere for people to access
I beg to differ, this isn't a brilliant idea? Why? Simply put, I already don't like crowded stations - it will be much worse waiting for some slow jerks just looking at the screen.
"Duh, this computer screen is beautiful. I just need a little time just to stare at its amazing beauty. Ooh, print directions. Wow, print coupons! D'oh! Printed the wrong one."
I'm glad you changed the picture...the new one is better.
I'd like to wager that these will be a novelty that will bring in new customers for a while, but might cut into turnover.
I can imagine just completely avoiding the place with these pumps if I was in a hurry, or during rush hour. I'd just ride down the street, where I know that nachos and a pack of smokes would be the only thing slowing the people in front of me. Not some stoned freshman, doing a google search for "hot teens."
Great... thanks. Now I want to see the old photo.
this is great for people like me with no sense of direction
Right..come on now.... the people at the stations cant even keep paper in the receipt printer..much less paper for printing maps and coupons !
david
Not to mention half the time the pseudo-monochrome screen is half busted.
I think advertising at the pump has been tried before, and it didn't really work all that well. (With those plastic little signs zip-tied to the hose)
Actually, our Sam's Club's pumps use LCD screens, and they've held up quite well with our 115-degree summers, even the ones that get blasted by the afternoon sun on the west side of the station. I always find it funny when it's cycling through their promo graphics and every once in a while one just loads as the Internet Explorer 'missing image' red-X icon. Must not be running Windows, though, since I've yet to see a BSOD.
At the BP stations around here, they have annoying little "ad boxes" that play a song and tell you to come in and buy something from the "cafe".
the kiosks will not work after a few months because of all the people using their keys to punch buttons.. i can barely get the yes/no key to work on the pumps i use now.. how about just one or two in the store.. wouldnt that bring in more business for the shop?
There is a TV on every pump in my local Shell station. I thought those were just gimicks to distract you and make you buy more gas when you don't want to fill her up.
Somehow I suspect the same thing.
we have a similiar shell station here and after the first year none of them work.
perhaps the application will only work while you are pumping gas. this is a smart concept but based on what we currently know, it will not succeed.
I believe gps prices are getting cheaper to the point that almost everyone can afford one now. So this idea of google trying to take over the world isn't going to work for a while. Google phone, google gas pumps with maps, google this google that. Yeah...don't be evil but also don't delay others who just want to buy guy and are not lost lookin for hot chicks pretending to be lost out of their minds. If this is a race btw M$, then just go to Redmond and stay at the start line and race rather than race to google everything.
LOL, horrible idea. Just wait till the clueless idiots browse or even try to figure out how to use the thing...10 minutes after they're done filling up...they're still messing with it... meanwhile people are waiting in line to simply fill up.
This is a really stupid idea. Hypermarket gas stations are generating more market penetration than any other sector, and they are always looking to REDUCE the amount of time it takes someone to check out. In the 80's the focus was on keeping the customer in the store. In the current century, the focus is on getting the customer through the line. This technology will only slow the transaction down.
In addition, for the technology to work you must have internet access at the store. No store is going to want to run public internet access through their network. For one thing, it would raise all kinds of PCI (credit card) regulation issues. The companies would need to go through additional PCI review, and I can assure you that no one wants to go through that expensive and frustrating process more than is absolutely necessary.
In short, this technology will go no where, unless a very specific nitch is developed.
Raymond
how will this work in jersey where people are too dumb to even pump their own gas?
they are not too dumb. they are smart. why the world do you want to get out of your car to fill it with gas... that's just crazy talk.
Arrrgghhh!! I know. I got SCREAMED at by the little man running the place. Sorry, but for the last 6 years I've been pumping my own gas don't need to tip you to do it for me.
So I swipe my credit card, then lift the handle, then press start, then begin pumping? Wait...no...lift the handle, swipe the card, then the lever, then press start, then begin pumping, then Google Maps?
Card first, otherwise it defaults to cash payment.
Just remember to turn off your cell phone before you ask the pump for directions.
Coupons are good! But would I get charged for all that paper in printing the map? Maybe they'll somehow charge it to the credit card. This is a great idea to include on http://www.what-sells-online.com
When I go to a friggin gas station it's to fill up and get out. The last thing I want is some retard wasting my time looking for directions while blocking the pump.
Really bad idea and there will be fights and even homicides.
Seriously y'all going to sit tight while some old git puts his glasses on then fumbles with the controls to find the local pharmacy to buy his Depends?
The map service should be like an ATM or a bank of them by the checkout counter.
Ooh, ATM at the pump... I'll have to get right on that idea.
Yeah Apple, who's laughing now; the gPump is here! Hah! Now Apple can create the iPump, but only after they steal the name from some p0rn toy...
Can you hear me sighing?
Boy Apple-fanboys are a pain in the ass, but anti-apple-fanboys are even worse.
.. by pain in the ass do you mean.. no, nevermind. I think I'm going to go throw up.
@Dextro
Awwww punkin, you don't know a damn thing about me so you can shove that right where the "pain" you allude to is.
Hugs and kisses...
F**K This!!!! If people are too stupid to not read a map in car or get a gps for their car, F-em...
Sorry, but if I was in line to get Gas and some assh**e was standing there mapping out his trip to Disney World with his 7 children in the mini-van, and I needed Gas. I'd be damned tempted to plow right over him!!!! Great idea, put it inside the store or away from the pumps!!!! We have enough morons out there talking on their cell phones whie shopping, driving, ordering fast food etc...bunch of idiots!!, and they can't even do that right!!!!...we do not need anymore driving or vehicle distractions....And while I'm on the topic, if you are in a grocery store and"browsing" with you big a** in the way talking on the phone, you better watch out, cause I just may tell you what to do with the cell phone and it won't be pretty. We don't need any more automobile hang-ups, or distractions! please put the damn thing in the store, they'll gain a sale maybe from the coupon it prints. And if the guy with the 7 kids can't afford a cheap GPS, then he's got issues anyway....Quit Breeding!
i'd hate to see this guy behind the wheel.
old grit??? I am not young, but at least I did not grow up in front of a TV screen thinking that games were mommy. I go to a gas station to get gas for the car. Not to watch some "tech savvy" 20 something showing his gaming skills with a gas pump. Jesus. Buy the gas, get out. Now, besides having to run the gantlet of panhandlers, broken pumps, and fat women in SUV's trying to back into a too small spot, I must wait for Skippy the gamer playing with the pump head. Yeah, this is going to work. Just wait until the weather gets hot...... This is America. Home of 70 million handguns.....
Do you have a few dollars? I just need enough gas to get to the next exit.
GPS will be in a majority of dashboards –– even the cheapest American ones –– LONG before a majority of gas station owners have managed to scrounge their deposit together to lease these new mezzanines.
How long until Google adds a special "AdWords for Pumping" site?
it's nice of them to put these google maps in. Now you can more efficiently find and rob the next gas station.
These will last a whole 48 hours before they are unusable do to all the ignorant taggers and vandals. I don't mean to be negative. I think this could work well in a perfect world but sometimes the real world gets lost in the world of fantastic ideas.
Look familiar? if anyone with any type of technical or intellectual properties software hardware engineering background with like to review this patent I obtained with my business partner Im all ears feel free to respond with your comments. I would also love to hear from Google or their partner on this venture and see what they think.
Oh and I have contacted my own people to review this matter and our patent's claims regarding the "Savior of lost men"
Thanks,
Andrew Blasy & my associate
Longview Sourcing and Consulting LLC
215-820-7652
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=3&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=blasy&OS=blasy&RS=blasy
You just ruined this thread. Die.
Fuck off Andrew. I hate you.
Now you can locate the closest Denny's restaurant to get some gut rot. Awesome!
Put the google map device in the station.
I'd much rather have free 802.11[bg]; I'll use my own device. That puts the connection to much better use, as I can then e.g. fetch email, or better yet download pr0n vids, to view while I am driving!
Seriously, I'd like wireless, both at the pump and at the convenience store. And I'd not be likely to overuse, either; I'm usually on my way somewhere, and while I'd probably get something done while waiting, when that tank's full, I'm done.
(Then again, Google maps is about the last thing I'd be doing, as I can do that with no internet, and moreover got directions _before_ I left!)
With these pumps, Google would/could have real time price info for thousands of stations... integrate into google maps and you can quickly find the cheapest gas... Not that it hasn't been done before but this way would cut out the middle man...
On a side note... The "service" may be ad free but I'm willing to bet if you aren't using the thing, ads will be flyin across the screen... They would be stupid not to.
Yah know, if the ads are for the gas station, they could serve as discounts on the fuel. "Buy ten gallons, get a free bottle of aspirin."
I work on gas pumps, and this is only going to piss off consumers even more. Why do you ask?
1)Operation of the software. I know we all are tech savy, but next time you are pumping gas, look at who's at the pump. You will understand then.
2)Cost of Gas. It sucks, but it will go up, because each station have to pay for the pumps, and they cost just as much as stock Civic. Plus the screens on the Encore pumps are really expensive, and they would break all the time because people will get mad, and punch the screen. I have seen this happen. Also the keypad? Where would the keypad go?
3)How often do you really get a recipt at the pump? Now think how often would you get a print out of directions?
4)What about the Wait??? How long would it take for someone who isn't even filling up gas, take? While you got to get to work? During rush hour?
Wow...I never knew that such things as planning your trip, using a map, or asking "real" people who have been to or know your destination, could be. Humanity will just become more lazy and more dumb...
this is a bunch of junk right here- i spent all summer hitting the mute button on the stupid BP pumps that had those little speakers spitting out the "say hey!" theme song... if i want to get directions i'll bring my wife along.