Z Energy service station worker told, 'I coughed and sneezed on the money, just for you'

Thursday, 2 April 2020

Keith Murray, owner of Auckland Z petrol stations, is appealling for people to be polite on the forecourt throughout the lockdown, no matter how frustrated they feel.

An aggressive driver paid with cash at a Z Energy petrol station, and when the attendant picked up the money, said he'd purposely coughed and sneezed on it.

Z Energy has seen an increase in aggression, threats and abuse towards its staff since lockdown lead to more limited service at its petrol stations.

There's been an increase in abuse of staff at Z Energy petrol stations.

Fuel retailing is an essential service, needed to keep essential workers and emergency response vehicles mobile, but Auckland petrol station owner Keith Murray said incidents of abusive behaviour had risen since the lockdown began.

Daily reports from service stations to Z Energy management had revealed the worrying trend, and spokeswoman Victoria Crockford said: 'We think Kiwis need a reminder that along with supermarket workers and health workers, our staff are essential workers too and they are doing their absolute best.'

* Coronavirus: Supermarket staff describe abuse**

Z Energy is celebratign a business milestone durign lockdown. It listed on the NZX stock exchange 10 years ago this month.

'We want to ask Kiwis to bring their best selves along to our sites,' she said.

The nasty sneeze interaction had left the service station attendant concerned about going home and potentially taking Covid-19 into his home.

'It occurred on one of my sites,' said Murray, who owned multiple petrol stations in Auckland. 'They handed over the money (through the night-pay window), and said they had coughed and sneezed on it, 'Just for you'.'

'There is a growing level of abuse or aggression from some customers driven by frustration that we can't provide the full service offer that we normally provide,' he said.

He said some customers expected to be able to get pre-lockdown levels of service during the lockdown, including takeaway coffees, car washes, and being able to go into forecourt convenience stores to buy snacks.

The forecourt incidents mirror reports from supermarkets, where a minority of customers have been unable to control their aggression when they could not get what they wanted.

Murray said there had been flare-ups over LPG replacement cylinders, which were not available at all sites.

To manage safety, LPG cylinders, which some people use for cooking and heating, could only be sold at sites where there were two staff members on duty, Murray said.

But petrol station staff had fewer trained staff available as some older, vulnerable workers were staying home to avoid being infected with Covid-19.

Abuse had also come from customers who believed service stations should be providing hand sanitiser for use by customers, Murray said.

Petrol stations, especially high touch areas, were being cleaned more frequently during the coronavirus crisis, but he said: 'It's difficult to obtain hand sanitiser at this point in time, and if we put it out on the forecourt, it would be immediately stolen.'

The other flash point was when customers wanting cigarettes were asked to show identification and remove face masks so staff could be certain they were of legal age to buy tobacco, he said.

'We are extremely proud of our people, especially those going out to run our service stations every day as essential workers,' said Crockford.

'They are directly supporting other essential workers with fuel, essential retail items like bread and milk and our hot food offering, as well as still keeping fuel, LPG and essential goods running for other New Zealanders.'

'Not all New Zealanders are meeting the 'be kind' standard,' she said.

BP said it had not recorded an increase in acts of abuse or aggression towards its staff from members of the public.

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