Jesse P.
Yelp
It's always a chaotic, bad experience in there and i've always chalked it up to the fact it's in an extremely busy part of town and it's the biggest gas station in the area...
But something happened to me today there - and though it may not seem like a big deal - I think It's a good metaphor or why New York has gone so downhill.
I spent over $40 there, on some gas, Candy, a gigantic water bottle, and a whopper. I grabbed an empty coffee cup, because it's a big water bottle & my cupholder is weird. I go outside to pump my gas, and the manager comes chasing after me, very annoyed by the fact that I took a empty cup. He demanded it back, and then I watched him go and stack it with the rest of them, even though it had left the store and in my hands. I would worry less about the two cent cup given for free, and more about the sanitary aspect .
But isn't that wild? That you can spend over $40 at a place and a grown man will chase after you having a hissy fit over a paper cup? If there was a sign saying 'NO CUPS' or maybe they only charge .25 cents. But apparently it's the price of the coffee (so a large empty cup is like $3).
I just feel that when we get to a point that a grown man chases another grown man down to confiscate an empty paper cup, then puts it back with the other despite that being unsanitary - as it already left the store. All probably bc if he doesn't he could get fired.
NY used to be a tough city, but at least it was authentic. This corporate hellscape is something else entirely. I hope the man felt small after that - being seeing the look of almost pride that he stopped me... yikes.