Guess how many Dubai residents rather pay than fill own petrol

Whether it’s help at home or the many attendants outside, filling our grocery bags or our car tanks, UAE residents can claim to be better pampered than their counterparts in most other countries.

Even as most countries in the world have done away with the luxury of someone else topping up your car’s fuel tank, UAE residents are used to it, and it’s not something that we’d like to see changing anytime soon.

This was confirmed by the results of an online poll run by Emirates 24|7, which reveals that just 8 per cent of respondents would willingly pay a fee or a charge for an attendant to top up their car’s fuel tanks.

A recent story by this website stated that Dubai’s fuel retailers Enoc/Eppco have been seeking their customers’ feedback on whether or not they’d be willing to pay a service charge for fuel dispensation, and how much. Read: Will you pay Dh50 for not filling your own fuel?

Almost 9 out of 10 respondents (86 per cent), however, said they won’t pay a fee to get their fuel tanks filled up. Of the majority cost conscious drivers in the country, 53 per cent said they would do it themselves and not pay.

A quarter (24 per cent) said they’d use only those petrol pumps that do not offer self-service while almost 1 out of 10 respondents (9 per cent) said they don’t drive a car in UAE, staying out the hassle to pump or pay.

The remaining 6 per cent who voiced their opinion said they’d cough up the charge but only because they do not know how to operate a pump. For such respondents, here’s a quick guide.

How to fill your car tank

# 1 Drive in and park your car with the gas tank facing the gas pump.

#2 Turn off your car engine and open the fuel cap. Read the instructions on the pump. It could tell you to insert your form of payment. Sometimes, you may need to pay the attendant inside the station and not at the machine.

#3 Then, choose your grade of fuel. Make sure you’re filling the right fuel – do not confuse petrol with diesel. Dubai has two grades of petrol: Special (95 octane) and Super (98 octane), with the latter being more refined and, therefore, more expensive.

#4 Insert the nozzle into your car’s tank and start pumping on slow mode. Remember to turn your head away so as to not breathe in the fumes.

#5 You can either stop at a certain price or continue until it automatically shuts off, which means that the fuel tank is now full. Do not try to pump fuel after that – it may overflow.

#6 Pull out the fuel dispensing pipe/nozzle and place it back. Close your car’s fuel cap. You’re good to go.

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