I’m from a US state where we don’t pump our own gas. Since I don’t pump my own gas regularly - only when I’m out of state - I’m not exactly sure when this happened, but all gas pumps seem to play ads now while the pump runs. At least the states adjacent to mine. Like can I not even pump gas in peace? Stop trying to manipulate my purchasing decisions 24/7.
Edit: ok I get it, there’s a mute button. I appreciate the tip, but people are already reporting that it only sometimes works. Knowing there’s a mute button that sometimes functions doesn’t make me less infuriated
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If I can’t mute them (usually one of the unlabeled buttons on the right), I’ll go to another station. I really hate those. God damn Cheddar TV or whatever. Fucking Maria Menounos, ugh.
One of the benefits of living in shit hole rural America is most of our gas stations use old pumps with either basic digital displays or ones with mechanical meters like it’s the 1970s still haha.
Hold up… they have ad stations? That feels worse.
Lol he means another gas station
Idk if that was me being completely stupid and misreading that, or if ad stations is something in our near future that we should be worried about
“Hello, I’m officer Sackless. This traffic stop is brought to you by your excessive speed and the good people of the Wiownyu Corporation. If you would like to know more, scan this code and receive a 20% discount on your traffic fines.”
Well I’m pretty sure they also have ad stations but that’s besides the point
One of the unlabeled buttons on the side of the screen should mute it. Whenever I find it, I’ll take a pen or sharpie and mark which one is the mute button for future people who don’t want to be subjected to that shit.
They will just disable the mute buttons. It happens around here all the time, marking them accelerates it.
I now avoid any gas station with immutable ads. But if I am in a pinch. The longest sharpest key on your key ring can slide right in and puncture the speaker, thus solving the issue more permanently.
I’m boycotting Valero because of it. None of the gas stations around me seem to do it, it’s just them. So fuck them.
The local one doesn’t play ads. They get my business for it. I live in a not so good place. I’ve had weapons pulled on me several times. The ads make me jumpy.
Yep doesn’t work anymore. There’s probably some series of buttons you can push to put it into settings mode, but I imagine it’s different by model.
If you can’t mute it with software, then the only remaining way is via hardware. Carry some packing tape in your car and slap it over the speaker - wipe fingerprints off just in case.
I vote with my money. If they have ads I go somewhere else. I tell the employees why. I also pay with cash. Ads don’t work on me. I’m too poor for their products anyway.
You can just say you’re from NJ lol, it’s not like any other state has an employment scam where you’re legally required to hire people to perform the simple, relatively safe act of pumping gas. At least not since WA finally trusted people to pump their own gas a few years back.
Edit: Sorry, OR not WA
Oregon. And at least half the pumps must still be staffed. Washington has had self-serve for at least 30 years (when I moved here).
Ahhhh gotcha, didn’t realize that, my mistake!
Looks like Oregon allows self service in rural areas now, so it’s only New Jersey that has a statewide ban.
“You’re legally required to hire people…”
When you’re writing from the business’s perspective as “us”
Yeah my annoyance at having to pay more is totally from the business’s perspective you dumb piece of shit
Have you thought about another man’s profit margin, asshole?
Well, sure, but not on our gas pumps. Only on TV and radio. And in magazines and movies and at ball games, on buses and milk cartons and T-shirts and bananas and written on the sky. But not on gas pumps. No, sir-ee!
Around here they played audio very loudly for about a year and then they all stopped with the audio. Most still play a video, although they seem to mostly be for the convenience or grocery store that the pumps are at.
Drove out of state recently and there were pumps that still played the noise, so I pushed the one button that was well worn and it muted the sound.
Every single gas station in my state has gas pumps with screens and ads. Honestly one of the most annoying things today.
I have one gas station that I frequently use and found one of the pumps has a blown out speaker. Even though the ads still play, I hear nothing! The infuriating part comes when that pump is already in use when I arrive. I’ll have to try some of the other comments suggestions here about pressing a side button to mute it
You could also fix the speakers on other pumps you use.
They’re loud as hell too. Makes me want to put a shishkabob skewer through either my eardrum or the speaker. That my be an exaggeration, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that I actively the avoid gas stations in my city that have this “feature”.
The buttons around the screen should mute it. It’s usually the 3rd one down on the right of the screen. You can also use the lower ADA buttons.
I’ve tried them all and in the last year or so, none of worked anymore. They fixed the glitch.
It was an intentional feature for techs working on the devices.
Many have been updated to make them unmuteable.
The auxiliary mute button is accessed by puncturing the speaker cone.
Like an electronic lobotomy. Insert rod and wiggle around until the offending behaviour ceases.
I have found that button too.
One of the side buttons mutes it. It varies though as far as I know.
That’s no longer a universal thing.
A lot of them have been updated so that no longer works.
I bet a piece of duct tape over the speaker would work. Also, whatever money they are paying the gas stations, they would probably still get that money even if you manually muted the speaker. Really feels like a win win 😀
Hmm, maybe someone could make some stickers with anti-advertising/anti-capitalist slogans on them for the next person to see specifically for this purpose
Or even better, “Join Lemmy, it’s like Reddit with no ads”.
“Your screens should be nicer to you than this one. Join Lemmy!”
“Have you installed Arch yet?”
Unfortunately I’ve found that Lemmy has a more defined “hive mind” so you better make sure you like the same things as the group.
Well fuck. That’s terrible news.
Yep. Most of the time someone has marked it somehow because it’s immensely annoying. That being said, there are a few stations that aren’t able to be muted, so I intentionally make a point to note whatever is being advertised and never buy it.
I try to only get gas at one specific local gas station that doesn’t do ads.
Ever came across something you really really wanted to buy, but it was “noted”?
If you absolutely need it, then get it used or other method to where the original manufacturer who paid for the ad doesn’t profit, duh.
I don’t think I want to buy used hotdogs
The speakers are often easy to bust by jamming a key through the slots ☺
Or, you’re holding a nozzle that sprays liquid. Just douse the speaker in gasoline.
Gas pumps live outside. Do you really expect a little liquid to hurt them?
A match afterwards might help… better obscure your face, license plate, and use cash.
The gas station I prefer has a mute button labeled on the pumps. Their ads are also less annoying because it’s mostly just promos for stuff in store.
Yep. And a lot of the gas stations in my area have the auto-hold latches busted or removed, so you have to stand there and have a super loud ad screamed in your face. Which is why I now have a pack of reusable zip ties in my car that I will slap on the fill handle if I come across a pump like that. And no, that’s not dangerous - the stop mechanism in the pump handle operates such that the handle depresses further when the auto-shutoff engages, so it does not disrupt the safety of the filler mechanism.
I just jam my gas cap in the handle.
It’s like that at every gas station where I live; every single one. All of the small gas stations have been bought and sold within the last couple of years and upgraded to this stupid video ad model.
They have even been removing the mute where I’m at
The US never stop to amaze me
They’ve stopped using exposed speaker grilles so you can’t shove a screw driver into the speakers anymore :(
Ad blaring pumps are in Canada too. Shell is the most obnoxious.
Is gas less expensive compared to pumps where they don’t do that?
Nope!
Bahahahahahahaha!
No.
May I introduce you to the wonderful japanese ads on the toilet?
This might bring out my inner Picasso and start painting.
No, I will respond with hate speech if you do
Might start bringing a sharpy with me everywhere to cover them all up.
