removing helmet to fill up?

[wjhall]

after 5000 miles on the CBR, making about 30 fill ups at numerous stations, and many more on the 125 before, today something happened for the first time.
At the counter i was asked to remove my helmet and told i should remove it before starting to fill up in future in a rather frank way. While i understand they probably want a face on CCTV just in case, i was slightly taken aback as, as i say, ive never removed or been asked to remove my helmet before.

Do you normally take off your helmet to fill up? if not how often have you been asked to remove it?

While i understand the motivation, it adds a little hassle and asking me to make sure to remove my helmet before filling up next time translates to in future i will always drive on to the the next of many filling stations along my commute.

[NSU]

God forbid you would do a drive off with 7 bucks worth of gas.

I wouldn't enter the store itself with my helmet on, though. That's kind of stick-up-ish.

[shisoshin]

i always remove my helmet at my station, and the attendant there
asked me to remove it before entering the enclosed area to pay..
the way he asked seemed to be a rehearsed manner as in
something he had been prep'd for and required to do..

robberies are obviously the factor here..
after a number of visits to this outlet which i use
every time, knowing it has clean petrol without,, ethanol,
in its 91octane fuel, which is appropriate and my choice
for my cbr250r the regular guy told me it was not,
necessary to remove my hat, as he knows me..
[this in a friendly slightly embarrassed tone]

this outlet is my choice and handy on my daily runs,
and its such a small thing,, really, and takes me
what, a few seconds, and the guy is obviously
passing on a job required message from his boss,
that it isnt even a thing.. its nothing..

mate, as we go thru life there are many real
things to occupy our minds with..
this isnt one of them

as a motorcyclist you will be taking your helmet on and off
many times, count gloves there as well, so why not make
a skill of it,, along with all the special skills involved
in motorcycling, instead of seeing it as 'a hassle',,
esp as you 'understand the motivation'...

[MotoMike]

I don't remove my helmet at the pump, but I'm also using a credit card to pay at the pump. I don't know of any gas stations where you can pump gas without paying first, so driving/riding off without paying is really a non-issue... If I were paying cash inside the station I'd take my helmet off before going in. With the frequency of armed hold ups being what they are today, it's not too hard to put yourself in the shoes of the clerk behind the counter.

[mattcbr250]

Originally Posted by MotoMike

I don't remove my helmet at the pump, but I'm also using a credit card to pay at the pump. I don't know of any gas stations where you can pump gas without paying first, so driving/riding off without paying is really a non-issue... If I were paying cash inside the station I'd take my helmet off before going in. With the frequency of armed hold ups being what they are today, it's not too hard to put yourself in the shoes of the clerk behind the counter.

Same here and I 100% agree.

[wjhall]

Originally Posted by MotoMike

I don't remove my helmet at the pump, but I'm also using a credit card to pay at the pump. I don't know of any gas stations where you can pump gas without paying first, so driving/riding off without paying is really a non-issue... If I were paying cash inside the station I'd take my helmet off before going in. With the frequency of armed hold ups being what they are today, it's not too hard to put yourself in the shoes of the clerk behind the counter.

As i say i completely understand the motivation. It just never occured to me to take it off. One would imagine that motorcyclists filling at a petrol station to be a fairly regular occurance.

In the UK petrol stations are mostly self serve then go to pay inside. Most forecourts are fitted with ANPR cameras which i believe wont alow petrol to be dispensed untill the number plate is logged. Also armed robberies are less of an issue in the UK. ( a quick google suggest by a factor of 10 compared to US)

[Empty Sea]

I pay at the pump. However, I have gone inside to borrow a tire gauge on numerous occasions and have never been asked to remove my helmet. This could be because they recognize me at the local station, though. Until this moment, it never even occurred to me to take off my helmet when entering a service station.

[Wynne G Oldman]

I use Pay at the Pump service stations, so not a problem for me, but there are some service stations around where I live that ask you to remove your helmet before paying at the counter. I don't have a problem with this, as I understand the reasons. People who hold up service stations usually wear crash helmets. Everywhere I use, you pay after you've filled up, but I have a friend who lives in Liverpool, who says that some demand cash first. I usually leave my helmet in my top box if I do any shopping on my bike, as some shops will ask you to remove your helmet, and you will definitely not get served in a bank whilst wearing one.

[pooder7]

If I'm stopped and have any interactions with a human, the helmet comes off[*]. It seems to me to be the polite thing to do . . . .
[*] unless it's just a short yes-no kinda thing.

[jscott1]

I've never seen this written down anywhere, but as a new rider it seems common sense to take off the helmet before entering a store. This is what I do. But it seems that unless a sign is posted or this is the law that they really can't enforce a dress code that's just made up on the fly.

Also, I pay at the pump so they don't care and I don't take off the helmet.