Over the past few days, I’ve done a lot of driving. With a lot of driving comes two things, of course: lots of urinating and lots of stopping to get fuel. Fortunately, you can often do both at the same place, though most gas stations prefer you go inside to pee instead of just letting loose at the pumps, which I attribute to lingering Puritanical influences in our culture.
As a result, I ended up spending a good amount of time staring at gas pump display screens, and found that some old issues I’ve had with them are still extremely present. Specifically, the UX used on these pumps is piping-hot garbage.
I’ve actually talked about this before at The Old Site. Even this very same gas pump UX before, which hasn’t changed one bit since I bitched about it in 2019. Only this time, I’m a little less sure of myself, a little less willing to be as dismissive as I was before, because I’ve found that this whole thing actually brings up many more complex issues than I initially realized, and I think those issues are worth discussing.
The interface I’m talking about is one that I’m pretty sure you’ve seen before – if you remember any of its screen displays, I bet it’s that one above– and it’s used on an extremely popular gas pump, the Gilbarco Encore 700 S series. It’s a fine machine, generally. It pumps gas into the car, I’ve never seen one explode, it takes my money, all that. It does its job.
But why are all the user interface graphics and the overall so… amateurish? I mean, look at that image up there, with what appears to be a hand-drawn ’73 Camaro Z28. It’s not a bad rendering, as such, but it’s not exactly professional-grade. It feels like the work of a talented, young artist still finding their style. And the way it’s integrated into the screen display is, to be charitable, crap:
I mean, look: the edges have obvious aliasing from where it was once over a white background, that fuel pump graphic is just slapped on, in the wrong place for the car, in a different style – it all just looks like it was knocked out in six minutes by whoever coded this system while they were eating a sandwich.
Gilbarco is a big company! Why is this so bad? These machines are not cheap! I was a designer for years before I saw the light of motorjournalism, and I would never have let work this half-assed go out to a client. Never.
Then there’s the question of why some of the simple text information screens seem to run at a resolution that’s about 1/3 of the other screens? Why does the text get all pixelated for some screens and not others? It just feels like nobody was able to give one single solitary shit about how these interfaces actually looked.
And why, exactly, are there two display types here, again? Why are we still using those old seven-segment LCD numerical displays when that high-resolution full-color display inches below it could easily display the price and fuel amount displays? Why keep the old-school numeric displays? I don’t get it.
Years ago, I actually contacted Gilbarco about this for a follow-up, and was told by an employee that there were at least some people in the organization railing against the “Commodore 64-level” (their words) displays. But despite any internal pressures, it does not seem that Gilbarco has decided that this is something worth pursuing.
I was complaining about this to a friend, who told me, “And? Not everything has to be professional level. I think it’s great.”
And you know what? I think she’s right.
Or, at least partially right, right enough that I’ve been thinking about this ever since. You know what I would have done if these interface displays were polished and professional? Ignored them. I wouldn’t have given them a second thought. They would have blended into the competent background of the world, inoffensive and deeply uninteresting.
Would that have made me happier? Honestly? No. The mild incompetence I see in these gas pumps gives me some perverse delight. Life is actually more fun when things are a little slipshod or misguided or sloppy. The pumps (generally) work fine, or at least good enough. Sure there’s some annoying stuff – why is there a physical keypad for some number entries, and sometimes it’s on screen? Pick a lane, Gilbarco.
But the charmingly hand-drawn Camaro? If I’m honest, I love it. I would take that over some AI horseshit car any day of the week, and with a nice stiff drink on Shabbos. In fact, I’d love to see more amateur automotive art on gas pump screens – gas station chains should let people load pictures of cars (photos or artwork, whatever) to gas station websites and (well, after making sure they weren’t full of slurs or genitals) then those pictures get sent to gas pumps all over the country! Why not?
Life is just more interesting when it’s imperfect. For example, at this moment I’m writing this during a layover at the Denver airport. This airport is famous for a terrifying piece of public art that’s nicknamed Blucifer, a demonic colossal blue mustang with eyes that glow like crimson hellfire.
The artwork has a tragic backstory, as the artist behind it, Luis Jiménez, was killed in the process of building it. The resulting artwork is striking and, let’s be honest, a deeply strange choice for an airport sculpture.
Nothing about Blue Mustang (the actual name of the work) suggests travel or any of Denver’s rational sources of pride. It’s an unhinged monument to untamed, wild rage – not the thing a committee would pick for an airport. As far as rational decisions go for airport art, it’s a disaster.
It’s also spectacular.
Blucifer is why people are excited to land at this airport. A carefully considered, reasonable monument would be as compelling as a frisbee full of tepid chowder. The misguided decision is the best decision here because it makes life more interesting.
My friend is right. Why the hell do we need everything to be so professional all the time? Not everything needs to be polished to a mirror finish. Let’s see the fingerprints and smudges, let’s delight in some kid’s excellent drawing of a Camaro that somehow ended up on thousands and thousands of gas pumps all over the country.
Let the Swiss or whoever have their precise, controlled, rational lives. A little bit of chaos and imperfection sprinkled on life adds some much-needed spice, and I think I’m happy to see some when pumping gas.
That said, it can’t hurt to get the stupid typography problems sorted out, Gilbarco. And let’s get some new hand-drawn cars in there!
Top graphic image: Jason Torchinsky
How about the ads that run while you pump and have a QR code to scan. It’s right next to the warning sticker telling you not to use your cellphone while you pump cause it could cause an explosion. Like, what am I supposed to do, remember the QR code then sketch it out for my phone after I stop pumping?
The real heroes of this world are the guys spraying expanding foam into the speakers of gas pumps while filling their work trucks.
All the gas stations here in the suburbs of Chicago are turning into casinos which occasionally pump gas. Giant touch screens which don’t register but every fifth touch and then blast ads to compete with the loudspeaker party music have become the norm. I avoid those to go to the older style ones at smaller stations like you pictured above because at least they actually work and I don’t have to worry about watching someone get into a fight with an atm because a slot machine stole their last dollar.
You are now ready to receive an Argentine passport, Torch. Congratulations.
My local has a graphic of a C4 Vette on tri-spokes and when you’re done it says “Thank yo.” In a world increasingly full of machine-made slop, this feels very human now
Fortunately Australian fuel pumps don’t usually have such odd looking screens, just 7-segment LCD displays for each fuel type price, plus total $ and litres dispensed.
My personal bugbear with poor screen design is in my Australian 2003 Ford Fairlane Ghia – the graphics in the centre dash display for the audio/climate control are very basic and blocky, and nearly all grayscale,despite the very occasional use of a more detailed graphic and occasional use of colour, showing that the hardware is capable of a much better, more modern looking image than they actually choose to display.
Can we talk about gas pumps with immutable advertisements? Sometimes when you mash buttons you find the mute. But more and more I’ve been unsuccessful with that. LIke what the fuck, I’m already spending $250 on fuel, STOP TRYING TO TAKE MORE OF MY MONEY!
Blucifer is an awesome piece of art. Always enjoy seeing it when I go out to DIA. That Blue well hung horse with the demonic eyes has got to be pissing off the Moral Minority. Just don’t get to close to him, he may not like it and kill you.
As for the the crappy car drawing, that is why I walk away from the pump and wash the windows on the car or stare at the sky.
I’m okay with the seven-segment displays. Redundant redundancy is redundantly good, i.e. let the stuff that needs to work keep working independent of the stuff that often doesn’t. If I pull up to a pump with a flashy color display, I can enjoy or ignore the questionably IP-dodging car illustration before having to interact with the infuriatingly laggy instructions to immediately remove the card I was just told to leave inserted. But if the inevitable dead pixel blotches, furiously carved graffiti, or software bugs end up keeping me from knowing how much I’ve pumped and what I’m paying for it, I’m a lot less okay with the situation.
My guess is that having the reliable metering apparatus hooked up to a decades-proven in all weather and power supply glitches processing pwb hooked up to likewise proven 7-segment display to display the info that is likely mandated by law is the best move, rather than routing it thru a computer. I wouldn’t be surprised if the computer running the second screen could get BSOD’d and you could still do the payment transaction in the store, pump the gas with that 7-segment display working (and you being confident), and and all would be well.
Kind of like steering wheel and column > rack and pinion and other mechanical bits > wheels, rather than steering wheel-shaped controller > processing unit >canbus > many computers > canbus > all those same following mechanical bits > wheels
I thought we were going to talk about pumps with those horrible vapor recovery bellows that have to be pushed down to get the pump to work. Those are SO much fun on a motorcycle. /S
When the pump says Please Wat, you should wat. I know it’s called Blue Mustang, but is it a call out to the Denver Broncos?
Don’t know the pump maker and it’s not one I go to often, but someone uses a similar quality drawing of a Porsche 911 and it shows the pump going in at the same spot as this Camaro when (as I’m sure almost all of us know) the filler is in the front fender. They could have picked almost any other car and not had it so far off! I took a pic to send to everyone before realizing that, since I don’t hang out with car people, nobody would get it and I was destined to manage my irritation alone.
Businesses don’t replace stuff until it breaks. Then they don’t want to pay more than they have to.bso unless every screen at the pumps goes out at the same time they aren’t upgrading until they have to. If it makes you feel better Sheetz has the display of costs, it might be a weights and measure requirement for honestly, but the very modern screen has tv quality and they show commercials on it. So welcome to be careful what you wish for
Use the Camaro Clubs advice against them. Whip out the junk and smack the fuel pump.
That car looked like a melted jellybean on wheels.
What the hell is that? I’ve only been blessed with the C4 on 3 spoke wheels and the Classic Mustang with BBS wheels.
Have you sent them some 5.25″ floppys yet?
Yeah big talk from me Floppy here wanting perfection
I thought these were just the default or stock-art interface graphics with the expectation that the gas station itself would deploy its own branding and graphics onto there if they cared enough to.
These days when I see crappy design I think “hey, at least they didn’t use AI”
Enough AI talk I’m tired of it. Can we just call it AL and use Al Calavechi as it’s human personification? I’d feel more comfortable with that
I’ve driven to 41 states in our car, and rented in 2 others. I’ve never heard of Gilbarco.
I’ve never seen this artwork.
Nor me. Unfortunately I get Maria constantly.
“I’ll never stop saying Maria”
For how much money we’re getting charged for gas these days, you would think that some of these stations could upgrade some screens, and maybe even have a decent windshield wiper available at all pumps.
It’s the big oil companies and oil speculators taking in all the extra profit. The stations are probably making about the same 3-5% they always do.
All the 7-11 screens around here have the same message:
THIRSTY! BUY A BIG GULP
My inner punctuation n@zi SCREAMS every time I get gas.
they are not asking if you are thirsty. They are proclaiming you are.
Yep, if you’re answering to Thirsty, that message is for you.
Jason, I need to ask…
This pump in particular didn’t happen to be in Western PA, did it? 😀
Mercifully, almost all pumps here in Australia only have the seven segment displays on them. I do not miss being blinded and deafened by ads from the pumps.
Although a lot of Australia pumps now have an extra screen in a box added to the top of the pump that just plays ads at you nonstop – not a part of the original pump, just an add-on unit.
Interesting. I have yet to come across that so far, but any excuse to enshittify our everyday should mean it won’t be long.
I would like to think that the Camaro was the result of a competition at Gilbarco for employees to submit a drawing and the winner gets their handiwork displayed on all gas pumps. A pizza party was also probably involved.
I was thinking some sort of high-school competition. Either way I actually kinda like it.
Maybe younger?
If corporate culture is as homogenous as my experience has been, it was a Little Caesars ‘Pizza! Pizza!’ party
Galbarco is playing the long game. In 20 years, someone who grew up staring at those out the car window will have a nostalgic memory of them. They’ll go to their version of Radwood and stop by someone with a CRT hooked up to a Commodore 64 showing low res graphics, maybe buy a t-shirt.