Stubborn salesman denies warehouse manager credit card for fuel, delivery truck runs out of diesel and breaks down mid-route, causing major delays and repair costs, salesman never withholds card again: 'He decided 1/8th of a tank was perfectly adequate'

Author image for Emma Saven
Emma Saven
Oct 19, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

When you work for a company, there is no doubt that your list of responsibilities may be lengthy, yet there are certain elements that should be the responsibility of your company. When you are a chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant, it is not your job to pay for the ingredients. When you are an actress, it is not your job to pay the extras…So, why, when a delivery driver requests a credit card to pay for gas, is he denied? We understand that some companies like to avoid 'unnecessary fees, but unfortunately, companies that offer delivery services actually require gas to get from point A-B.

Years back, this warehouse manager had to make a delivery, but whilst his boss was away, he was forced to ask the head salesman for the company card. A request that was denied alongside the claim that an eighth of a tank should surely get him where he needed to go…Well, it did not. Instead the trunk ran out of diesel, broke down from air in the fuel system, and racked up major delays and repair costs…all that could've been avoided if he paid that little extra $19 (Relax, it was the 90s, we know you can't even get a min for $19 these days…) Let's just say that salesman never had another say in allocate the company credit card activity every again…Poor Paul, he had a great smile, just not much behind it.
 

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  • However, after ‘Paul’ was banned from involvement with the cards, he found other ways to make the employees' lives different. Either way, at least this warehouse manager could say the words ‘I was right’ and have the evidence of a broken-down truck to support it. Maybe next time he’ll have coworkers who take his word seriously, instead of thinking they know better…A thought that cost them a lot…

  • Orange truck being towed
    via John Cheathem

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Wont give me the card to get fuel? Enjoy the towing bill

    I was just reminded of something that happened to me back in the early 90s. I was managing a warehouse for a furniture company.
    via SailingSpark
  • We were busy enough to keep a small 12 foot box truck and a pickup running around delivering all day.
    via SailingSpark
  • Part of my job was also deliveries. So, even though I was warehouse manager, I did not have access to the fuel credit card.
    via SailingSpark
  • It was kept locked up in the boss' desk. This particular day, the truck was down to about an 1/8th of a tank, something you should never do with a diesel, so I asked for the card to fill it up to make a delivery.
    via SailingSpark
  • The boss would ordinarily not have a problem with this, but he was out that day and I had to deal with the head salesman who decided that an 1/8th of a tank was perfectly adequate to make this delivery.
    via SailingSpark
  • I could fill it up when I get back. So, make the delivery, and on the way back, the truck starts running out of fuel, it would die and I would restart and we could make it a mile and it would die again.
    via SailingSpark
  • Tired truckdriver leaning on the steering wheel
    via gettyimages

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • I get it into the station and it dies as we coast in. Call the salesman, he huffs and puffs, and finally sends somebody out with the card about an hour later.
    via SailingSpark
  • We fill it up and she won't start. We ran her so low, we pulled air and the whole system needs to be bled.
    via SailingSpark
  • So, truck gets towed to the repair place and bled. They put in a new filter just to be sure.
    via SailingSpark
  • Its out of commission for two days, so we have to rent a truck. So all told, we missed all the deliveries for the rest of that day, had to pay to have the truck towed, and repaired, and had to rent a truck..
    via SailingSpark
  • all because the head salesman had to be a dick and not want to give me the card.
    via SailingSpark
  • He got a serious chewing out over that, and never again did he give anybody any trouble about handing over the card.
    via SailingSpark
  • I wish I could say everything was roses over that, but he was always a dick and would find new ways to be a dick to us, but never with the fuel card after that.
    via SailingSpark
  • Vintage-looking gas station
    via gettysignature

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • thejester541 What this happened to be a Ford diesel truck? Possibly with an international engine? I know the struggle with it is, if it isn't well just a warning then. LOL
    via thejester541
  • OP SailingSpark Going to take you back. I economy. Nothing like an Italian diesel.
    via SailingSpark
  • AdjutantStormy We had my daily delivery truck that had a bad (read intermittent) fuel sensor. I had basically memorized how far I could get on how much diesel. Boss didn't want to bother fixing it, since l apparently never had any issues. This was one of two trucks with bad fuel sensors/guages. One only did city driving, mine did hundreds of miles at a time. Well the boss son fucked up his shoulder, so he wanted to drive mine, because mine was an automatic and his was stick. Guess what got a new
    via AdjutantStormy
  • Coder Joe1 He didn't know what he didn't know.
    via CoderJoe1
  • Daealis ...Company car... ...Company credit card.... ...Used exclusively for company deliveries... ..And the guy has a problem about people filling the tank? Not even the bean counters should have an issue with that car being constantly topped off, filling up a tank is a five minute ordeal and all that headache would be skipped. There's literally zero downsides to filling the tank as soon as the needle even twitches downwards from FULL. Even if every single driver fills the tank every single day
    via Daealis
  • TechnOght Sales always thinks their shit doesn't stink because "they bring in the money".
    via TechnOght
  • bfrabel I was once working on a construction job about 150 miles from where our shop was. I was waiting for our company truck driver to bring us some materials. He got to within about 10 miles from the job site and then called to tell me the truck's oil light came on and it started running really rough, so he pulled into a gas station. He then said he didn't have any money with him and was at a place that didn't take our gas card. I had to go over there and help him out. I bought and dumped in 5
    via bfrabel

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bad-manager access fuel credit card gas station diesel anti work reprimanded on-route managers workplace Horrible Bosses damage truck denies break down delivery truck driver
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