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Petrol Station shopping

Aspergers_Aspie

Aspergers_Aspie

Well-Known Member
I no longer shop for groceries at nighttime at petrol stations. I don't give them the satisfaction as their is no consistency some you can walk into and get to see what they have available. Also a support worker from the autism charity I'm registered with said he thinks it's safer not to be out during the night and in my opinion not in rough areas especially. And as aspies are a group more vulnerable.
 
Before I read your post, I thought you were looking for petrol stations that actually have petrol. It has been reported in American news media that Britain is suffering from a major fuel shortage due to lack of drivers/truckers to transport fuel. Fuel shortage does not bode well for the coming cold winter months.
 
Aspergers_Aspie said:
No it's not good for motorists. In the UK petrol stations groceries are usually quite expensive too.
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It's hard for me to imagine what kind of food is sold in petrol stations. Is any of it fresh or is it just canned or fried fast food? There's kind of a running joke in the US about buying any kind of food in a gas station other than soft drinks, beer, potato chips, candy bars and other junk foods. Although I have bought some good fried chicken (cooked on the spot) at a couple of gas stations here.

Can you go to a real grocery store to buy food?
 
There was a 24 hour petrol station in the town I lived in a few months back. I used to go there late at night back when I was an alcoholic. You'd often see a lot of people clearly on hard drugs who'd go to the garage at stupid o'clock in the morning. I guess that's why I was going too - we were all a bunch of degenerates.

As for selection at a petrol station - some in UK are merged with supermarket brands, but the size of the aisles and the variety of stock is pretty limited. Also it's very expensive too.

At my second job there was a petrol station down the road which had a Marks & Spencer, which is one of the higher end supermarkets. I used to spend a small fortune on my food there every day. But it did taste very nice.

Ed
 
Most gas stations here in the US have a bunch of snacks (chips, candy, jerky, etc), simple meals (like sandwiches), drinks, and maybe a few other things like medicine and basic car accessories. One near me has a slightly more extensive stock, and even a mailbox, and several have some fresh food (the kind that can sit under a heat lamp for a while).

How safe or clean they are really depends on the neighborhood.
 
Petrol stations are mini supermarkets that are more expensive, say, for example, Tesco, the bigger stores sell their stuff cheaper than the petrol station stores.
This is because lots of people want convenience and a petrol station store is convenient and the firm takes advantage of this by charging more.
 
Shopping at night can help with anxiety and over stimulation though. It is definitely more relaxing for me to get anything at the Walmart at midnight vs noon.
 
Mary Terry said:
It's hard for me to imagine what kind of food is sold in petrol stations. Is any of it fresh or is it just canned or fried fast food? There's kind of a running joke in the US about buying any kind of food in a gas station other than soft drinks, beer, potato chips, candy bars and other junk foods. Although I have bought some good fried chicken (cooked on the spot) at a couple of gas stations here.

Can you go to a real grocery store to buy food?
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That's pretty much it. Many have milk, bread, eggs, I think I've seen bacon...the "staples" (but not a wide selection) but nothing else.

A lot of pre-made stuff, and usually a deli or chain restaurant (Little Caesar's, Subway etc.) The sort of thing you would stop to eat on a road trip. I stop at one every day on my way to work to get breakfast and lunch for the day - salad or a hoagie (sub, hero, whatever you want to call it) which I throw in my cooler and take to work with me. Every soda, sports drink, etc. known to man in a 20 ounce bottle. Donuts, chips, individual servings of things.

You could definitely "grocery shop" at the nicer ones, but it wouldn't be what most people consider grocery shopping.

As for at night...it really depends on where you are. I've been in gas stations that have bullet proof glass...those ones you definitely don't want to go into at night (or ever). I regularly visit gas stations during non-daylight hours, however. As a shift worker, I pretty much have to. I leave before the sun comes up or get home after it sets, depending on my shift.
 
Unclewolverine said:
Shopping at night can help with anxiety and over stimulation though. It is definitely more relaxing for me to get anything at the Walmart at midnight vs noon.
Click to expand...

When I lived right up the road from a 24 hour grocery store, I would stop on my way home from work (11PM or so) semi-regularly. There's some stuff you can't buy (they close off certain aisles of regularly shoplifted things because they don't have as much staff) and sometimes you have to navigate around stockers - but there are only a few people in there and it's a lot easier to just get what you need and get out.
 
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