When BP bought Amoco, they made a few promises. Cleaner stations, brighter lighting, and a friendlier atmosphere. In the process of the takeover, they converted all the old Amoco stations to BP stations and renovated each and every one of them with new pumps, new signage, and an overall new look that was in line with the new corporate identity. For all intents and purposes, Amoco was wiped off the map.

Last night, I had to get gas before I met my wife for dinner, and I didn’t feel like driving to the Mobil station I would normally go to. The BP is closer to my office and, while I don’t particularly care for BP gas, it is more convenient and a few cents cheaper, so BP won out over Mobil.

As I pulled into the station last night, there were only two pumps available, and only one of them was in the position I needed to fill my tank. As I pulled in, I noticed a yellow “out of service” cover on the premium pump. No big deal; I don’t go in for that premium gas bullshit anyway. I got out of the car, put my card in (it didn’t ask me if it was credit or debit, either) and the pump was authorized. I put the nozzle in my tank, pulled the trigger and… NOTHING. The pump was on but the screen wasn’t moving and the gas wasn’t flowing. I tried a few more times, and finally decided I would just move to a pump that had just opened up. Apparently an out of order cover on one of the nozzles applies to all of them.

I got back in my car, pulled over to the pump, and what I saw made me nauseous. To say the pump was in poor condition is an understatement. Here are a few choice pictures I snapped with my phone as I stood at the pump.

Notice the melted cover on the nozzle? Doesn’t that just instill a sense of confidence in the maintenance of the station? It wasn’t gross, per se, but it showed to me that the owner of the station doesn’t really care about the station or its appearance. You might see that as a stretch based on one photo, of course, so here’s another photo of the exact same pump.

Not bad, huh? Instills real confidence in what you get from that station.

I’m not unreasonable, and I know that gas pumps aren’t usually handled with kid gloves, but this didn’t get this way overnight. Note the worn out “start” button on the keypad and the damn-near impossible to see through cover of the screen for the meter.

This station is an utter disaster and BP is probably not even aware of it, and for a company that’s heavily into presenting a clean friendly environment for its gas stations, this station is a black eye on their corporate image.

For those of you in the New York City area, you can visit this trainwreck yourself and tell me if you think this is the kind of premium experience BP promises in its commercials.