Tram Stop Shell

I bought gas here and paid at the pump last week. I had no close encounters of the third kind with the management (new or old).
I chose this station based on gas prices as reflected by GasBuddy. Indeed, without driving beyond a diminishing returns radius of my nearby destination, they were the cheapest station in the area.
My only complaint is that the gas pumps are situated very close to the store. If Mr. Bubba decides to park his pickup by the door to get his 10 AM six-​pack fix while Mr. Duallie tries to cram between him and the inside pump lane, it can make for a sphincter-​tightening moment.

This store has plenty of signs advertising new ownership and it shows. The store is spotlessly clean and has a wide variety of adult beverages. On the way home from work, I needed a soft drink. They had a great variety of soft drinks in their cooler and the staff was above and beyond friendly. If only they had a slightly better soft drink fountain, this would be convenience store nirvana for central Austin.

I have not a *clue* why this place has so many one– and two-​star reviews. The lady who owns the place is a little eccentric? Big deal! (Oh, and memo to Phillip B.: you can’t buy beer or wine after midnight at grocery stores or gas stations, except on Saturday nights when it’s extended to 1am. TABC comes down *hard* on businesses that violate the rules, as in fines in the thousands-​of-​dollars range.)
Anyway, as noted in other reviews, gas here is ALWAYS the cheapest not only in the area — a ritzy part of town where gas generally costs *more* than usual, not less — but often some of the cheapest brand-​name gas prices in town … and without needing a Speedpass or some other gimmick to get X cents off per gallon. Also, the place has an *excellent* beer and wine selection — not quite Whip In-​caliber, but pretty damn good for a Shell station.

Ahh this place… So many funny stories. One time the crazy lady that works there accused (my very not homeless looking) roommate of being homeless and told her to leave…
The next time i went in, she accused me of using a fake ID and tried to take it away from me! I had to show her 2 credit cards and my student ID before she would give it back! i almost had to call the police. Hahaha

WARNING: DO NOT SHOP HERE!!!
I get off work after a 17 hour degreed professional day of laborious work. I’m tired. I’m thirsty. It is 0000 hours, and, I need to be back to work at 0700. All I can think is that a glass of wine would be nice when I get home. Not being sure that I have any wine, I decide to pop in here and buy a cheap over priced bottle. I am still in uniform with my name tag on. I place the single bottle of wine on the counter. The cashier rings it up. I swipe my Shell card. She starts freaking out.
Synopsis:
No, No! You can’t buy!
Oh, really? I thought I had until 0200.
You drink a lot. You alcoholic. You should know!
Ah. What? Excuse me? What?
You alcoholic. You try to make me lose my license!
Lady, I just got off work. What the fuck are you on about. (At this point my Irish is up)
You alcoholic. You drink a lot. Get out. You white trash!
Fuck you bitch!
Note: Not that I’m expecting anything good to come of this, I will call the manager tomorrow. She probably is the manager.
One more note: FUCK YOU BITCH!!!

This place gets four stars because it is ALWAYS anywhere from $ 0.04 to $ 0.20 cheaper then any other place in town, at least on the supreme gas, and as far as I can tell it is also the case for regular gas.
I have never been inside, so I cannot comment on the staff.
With only 4 pumps there can sometimes be a wait or difficulty maneuvering your car around the tiny parking lot to get your gas tank next to a pump, but the savings are worth it.

I came to look at the reviews to see if any of them mentioned the guano-​loco lady working there. Apparently she is rude to almost everyone. If you get the «see cashier» at the pump… it’s a trap! She is kind of funny in a «did you really just say that, people actually say that?» kind of way.

yes she is a crazy loon and i LOVE it
I have been going there for 6 years and will always go. Its clean, cheap gas, and sometimes some entertainment. ha ha ha
But can you honestly imagine being her? She deals with lazy self important Americans when all she is trying to do is run a family business. All those poor taste «cattle» trying to herd into that crap hole Pterrys taking up her precious spots
she prolly acts like that to spice up her day, i would … ha

«I hate you bike people!!»
… Wait a minute. First, you need to know that I’ve been coming here for gas in the middle of the night for YEARS. Like, 5 years of midnight gas stops every few weeks, thanks to the well-​lit and convenient location and the lowest price in blocks; I had never gone inside. But I won’t be back.
Now, our rotten visit: We were riding bikes. It was my first time on a bike in five-​plus years, 112-​degree temperatures and no wind. I nearly passed out from the heat, but my brilliant and caring boyfriend encouraged me to power forward with promises of Gatorade at the next gas station.
He told me to go ahead inside and was out locking up the bikes while I picked out some Powerade. I paid for the drinks, and he went up to the soda fountain to fill his water bottle. I hadn’t yet signed my receipt and she was already yelling in my face.
«I hate you bike people!»
«Pardon me?»
«No free ice! I hate you bike people! So messy! Hate bike people! 10 CENTS!»
«What?» scoffs the fella.
«You cheap bike people! You pay me 10 cents! 10 cents!»
I fish around in my wallet and pull out a dime. Before I can even hand it to her, she’s off again.
«So messy! You bike people! Bike people out to ruin me! What are you DOING!?!» (There was more, but it was barely coherent.)
OK, so, yeah, he’d taken his top off his bottle and dripped a bit on the floor. A small enough spot that one of those cheap convenience store napkins would take care of it and then some.
«I have to mop now! What are you DOING!?! You bike people, always messing up my store.»
«We paid for the ice, and two –«
“You are so sloppy! I hate bike people. Bike people always get ice on my floor. It’s not about the money. It’s about you bike people. You are so messy. You know if you get water on my floor and somebody slips they’re gonna sue me and it’ll be all your fault, you bike people and your messes»
We hadn’t gotten any ice on the floor.
«I’m sorry, I’ll clean it up. May I have a napkin?»
(What kind of convenience store doesn’t have napkins out? What kind of store doesn’t have water, even for paying customers?)
«I don’t give out napkins to bike people! You bike people always want something for free. You get water on my floor and somebody dies, what are you going to do then? Bike people!»
«All right, if you don’t have a napkin, we paid you 10 cents for the ice and you don’t even have water available, we’re going to go.»
She gets up and walks around the desk, ranting and raving the whole time and getting closer to the fellow.
«You bike people, I don’t want bike people in my store somethingsomethingsomething I’ve run this store for 13 years and you bike people are terrible, worst people ever blahblahblah I hate you blah.»
«If you hate us so much, why can’t we just leave?»
«Rant rant rant» while standing in front of the door. «I don’t want bike people in MY STORE.»
«Well, fine. Let us go and we’ll never be back.»
«That’s fine. I don’t want you bike people in here. Never come back. It’s not about the money for me!!»
She stepped aside and we walked out, followed by her and her continued rants, until she encountered another customer and went to help (?) him.
Nope, never gonna go back. (Good news: The Powerade did give me the extra push to make it home.)

The rudest person on planet Earth, I will not contribute to their business and will spend my money elsewhere! Your loss not mine, I’m the person that puts money in your pocket and food on your table, you should show me some respect!

If you just need gas, this place is for you. My GasBuddy app always tells me this is the cheapest gas near me. I don’t try to come in to buy things inside. Just pump and out. That works out fine for me.

Believe it. The woman is seriously freaking hostile, rude, and all-​out nuts. Stopped to chat for a moment — literally — before going inside. She came blazing out of the store and told me she really should be calling a tow truck on me (despite my being IN my running car). I explained I had lingered for a few seconds, but was planning to come in. I thought at this point she might have been under the mistaken impression I was going across to P Terrys. Perish the thought! I’ve often gone to P Terrys and ogled the Tram Stop parking enviously… but even not knowing that the spaces were guarded by a crazy troll lady, I’m just not the kind of guy to park in someone else’s spots that way.
Anyway, when I told her i was going in to shop presently, she said I didn’t have to, that she didn’t need customers like me, and I should go home and never come back.
Huh? Well. I will indulge her that far.

I’m pretty easy when it comes to gas stations. If my gas light has been on for a while and there’s an open space to fill up, I’ll pull in. In fact I’m sometimes guilty of not even considering how expensive the gas is in fear of not making it to the next station.
Anyway, I pull in to this particular shell which happens to be down the street from where I work. As I’m getting gas an attendant comes out and points out that I have a crack in my windshield. Gee, thanks for bringing my attention to the matter. I just rarely look out my windshield enough to notice… And wouldn’t you know how lucky I am that today they happen to be running a special on free windshield repair. I politely decline,
«I have to be at work in ten minutes, sorry.»
Thinking I just ended the conversation was obviously a crazy assumption.
«I can do it while you pump your gas, it takes two minutes and it’s free, no charge.» (Yeah right, my ass. You’re just so concerned for my safety)
«No, my tank is just about full so I definitely don’t have time»
At this point he just kind of goes off. I get a lecture on how people are too lazy to just go to a body shop and get the crack fixed and how it’s just going to get bigger and bigger and how ridiculous it is that I can’t just take a couple of minutes right now to get it fixed and blahahhahhhblah blah it’s free blah blah.
I’m not always great at asserting myself again pushy salespeople but this was just absurd. I finally tell him something along the lines of «I’m not going to do this, so quit wasting your time.» He gives me a good eye roll and then conveniently notices a cracked windshield on the car of the woman next to me.
I will definitely never pull into the gas station again and if you appreciate being able to pump your own gas without being harassed I recommend you do the same.

I was getting gas for the gas guzzling SUV at the usual spot — this station next to P. Terry’s on N. Lamar. While filling up, I walked next door to get lunch for my wife. They were busy, and it took a while, so I walked back to the station to move my car into a regular parking spot. I was thinking it was the courteous thing to do. Anyway, I run in and out of the burger place in less than 60 seconds. As I’m backing out of the parking spot, the owner comes running out and knocks on my window. She begins yelling at me for using the parking space. I inform her I just spent $ 85 on a tank of gas, as I do weekly, and moved the car as a courtesy to other customers. Apparently, this means nothing. She yells louder and louder. I tell her I need to leave and begin backing up the car. Her reaction? She pounds on my door and screams «white trash» at me twice. Don’t think I’ll be buying gas there anymore.

WOW. I just asked for a bag when checking out here and the woman/​owner went off on me saying «if you want a bag you should get it yourself» and that «you Americans treat people like they are slaves.» Wow… especially considering I spend all day everyday working on behalf of immigrants and their children. Ironic much?
She actually asked me if I had kids and when I replied that I did not she told me it was probably better that I was buying one can of cider as opposed to a six pack. (??) She then went off on how plastic bags are harmful to the environment. Even after I politely told her that I was asking for the sack because 1) all of my items would not fit in the paper «koozie» sack and 2) I re-​use the plastic sacks for trash at home and I do care about the environment, she still refused to give me a sack.
She said that when people insist on sacks for things they can carry, she gives them their money back and tells them to never come back. Unfortunately, at this point she had already run my credit card, so I signed it and politely told her that I was sorry she had interpreted my asking for a bag in such a manner. To clarify, I’m a very non-​confrontational person and tend to avoid conflict at all costs, so not once did I respond rudely or change my tone. In fact, this whole bag tantrum was so random, so out there, and so unprovoked that I honestly thought maybe she was playing a joke on me. Really, I’m no celebrity, but am I being punked for local cable?
I then grabbed my items (no sack– ha) and left. Upon walking out, she yelled at me «You can bring your own sacks from now on!» This was in front of another customer walking in. The owner’s husband (also behind the counter) watched as this entire bizarre episode unfolded and remained speechless the entire time. Somehow I get the feeling his wife’s behavior today was not so out of the ordinary…
As I got in my car, I looked toward the window to see her wildly waving me away and telling me to «go! go!» Never before have I been treated like this by a business. This type of behavior toward a patron is absolutely uncalled for/​inappropriate, especially when the patron is merely making a purchase and causing no problems at all.
I have told several of my friends about this incident and all question whether it was race-​related. I am a white female, walked in wearing a dress and looking very professional, and politely asked while checking out whether I could have a sack for my items. Her response? «You Americans treat everyone like slaves and think that everyone should do everything for you.» Hmm. Seems like there may be some underlying issues here? And from reading the other reviews it seems as though this is not the first time she’s become randomly unglued on an unsuspecting customer…
All in all, thank you Tram Stop Shell. I’d been thinking about starting to Unilocal for awhile now and you provided the impetus to get me started… :)

I wanted to like this place. Good beer selection. Local feel to it. Real neighborhood joint.
Problem is, this woman is absolutely nuts. I bought a propane there that leaked badly when I got it home. So I went back to ask for an exchange, and she went completely berserk. Told me that I was lying to her and that they never, ever exchange anything because, as the printed page on the wall says, «All Sales are Final.» I told her that I bought the thing 20 minutes ago, I wasn’t lying to her, that the tank was full, and that I just wanted to make dinner. Her response? «Then take it to Home Depot, get an exchange and make your dinner somewhere else, because it’s not my problem.» Like selling faulty, possibly explosive tanks is MY problem, and not hers. So I just left the tank there secretly hoping the thing would blow and take her with it.
And it wasn’t like this was a sane conversation. This woman was IRATE that I would ask for a return. Positively bat-sh*t crazy. So I’m glad to see that I’m not alone on this one. As she said, «You don’t like it, don’t come back.» Well, easily done. But I let this serve as a warning to all Unilocalers: Unless you’re doing a study in sociopathic disorders and losing money, steer clear of this nut-​case.
Update: I called afterward telling her that my new tank worked, so hers was definitely an explosion hazard and shouldn’t be resold. She offered to take my name and number and give me a refund «if I get my money from the gas company.» Great policy. But she called a month later telling me that she got a refund and to come pick up my money. Posting in the interest of fairness, but it’s not changing the review. Steer clear…

This is the «diamond in the rough» of central Austin gas stations!
If you’ve ever ventured beyond the typical:
1. swipe o’ the gas card
2. Regular unleaded fill-​up
3. and peel out
then you’d know what I’m talking about in regards to this fine shopping establishment.
The convenience store’s selection is fit for a food and beverage connoisseur. After the obligatory fill-​up, I challenge you to enter into the store. While the owners/​workers are a bit surly and sassy, their taste in shelf inventory is impeccable. Have you ever been filling up the tank and wanted incense, imported/​exotic beer, tooth paste/​brushes, cat food, tampons, fine wines, porno, etc. If you answer yes to any of the above items, I dare you to check out the Central Market-​esque selection. Most Shell stations stock your average Joe kind of beers like Bud, Lone Star, etc. But this place has such alcoholic findings as Turbo Dog, Genese Cream Ale, and wine that won’t stain your teeth blue. Every time I go into the store to buy something with my parent’s gas card, I laugh with glee at the surprisingly great selection.
The last time I was there about two weeks ago, the owner’s little dog was there to greet me! I think its name was something like like Kiki… it did try to bite me… so don’t say I didn’t warn you… How often do you leave a convenience store with stories? This place rules.

Do NOT feel sorry for the poor sap married to the lady because he is just as lunatic and insulting as she is…
At least that is what the POLICE who showed up this morning to handle the altercation I witnessed affirmed.
I was pumping gas while a gentleman at another pump had just finished and was consulting a map. The owner flew out and started telling the man to get off his property as he was through pumping. The gentleman stated that he was just looking at a map– he hadn’t even had time to replace the nozzle… and there was no one waiting. Had there been any one waiting, he absolutely would have moved. The owner then approached the man, took the nozzle out of his car and told him to get off his property and never come back. I then spoke up– saying that it was highly inappropriate to speak to paying customers like that– the man had literally just finished paying $ 60 to his establishment and that there was no one waiting. He then turned on me– told me that I was a «crazy bitch» who needed to «mind my own business» and to «leave and never come back». I then called the police– who turned up a few minutes later. They showed up and let us know that they are there all the time with similar complaints.
The owners are apparently extremely rude to paying customers quite frequently– and the police officers then advised that only thing that we could do about it was the following–
1. quit going there
2. tell everyone we know to quit going there
3. complain to Shell corporate
4. complain to the BBB
So! Never give these people your business. If you at all fit their extremely judgmental and prejudice views of what they think a trouble maker looks like– trust me when I say, they don’t want your business anyways.

Well, I’ve never tried to put ice in my coffee after I’d put the coffee in my mug, so I can neither confirm nor deny Sasha’s experience. But the people who run this station have always been nice enough to me on the few occasions I’ve been inside. Most of the time, though, I just buy gas here and pay at the pump, so I don’t interact with the owners at all. And I happen to really like the owners of this station for the sole reason that they generally have the cheapest gas prices in central Austin. Between this station and the Mobil station at 45^th and Burnet, which generally is in the same price range, they more or less have the corner on the market as far as my gas-​buying activity goes. I’m giving this station five stars over the Mobil’s four because it’s a much cleaner and better lit station and their food mart is far superior.

I came here once in August of 2004 because they had Ruta Maya Coffee available. I filled up my coffee and then added some ice. As I added the ice the lady behind the counter started screaming at me for making a huge mess and that I should done the ice first and then added coffee.
I apologized saying that have made coffee this way everywhere else in the fucking world and that I was unaware that it would cause anyone such grief.
At this point our lady behind the counter starts jabbering about how adding ice to the coffee second splashes the coffee around and makes a mess. I pointed out that the ice does a better job cooling the coffee if you add it second and that there was after all a drip tray underneath the ice dispenser. She replied that I should put my hand under the ice dispenser and add the ice by hand. Of course that practice is considered unsanitary by every other store I’ve been to and I try to avoid getting my sweaty hand oils on other people drinks.
Anyway I promised to do it her way if I came in again.
it is at this point that she proceeds to start calling me names and showering me with insults. (Oh did I mention I had broken up with my girlfriend the day before this visit). I tried to apologize and asked her to knock it off as I was having a rough morning. This did not appease or content her indeed she was still yelling at me as I went out the door.
All of this because I poured my coffee and added some ice. What the Flying Fuck?
Anyway the woman who runs this place has some seriously toxic psychological issues. I feel extremely sorry for whatever poor sap was or is married to her. And If you think mean people suck then I encourage you to avoid this place at all costs. If you are out of gas push your car to Diamond Shamrock a block a way. They are nicer there.