Heroic Brookfield Gas Station Has a ‘No Scratch in Line’ Policy

You can buy scratch off Lotto tickets, you can redeem winning tickets, you just cannot scratch off your tickets in line.

This is the policy at the Mitchell Sunoco located at 30 Federal Road, Brookfield, CT. I was in there this morning getting coffee and a hot sandwich when I saw this sign:

Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you listen to my show (The Ethan and Lou Morning Show on I-95) you already know that this has been something I have had a problem with for years. Nothing is more frustrating than being behind Lotto people in line at a convenience store. I have no issues with playing the Lottery, purchasing the tickets, redeeming the tickets -- none of it.

The problem is, many people who buy these scratch off tickets will purchase them, scratch them off in the line, on the counter, while others wait in line behind them. That is not all. I have seen many of these folks scratch in line, find they have a winning ticket, redeem the ticket, then stay to use the winnings to purchase more tickets. This is the height of selfishness and I witness it on a weekly basis.

When the folks at the Sunoco saw me snapping pictures of the sign they looked at me curiously. I noticed this and explained that I am a huge fan of their "no scratch" policy. The two gentleman who were working there explained to me that they had to put the sign up because they would often have people do this and it would cause arguments.

This is solid validation for me today to learn that I am not making this an issue, like I so often do, this is an issue. Shame on anyone who refuses to value others' time. You are  the worst kind of person if you think it's OK to make people wait while you do something you should and could do in your car or at home.

Way to go, Sunoco on Federal Road, you rock. Not just for the policy, but for being one of the only places with the lights on at 4:00 am. Some people (like me) work odd hours and we want to get gas, hot coffee and breakfast sandwiches. We are people, after all -- we just wake up earlier than most.

I want to be crystal clear here in case I was not. If you are a person who buys scratch off tickets and scratches them off in line while others wait, you are an a-----e! There is no way around that. It may seem like a small thing to you but you would think it's no big deal because you are a bad person.

P.S. I bought a hot sandwich this morning at 4:10 am there and then, by coincidence, someone bought a bunch more for our meeting. #sandwichesallday