Why the Constant Confusion at the Sam's Club Pumps in Lansing?

I'm not a cranky old man.

I'm really not - at least not yet. But I am starting to get a better understanding of how that slow descent into crankiness happens.

It's been well more than a year since the last time I penned a missive about the anarchy at the gas pumps at Sam's Club in Lansing. They're probably among the most frequented pumps in the area, thanks to prices there usually being 25 to 30 cents cheaper than whatever the going rate is in the rest of town. I get it.

But we live in a society, people!

Not claiming credit or anything, but I couldn't help but notice last year that shortly after I wrote about the worn and faded arrows at the Sam's Club pumps - they were magically repainted a bright and cheery yellow. Several new one-way signs were also installed in prominent locations for motorists exiting the pumps, to assist with orderly traffic flow.

One-way sign at the Sam's Club gas pumps in Lansing, Michigan. Photo via JR, Townsquare Media Lansing

Everything should now be all good and well with the Sam's Club world, right?

Yeah - not so much.

Get our free mobile app

Last time I went to Sam's for gas, there were so many people in line that I could barely pull my vehicle off the street and into the station lot. Someone who had just fueled up took a left turn to leave the pumps (paying no heed to the prominent one-way signs, mind you) and stared at me all big-eyed like I was blocking his exit path. Dude. How hard is it to read the !@#$ sign? You can wait. Go out the right way next time.

Anarchy at the Sam's Club gas pumps in Lansing, Michigan. Photos via GoogleMaps and Canva

Thanks for the repainted lines and the new one-way signs, Sam's Club. You tried.

All right. Maybe I am a cranky old man.

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

Gallery Credit: Sophia Crisafulli

These are the Items You Should Be Buying At Sam's Club

There are items that you can buy at a grocery store or items you can buy at a big-box store, however, if you are looking to save money, Sam's Club is the place to shop. Sam's Club allows you to buy the items you use the most in bulk, and that means you are going to be saving money.