How do the rest of you deal with careless linemen? The kind who scratch
your airplane or chip the paint because they are either careless or have not
been properly trained on how to avoid damaging aircraft when refueling 'em.

Case in point - this afternoon I stopped by the airport to prep for a trip
to the beach tomorrow. I grabbed a couple of maps and the handheld gps from
the airplane while the lineman was getting ready to fuel the airplane. By
the time I grabbed those things, the lineman had already filled the left
tank, and there was a brand spankin' new paint chip near the fuel filler on
the tank. How do I know it was brand new? Because I'd just wiped off a nice
collection of bugs from the airplane, and it wasn't chipped then... Anyway,
I eased over to see how he was coming with the other tank, and he had the
entire 10" long nozzle in the right tank and was using a notch in the fuel
nozzle's handle to catch the edge of the fuel filler neck to provide a
mechanical stop.

I say "hey, let me show you something" and show him that the sharp corner of
the casting is resting on the fuel filler. He pulls the nozzle out of the
tank, and there is a noticable mark on the paint where he was resting the
nozzle. He said he didn't realize he was doing that. I didn't point out
the new chip on the other wing, which I speculate was caused by either the
same technique, or the other technique I've seen many times, where the
lineman puts the nozzle into the tank at a 45 degree angle, and the weight
of the nozzle rests on the painted edge of the fuel filler.

This is my home airport, and the guy was nice enough, so I didn't make an
issue out of it, but it is really frustrating to have avoidable dings and
chips on your airplane when it costs $5k or $10k to have the thing
repainted...

BTW, self serve is not an option at my home field, which is why I usually go
elsewhere for fuel. That and the high prices that are caused by having to
pay the "fuel truck guy" to hang around the airport all day long when there
really isn't much fuel being sold...

Also, now that I'm giving this more thought, I need to see if the guy dented
the bottom of my fuel tanks by sticking the nozzle so far in there...
Sheesh...