Due to a rash of recent drive-offs, Palmerton's Sunoco gas station on Delaware Avenue has taken to asking customers to prepay or come inside before cash transactions.

Station manager Caleigh Condit, who has been at Sunoco for about 10 years, said that employees previously authorized customers to fill up and pay cash after they were done pumping. However, as of late, there has been an increase in the number of people taking advantage of this good faith."We had quite a few drive-offs where people were pumping $40, $50 worth of gas and leaving," she said.Whereas employees used to be familiar with customers, an increase in the customer base, along with a change in workers, has rendered the old ways somewhat obsolete. Employees simply can't trust that someone they are unfamiliar with will pay for their gas.While you can still fill up before you cash out, Condit is asking customers to come inside for authorization beforehand, in order to reduce the number of drive-offs.Condit said she put up a warning sign last week so that customers would be aware of the change, and would be less likely to get frustrated with employees. Unfortunately, some people aren't taking the news too well."I have some regular customers who are upset, saying that they'll go over to Convenient Food Mart," she said. "But you have to prepay at Convenient anyway."