“I Work Here Now”: SA Man in Australia Shares Funny Petrol Station Moment

• A South African man living in Australia shared a comedic skit about pulling into a petrol station and expecting a fuel attendant
• The video captured a relatable moment for South Africans abroad who grew up with full-service petrol stations back home
• Fellow South Africans flooded the comments with their own stories of adjusting to self-service life overseas

A South African man living in Australia found the perfect way to describe an experience every expat from home knows too well.

@lil_john_ posted a short comedic skit on Instagram on 7 October 2026, set at a nighttime petrol station, or "servo" as Australians call it. The clip opens with him pulling up to a pump and cheerfully asking the person nearby to fill his tank with diesel, only to be met with confusion and a mild telling-off for holding up the queue.

The punchline lands in his own caption:

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"Nearly five years in Australia and I still pull into the servo half expecting someone to come to the window. Then I remember… ah yes. I work here now."

A luxury South Africans never knew they had

Back home, full-service petrol stations are the norm. Attendants fill your tank, check your oil, clean your windscreen and take your payment, all without you leaving your seat. It is a convenience so deeply embedded in daily South African life that most people never think twice about it until they board a flight and land somewhere where none of that exists.

The on-screen caption in the video said it all:

"One of the luxuries you don't realise you had until you leave South Africa."

The clip quickly resonated with South Africans living abroad, racking up comments from people who recognised themselves in every second of it.

View the Instagram video below:

Mzansi expats share their own self-service struggles

South Africans in the comments section on @lil_john_'s page could not help but relate:

@etinifed_kingslayer said:

"Dude, we getting used to it anywhere. I didn't even know how to fill a tank. I was like, how do I know it's full?"

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@quinna2 wrote:

"Howz what? So accurate."

@c.oosthuizen added:

"The struggle is real haha"

@mandynamimi shared:

"And the self checkout in supermarket and I have to pack my own groceries."

@jim.woodhouse simply replied:

"Not happy? Guess what."

For many South Africans making a new life abroad, the petrol station moment is a rite of passage. It is small, funny in hindsight, but quietly speaks to just how different daily life is once you leave home.

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Source: Briefly News