I take your point—self-serve stations outside Oregon usually have someone ensconced in a little booth late at night.
But a solo pump jockey is a lot more vulnerable than that. Two or three people would be a lot safer, but that’s prohibitively expensive—you’re not going to sell enough gas late at night to pay their (meager) wages and benefits.
If 24/7 full-service stations were viable even in rural areas, Oregon would definitely have them. But they’re not, so Oregon has had to allow people to pump their own gas under a narrow set of circumstances.
I admit that I’m mildly amused by some native Oregonians’ astonishment that regular human drivers with no special training are allowed—even encouraged—to pump their own gasoline.
Annoying most of the places where you should be able to pay at the pump doesn’t work with foreign credit cards, especially those pumps that demand a zip code. So I have to pre-pay and then go get cash back afterwards.
Here are there are places where there is the possibility of paying at the pump (it’s actually one machine for about 4-6 pumps), but if the store is open, you have to go inside to pay.
Of course the whole country shuts down at 10:00 pm on weeknights, so why would anyone be out and about anyway?
I would always clean the windshield and ask if you wanted oil checked, and of course put a quart in it if you wanted. Back in the mid 70s many cars would burn or leak or both a quart of oil after a few tanks of gas. Those oil spouts that would puncture and allow you to poor a quart of 30w out of those cardboard containers where really a pretty cool design. I still remember the sound they made. The mess too.
How many remember that roads used to be very black in the middle of the lane? That was from leaking oil. If there was a dip or bump in the road, it was blacker right after it. Drip, drip, drip.
I’ve a '19 4Runner now. Check the oil? Hah. I’ve lifted the hood perhaps twice since owing it. Yep, that’s an engine in there… Somewhere. First oil change as recommended by specs at dealership at 10,000 !!! miles. 0 weight oil ! The tolerances of new engines must be crazy tight. As well are the oil pan bolts .
Good times it was wrenching on vehicles with your buddies. Made many a friend. I had a 60lb tool box that could pretty much rebuild my '76 Chevy pickup. That tool box went with me when ever on a trip.
OK, got to share. On a trip from Denver to Bloomington IL. lost a U-Joint on the front drive shaft (truck is a 4x4) my buddy and I pulled in to a gas station in Kansas as they where closing. Asked to use the lift. No problem. A 7/16 wrench and about 30 minutes later, we pulled that front drive shaft shifted to 4x4 and where back on the road. (the truck was one of the first ‘full time’ 4 wheel drives, didn’t have locking hubs in two wheel drive the transfer case just acted like a differential)
Where I live the only self-serve pumps are small stands on rural roads. They don’t take plastic, just small banknotes and maybe coins.
We don’t have automated check-out in supermarkets either. Just as well, since with all the promotions an expert accountant is needed to get full value at check-out!
It sounds like we’re neighbors! Drop me a PM next time you’re going to Nowhere City: we can meet for a beer.
Anyone here handicapped so that pumping your own gas is extremely hard or even impossible?
I ask because I had an elderly relative with COPD. He’s been gone 15 years, and gave up driving a couple years before he died, but when he still drove there was one gas station in town that had a full service pump. That station is long gone now.
I’ve seen signs at the pumps that say that if you need someone to pump your gas, honk your horn. I wonder how long someone typically has to wait before an attendant will come out.
I’d think that having some pump jockey pulling the dipstick out, wiping it with a dirty rag, and sticking it back into the engine would certainly risk contaminating the oil – a higher risk than running out of oil on a modern engine. It’s better if they just leave it alone! (Besides, my car warns me if the oil is low. But it doesn’t have a warning for contaminated oil.)
Way back when, they also would offer to check your car battery. But now, many batteries are sealed. Seems the makers found that better than having them opened up and ‘checked’ frequently.
Does anyone remember wanting to grow up to be a gas station attendant when you were a kid solely because you saw that big role of ones they carried around and thought that it was their money?
Lol.
Nah. I was more fascinated by the coin dispenser they had on their belt.
As a very young child I had no concept of the value of paper money. But I knew that a penny could get me one Ford gumball, a nickel could get me a bunch of SweetTarts, a dime would get me a large gumball and a quarter would get me a huge handful of the square Ford gum.
Having a device that spit out coins would have kept me at the gum machines like an old lady playing slots. Guess I never thought of how the coins got into that thing in the first place.:smack:
I predict that future refueling-recharging stations will offer “attendants” for sexual purposes, either in onsite facilities or available for companionship in autonomous vehicles. “Full service” will mean they’ll do anything with any adult human(s). “Limited service” will list specialties and fetishes. “Self service” means masturbation.
I thought full service was fine as long as I trusted the attendant not to scratch my vehicle or spill gas on it. But mostly it was the cost that prevented me from using it, IIRC it was 10 or 20 cents per gallon more.
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