# Not enough full serve gas stations **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 4, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201 "2010-08-04T23:39:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/41 "2010-08-05T15:50:44Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > > [@aceplace57](#): > > > > I worry about the loss of Full Service stations too. > > > > It’s a huge safety issue. Full Service stations had guys that could fix flats , replace belts and do other minor repairs. > > > > It scares the crap out of me on trips. What are you supposed to do if a nail gets in a tire. Or your car overheats and you need water added. Or a belt breaks. We’ve lost a major source for emergency repairs. Break down now and you are S.O.L. > > You make a good point. I was traveling cross country back in '78 when I lost a U Joint on my rear drive shaft. This was late at night. Pulled into a station. The mechanics where gone, but the pump jockey let me use the lift so I could fix it myself. Pulled the rear drive shaft, popped the truck in 4x4 and made the rest of the trip in front wheel drive. > > Times have changed. That’s for sure. There are plenty of places even in rural areas that I know have the capability to fix and/or tow your car in the event you break down. I just pay for AAA and consider it the cost of owning and operating a car. I can change my own tire and do small maintenance myself for the foreseeable future, but I keep my AAA membership for when things go really awry. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/42 "2010-08-05T16:57:33Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > > > I recently saw a station with no humans at all. The pumps could take cards or cash (I’ve never seen any other pumps that take cash and dispense change), and there was a large kiosk full of vending machines. I was kinds shocked, but I’ll bet I see a lot more of them in the future. > > Just curious if this was in Madison or somewhere else? We have one like it near downtown KC. It’s just a lot with around 8 fueling stations near the highway. No cash, only credit cards. There may be a Coke machine but I’m not sure. Price on gas is the same as ones with attendants. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/43 "2010-08-05T16:59:51Z")
Non sequitur, but I keep reading the thread title as “Not enough full nerve gas situations” for some reason. Sorry. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/44 "2010-08-05T17:13:37Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It scares the crap out of me on trips. What are you supposed to do if a nail gets in a tire. Or your car overheats and you need water added. Or a belt breaks. We’ve lost a major source for emergency repairs. Break down now and you are S.O.L. An AAA membership for when things go bad, a cell phone to tell them you need them and a GPS so you can tell them exactly where you are. No worries – gotta love modern living. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/45 "2010-08-05T17:19:56Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > > [@aceplace57](#): > > > > It scares the crap out of me on trips. What are you supposed to do if a nail gets in a tire. Or your car overheats and you need water added. Or a belt breaks. We’ve lost a major source for emergency repairs. Break down now and you are S.O.L. > > An AAA membership for when things go bad, a cell phone to tell them you need them and a GPS so you can tell them exactly where you are. No worries – gotta love modern living. I broke down on the highway outside a major metropolitan area in January. It was extremely cold. I called AAA, expecting to be rescued in a reasonable amount of time. Two hours later, I called them again. They had no record I had called the first time, and promised that the tow truck would be out in a jiff. An hour later, I called again. The tow truck, which had apparently only been contacted in the last ten minutes or so, was still over an hour from reaching me. I broke down near midnight, and it was nearly dawn by the time they got to me. I’m a hale and healthy guy. I’d hate to think what it might have been like in that kind of cold for someone more frail than me. Just saying. AAA is not infallible. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/46 "2010-08-05T17:30:51Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > > [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > > > An AAA membership for when things go bad, a cell phone to tell them you need them and a GPS so you can tell them exactly where you are. No worries – gotta love modern living. > > I broke down on the highway outside a major metropolitan area in January. It was extremely cold. I called AAA, expecting to be rescued in a reasonable amount of time. Two hours later, I called them again. They had no record I had called the first time, and promised that the tow truck would be out in a jiff. An hour later, I called again. The tow truck, which had apparently only been contacted in the last ten minutes or so, was still over an hour from reaching me. > > I broke down near midnight, and it was nearly dawn by the time they got to me. I’m a hale and healthy guy. I’d hate to think what it might have been like in that kind of cold for someone more frail than me. > > Just saying. AAA is not infallible. True, they aren’t, but my experience with them is that they get there in a pretty reasonable amount of time, all things considered. This is also why I do not travel in winter without an emergency blanket, a flashlight, a knit cap and a pair of warm gloves in my trunk. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/47 "2010-08-05T17:34:02Z")
Oh, I won’t be getting rid of my membership, and the guy handed me some hot food and a cup of coffee when I got into the tow truck’s cab. There’s definitely that, and certainly there’s no substitute for being prepared. But it can still be tough, even for someone in a well-populated area, with an AAA membership. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/48 "2010-08-05T18:11:36Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > > [@Ogre](#): > > > > I broke down on the highway outside a major metropolitan area in January. It was extremely cold. I called AAA, expecting to be rescued in a reasonable amount of time. Two hours later, I called them again. They had no record I had called the first time, and promised that the tow truck would be out in a jiff. An hour later, I called again. The tow truck, which had apparently only been contacted in the last ten minutes or so, was still over an hour from reaching me. > > > > I broke down near midnight, and it was nearly dawn by the time they got to me. I’m a hale and healthy guy. I’d hate to think what it might have been like in that kind of cold for someone more frail than me. > > > > Just saying. AAA is not infallible. > > True, they aren’t, but my experience with them is that they get there in a pretty reasonable amount of time, all things considered. This is also why I do not travel in winter without an emergency blanket, a flashlight, a knit cap and a pair of warm gloves in my trunk. It really depends on where you live or where you break down. My wife could not get a mechanic to come to our friggin’ house in Anchorage when she had a problem. The operator gave her the verbal equivalent of a shrug and said “there are no businesses that will respond in your area”. We cancelled. My car insurance company provides breakdown service, as does Good Sam. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/49 "2010-08-05T19:49:21Z")
The full service stations didn’t pay mechanics well. So the guys they hired weren’t necessarily the best. But in an emergency they usually could get a car started that a regular driver couldn’t. Course in the old days a lot of things could kill a car. On rainy days, a crack in the distributor cap would let in moisture and kill the car. My uncles station helped a lot of people with wet ignition systems. I could work on those old cars. I quit trying after smog control made them so darn complicated. Todays cars are much more reliable. I change my oil and filters. Anything else and I call a mechanic. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/50 "2010-08-05T20:23:29Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > …It’s not a _loss_ but it’s not a moneymaker. My gas station made about 2 cents a gallon profit on gas. It’s _profit_, yeah, but it doesn’t even fully cover the expenses of paying employees. The actual money is either in convenience store stuff or in having a garage/repair shop there. When have gas sales ever _not_ been ancillary to another business like a garage or convenience store? ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/51 "2010-08-05T21:29:18Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > And you’re in… Peru? Born and bred. > [@Rigamarole](#): > > Yeah, and doesn’t it make you feel _independent_? Maybe even _free_? Because that’s definitely the smell of freedom you are smelling when you get that mild buzz pumping your own gas. Ahh, the smell of gasoline: so good; so bordeline illegally good. > [@kushiel](#): > > I don’t know where you’re from, but in Saskatchewan (Canada) there’s a healthy mix of both full- and self-serve. And yes, they will check your oil for you, and if it isn’t busy, wash your windows. And no, it doesn’t cost any more. > > I was on a trip with my mom and some of my friends, and I found out then that my mom didn’t know how to pump her own gas. One of my friends had to do it. :smack: > > It doesn’t matter much to me, unless I get stuck with a malfunctioning pay-at-the-pump machine or they make me prepay. Dudes, I want to fill up my tank, I don’t think $20 increments is going to want to make me use your machine if $20 is not enough and $40 is too much. I’m using a credit card, not cash. PREPAY!!! WTF is that!!! I forgot the trouble of using a non U.S. creit card, so that meant ZIP code and going to the till and prepaying, that’s what bugs me. Noting like sitting in your car and the guy bringing the wireless POS and paying without wasting calories. OTOH, nothing beats the mammoth gas-stations that are almost malls I’ve used in the states. On a long trip they make all the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/52 "2010-08-05T22:18:29Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > How old are you? For that matter, how old are your knees? And your hand joints? I assume that you’re at least 35 (you might have seen a full service station when you were a child), but not old enough to be bothered by arthritis or other mobility problems. > > I have no difficulty in swiping a card and filling the tank. However, I do have problems getting in and out of a car, and opening and closing the gas cap, because my joints are all crippled up from arthritis. There are days when it’s nearly impossible for me to put on my glasses, not because they’re too heavy to lift, but because my hands can’t close enough to grab them. Usually this is worst in when I first wake up, and then my hands get better after an hour or so. In cold or damp weather, my arthritis is much worse. I hate the hot Texas summers, but I know that I’d never survive anything harsher than our mild winters. My husband doesn’t have arthritis, but he has no cartilage in one of his knees, it’s bare bone grinding against bare bone. > > Disabilities aren’t always visible. My doctor is amazed that I’ve stayed as active and mobile as I am. I probably should have clarified I was referring to an able bodied person. I’m well over 35 (I’ve got about 300 days to still claim I’m in my 40’s)… no mobility issues though. I definitely remember full service stations. I also remember black and white TV’s being sold… haven’t seen one of those forever either. I guess it just shocks me that there are any still out there. I honestly don’t think I’ve seen one in over 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/53 "2010-08-05T22:25:58Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > > [@zweisamkeit](#): > > > > …It’s not a _loss_ but it’s not a moneymaker. My gas station made about 2 cents a gallon profit on gas. It’s _profit_, yeah, but it doesn’t even fully cover the expenses of paying employees. The actual money is either in convenience store stuff or in having a garage/repair shop there. > > When have gas sales ever _not_ been ancillary to another business like a garage or convenience store? Did I make the argument that they weren’t? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/54 "2010-08-05T22:27:02Z")
If I sawa full service station I’d start looking around for the other re-enactors, and checking the map to see if I’s stumbled across Pleasantville. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/55 "2010-08-05T22:46:48Z")
We still have two or three full service stations in my city. I’m not sure how much longer they’ll be around. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/56 "2010-08-05T22:57:13Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > > [@alphaboi867](#): > > > > When have gas sales ever _not_ been ancillary to another business like a garage or convenience store? > > Did I make the argument that they weren’t? No, I started to phrase the question a differently and forgot to leave the “When” out when I changed course. :smack: Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/57 "2010-08-05T23:02:02Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > If I sawa full service station I’d start looking around for the other re-enactors, and checking the map to see if I’s stumbled across Pleasantville. Shouldn’t have to be this way. Sounds like full service stations just might be a good business model to revive. If one of the major chains announced they were converting to full service stations, I’d certainly become a loyal customer. There’s nothing “more independent” about self service, unless it’s also somehow “more independent” to walk into a Burger King instead of using the drive-thru. Hell, as someone else said, ALL gas stations were full service during the glory days of the 1950s. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/58 "2010-08-06T05:57:02Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > > [@CanvasShoes](#): > > > > We have no full-serve stations. I actually prefer the self-serve. My daughter lives in OR and it’s state law or something that no customer is allowed to pump their own gas. > > > > You have to pull up, turn off your vehicle and wait for the attendant. If it’s cold (or hot) you’re sitting there freezing (or melting) and twiddling your thumbs while they dawdle around and take forever getting to your car. > > Not to mention if they screw on your gas cap incorrectly and your check engine light trips, you are the person that gets to take it to the shop to find out it was a brain dead attendant that caused the problem. > (Yes that has happened, in Oregon to be exact) OOoh, now that you mention it, I remember that my daughter complained about that very thing. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201/59 "2010-08-06T12:18:12Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > I drove through Boston less than a year ago and never saw a full service station… but then again I probably wasn’t looking because I would have been shocked to see such a thing. Do you go inside and play a game of checkers on the pickle barrel and drink a grape Nehi while they fill you up? > > … Nope, Moxie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-full-serve-gas-stations/549201.md?page=2)