So that when I drive Oregonians to Washington, they can be all amazed by my studly gas-pumping skills, which they do not have.
When I lived in Japan back in the first half of the 1990s, safety was the stated reason for the law on pumping gas: one employee at the gas station had to pump and another employee of the same service station was required to be the safety observer.
Come to think of it, I wish there were more jurisdictions that required a safety observer. Three years ago, just outside Atlanta, GA, I mentioned to an elderly gentlemen refueling his pickup truck that he should not be smoking. His response was, “Fuck off; my ve-hick-le is diesel so it’s okay.” No, you stupid mofo, it’s not okay. The other vehicles in the immediate area are not diesel and it’s still illegal. Damn, I’m glad I don’t live there anymore.
To those who think the only reason is “job creation”: What do you think of all those “the way things were” photos making the rounds of the Internet? I’m referring to the photos of the veritable army of gas station attendants swarming the customer’s vehicle.
I was a pump jockey in 1977. Back when engines burned a quart of oil every 500 miles. And tires leaked air like bad birthday balloons. I kept a window rag in one back pocket, and an oil rag in the other.
It’s just not needed anymore.
One the things choking off Japan’s growth has been such barriers to efficiency in its non-manufacturing sector. So bringing up such examples is not very convincing if intended to suggest they’d be a good idea elsewhere.*
Experience with this in the US is obvious. In 49 states self service is allowed and accidents at gas stations are an extremely minor problem, before even considering whether gas pumping employees would actually cause fewer, it’s a separate issue whether such no self service laws set effective requirements on training or qualifications or whether companies do. The reason to force higher staffing of gas stations is a ham handed attempt to ‘create jobs’, or again inertia not to change these measures in the few places they remain, ‘because folks would get laid off’ though in contrast virtually nobody calls for such measures in the 49 states that have dropped them. And in fact that’s actually what the rat’s nest of inefficiencies in Japan’s economy outside its factories is also intended to do, mandated inefficiency as a misguided way to seek employment stability.
*I’ve worked in shipyards in the US and Japan, and financial institutions in the US in Japan, and my personal experience is in line with general statistics saying that Japanese manufacturing is very efficient but the rest of the economy is not.
Another factor that has changed is the size of gas stations. No longer 1 pump for each octane, you can have dozens of pumps in a plaza. The old way, wait times was usually tiny. Now, it is really frustrating when there’s one kid serving 20 customers.
The law sort of made sense decades ago, now it’s ridiculous.
I always assumed that NJ and Oregon, I guess, mandate no self pumping just to be contrarian…
“well, see, in New York …”
“Well, see, you aint in New Yawk, a’ight, you in fooking Joysie, a’ight?”
In addition to the above sentiments already expressed, I find it hard to believe I’m that much safer when the kid pumping my gas is actually smoking a blunt while he’s doing it, as has happened more than once.
That’s what always frustrated me heading back to Newark airport in a rental car and needing to fill it. There is a service plaza in the middle of the Parkway with rows and rows of perfectly good gas pumps. But the cars waiting to fill up are backed up to the parkway. Why? Because only two rows are open since they don’t want to pay somebody to staff the rest.
Do gas station attendants in Oregon and New Jersey actually have to take training on how to pump gas?
Id actually heard that you can’t buy liquor in Oregon.
On the Oregonian perspective?
Seriously, WTF is OTOP?
In the UK serviced petrol stations are as rare as rocking horse shit. Shell tried to bring them back as an experiment a few years ago but it seems that they quietly dropped it.
I am guessing that a pump jockey in the US would expect to make a decent amount of tips. In the uk, he would probably get abuse for spilling the precious liquid or being too slow.
I didn’t get any training when I worked at a gas station … nor have I heard of any … it’s not that difficult to figure out.
Yes, you can, but only from a State owned liquor store … and State owned liquor stores can only sell liquor, mixers and cigarettes, nothing else. Let there be no profit to be had retailing an addictive substance.
Typo …
Meh, I lived in Oregon a few years. It was definitely annoying to have to wait for the pump, but I can’t recall a time when the wait time was outrageous. Maybe the worst time was around Thanksgiving one year when there were a lot of drivers going into Portland. Other than that, though, it was fine. Pumpers were usually friendly, like most Oregonians.
That is maybe 15 duplicate or complete BS excuses and possibly two actual reasons, both of which are weak.
But it does create a lot of entry level jobs for kids fresh out of high school. Where I fill up I pay an extra 10¢/gal for better service, and it’s nice to see four teenage kids with full time jobs. If I’m the only customer, I get all my windows washed. AND they have to laugh and smile at my jokes …
Oddly enough, people that pump gas don’t generally get tips. I couldn’t tell you why exactly but it is the general rule. It is usually just a straight minimum wage job. I tip a lot of people including those that cut my hair, delivery people, waiters, bartenders and many more but never gas jockeys. That would be strange.
To judge by his username, I’d say “on the other paw.”
Hell, gas pumps in 1974 were different than pumps today. Well, enabling pumping was different, anyway. The nozzle itself was pretty much how it is now.
When I still had a car (up until late last year), I used to tip the gas station attendants. I realized it was a poorly paid job where they had to breathe gas fumes, which include benzene, a carcinogen, all day. They deserve something more. It sometimes meant that I got somewhat better service, at least from those attendants who remembered me.
But yes, most people don’t tip them, unfortunately.
I worked in those stations through most of the 80’s even back then they looked at adding self serve. However, when they looked at it it was not something that would save them money.
The rules they put in to add self server would have required just as many employees because there always had to be enough there to help with any handicapped or elderly people coming in. There are less accidents such as drive offs and other things.
I would have been upset because one of the things I hated when I moved away from Oregon is having to search for a full service (which never is full service) when i was in a suite on the way to a meeting.