Are they gone forever? gas station attendants.

I was reading threads on here and it made me think of when I was a kid working at the local gas stations. Most of the ones I worked at was second shift closing somewhere between 10:00 and midnight. In the summer it was not too bad working because all of the kids would ride the circut and stop in and shoot the breeze, the girls would drop in and we would mess around. When you were done you got to use the lift to change rears or trannys, we were always tearing motors down or painting cars, great times. Christmas eve most of the local garages would set up tables with all kinds of booze and food and the regulars would stop in, no cops sitting and waiting for the drunk ones, just a laid back time. Now you pull up to the pumps at the convience store and people are in a big hurry, you have to take your car to the dealer and wait in the lobby for insurance reasons, no fun any more, I guess those days of the old farts sitting around and BSin is gone too. I guess when I get old I will have to go to the mall and sit or play bingo, I'm not going to like that.

 

You obviously haven't been to Oregon - you're not allowed to pump your own gas by state law.

 

I was there a couple of years back, hopped out and was going for the pump and the attendant yelled at me lol

 

They zip your fly for fear of foreskin stickage as well dont they?

We have a few around here that still have attendants, not many tho but the trend is changing. Sams club requires an attendant be there during working hours washing windeows, taking tread and air pressure readings etc..............

 

Still a few attended stations around here but all they do is pump the gas. They charge a penny more per liter usually.

I went to a station I usually don't go to last week. Self serve busy as heck. People were lined up behind me onto a busy road so after pumping my gas I pulled out and parked to make room. I went in to pay then the A hole behind the counter starts telling me off and says " don't move your car" I told him to take my money and shut his pie hole. He did not appreciate that but the people behind me did! What happened to "Thank you come again" f'n turd.

 

growing up in oregon, by law you cant pump your own gas. in az you pump your own gas.. and we have drive through liquor stores.. heh. that was new to me when i moved here. when i was a kid i help my mom and her bf ( he owned the gas station )pump gas. now a days someone would call the cops on the station letting a little kid around gas pump.. times sure have changed and im only 36.. o well at least i got to experience working when i was young, was a positive effect on me. also, made me a people person ( however, as i get older im more of a recluse.. but can use my people skills when needed so its all good ).. had to talk to the customer, and at that age.. laughs.
chris.

 

The Town I live in you can't pump your own gas.

 

Probably the most enjoyable and memorable job I ever had was a gas station attendant. 15 years old pumping gas, checking oil washing windows. Middle of town and felt like the middle of the universe. You knew everybody and everybody knew you. My boss at that time taught me so many things that I still use today. I learned wrenching from working at a gas station and my love of cars.
That was when customer service was number one. Now you even have to pay for air!

 

And I loved washing windshields

 

What ever you do, don't call the Oregon fiasco "full service". Socialism at its best. Another example of the "progressives" in Portland sticking it to the rest of the state. I think I've heard NJ has a similar law. Stu

 

if they banned all self serve gas pumping how many jobs would be created? i think its a great idea.

 

why hasn't anyone mentioned the fringe benefits. got propositioned sooooooooooooooooooo many times

 

yes its illegal as well in new jersey to pump your own gas. how ever it really never stops people lol. i always pump my own gas.

i use to pump gas when i was in highschool. use to get great tips from people out of state when they would realise they didnt have to pump it them selves on really hot or really cold days.

 

oregon fiasco or not i like getting my gas pumped by an attendent mainly in the winter during a 40 mph rain storm, my wife likes it to. and it does give someone a job.

 

I was in Nova Scotia some years back & TWO guys came out to give me the full treatment. It felt like the 50's in Pennsylvania. One guy pumped the gas & the other guy did the windows & stuff. Plus, they were wearing uniforms & those old cop style hats.

 

I never got to work at a gas station. But a friend had a friend who's dad ran one, it was fun to hang out there. I think the kid was bad for business, he'd let us steal gas, he'd steal $20s from the register, etc. They moved away not long after.

 

I live in a neighborhood that was built in the 50's, and a lot of the people here are older original owners or the sons/daughters of the original people. As a result we stil have some of the old stores around. We have a smaller grocery store (although a chain, it has been there since the 60's and from what I hear not changed much). There is an old donut shop, barber shop, and an old Sinclair station. It is a full service station and the attendants come out and pump gas for ya. They ask before checking the fluids, and give it a quick once over if you ask. The gas is usually higher but the service is worth a few extra bucks when filling up.
Unfortunately I am not sure how much longer it will last. All the small businesses are a bit more expensive, and a few years back Wal-Mart put in a super center down the street when they tore down the old shopping mall.

 

I also started when I was 15... I did have some fun with the ladies back then.. (mid '70's)

 

Here in Oregon, a gas pump jockey got caught with a small hand held credit card swiper in his pocket. He was swiping your card though his little pocket reader before swiping it through the pump reader. They caught him on camera, after one of the cards he swiped belonged to a credit card fraud investigator.

I like going to Vancouver Washington and pumping my own gas.

http://www.oregonconsumer.org/2011/05/credit-card-skimming-ring-uncovered-at-or-gas-stations.html

 

in Oregon if you have a bike-classic car or motor home you can pump your own gas. it supplys over 5000 jobs in our state.$9.00 an hour is not so bad to a kid or a mother trying to care for her kids or a dad holding a 2nd job.did for alot of years

 

You got that right...my first job,(1974)beside a paper route was a gas jocky...we used to love cleaning the windows of women with shirt skirts and low cut tops...some times they would tip ya with a flash!

 

The gasoline retailers in NJ have said that the savings in Liability Insurance covers the cost of the pumpers. So that and paying off the state legislators every time a bill comes up to have self service keeps the pumpers on the job.

One of the main reasons in NJ is that most of the stations are old and small. Not many of the mega stations that other states have. When there is a pumper there the traffic flow is a lot faster than in states where it's self service.

BTW, I was in Maine this last weekend and half the stations there have pumpers. Same reason, get the cars out faster. Get another customer in. Not the law, tho.

Ex petroleum product distribution specialist

 

My dad had a San Ann gas station in Attalla Alabama back in the 60's, I pumped gas there when I was about 10 years old. It was a small local station and had lots of regular customers who came in during the week, filled up, signed for the gas and came back at the end of the month and paid what they owed! gas was about 29 cents a gallon.

 

That's what you call "Super Service" ... But I had to do it all... Thursday-Saturdays really sucked! Cars lined up down the block plus we were having a gas price war with the station across the street..

 

My first Job was at "Alfies Gulf" , the station was from the 40's... Alfie was a great old timer..i learned how to drive stick on his willies pick up, we even restored a 48 chevy ice cream truck...
i pumped gas for 10 years at various places... gave me an experience that many people my age didn't have...
. i wouldn't change that even if i could... the best jobs i ever had-

Jersey is still a full service state!

 

one of my favorite jobs ever .you meet all kinds of people there.(blackmons amoco in douglasville ga.)now about all you see are those all in one stores QT racetrac etc.i still remember one car it was a old nova.everytime you put gas in it it would shoot gas back on you.learned in a hurry to stand to oneside of it.

 

I am sure most of you are familiar with Hemmings Motor News here in Bennington, VT. Aside from the corp. offices they also have a Sunoco station on premises where they have attendants that pump all gas and wash every windshield. The station is open 24 hrs and has a retail shop inside packed with auto related items. It is a neat place and any of you folks that may get to southern Vt should stop and take a tour and get some gas!

 

There's one place in town that is a they pump & they are an E-0 station, but reg. is 4.14 vs 3.73-3.79 everywhere else.

 

We washed cars, tune-up, oil changes, inspections and small repairs. At the end of the night we would ring out and take all of the cash down to the owners house,try that now. One thing I remember doing was washing the bay floors down with about a half gallon of gas and washing it down the drain, we were stupid kids but we did what the owner told us to do, I guess a clean station was more important than potentially blowing everything up.

 

Pumped gas and ran the lube rack at Seth Miller's Union 76, corner of California Blvd and Raymond, Pasadena, CA, early 60s...washed a lot of windshields, checked batteries, oil...I knew where every hidden gas door was (56 Chev, 55 Cad, etc...). Now, at least in Montgomery, AL there are almost no full-service stations...It was a good starting job, learned to be nice to people (challenging for a 16year old wise ass), learned to be proud of my work, even if that was getting off a stuck drain plug or oil filter, learned to work for a..hole bosses, etc.......glad I did it.