Are they gone forever? gas station attendants.

me and my cousin tony were 5/6 years old we would decide we would do some body work on some cars.mix up some grease and whatever else for bondo smear it on but never dried short attention spans and busted asses .some good memories.

 

The Mobile station I worked had an electric skillet that we did hot dogs on and there was two benches, the shop across the street would come over at lunch sit on the benches and eat dogs. The next door neighbor was a WW1 vet that lived with his sister, he would keep a bottle of Vodka in the freezer in the garage and walk over take a snort and go back home, his sister didn't like him drinking. Before I started there the owner had a monkey and if you were not watching him he would sneak up and bite you in the back of the leg, this was all in the late 60s to late 70s, times have changed for the worse.

 

I think that WW1 vet earned that snort of Vodka..

 

Great trip down memory lane.

Also worked as a paper boy before my first real job as a pump jockey. Made a whole buck an hour, but gas was only 24.9 cents a gallon. I remember on really busy nights, carrying a huge roll of money in my shirt pocket. We took the customers money and made change on the spot. Used to wear one of those coin change makers on my belt. When I had to close, I'd throw the money in the money bag, slap it on the seat of my motorcycle and sit on it on the way home. I'd drop it off to the manager in the morning on the way to school. I wonder how long you could pull that off in this day and time.

We always had those guys that would come in every couple days get us to check the gas and fill it up with oil. We sold a lot of bulk oil. Remember the oil in the glass bottles with screw on pouring spout. Twenty five cents a quart.

A few high points that I remember...

One of the chrysler turbine cars that consumers were allowed to test drive came in and filled up on diesel. The guy driving it allowed us to really smoke it over and we even tried the coin standing on edge on the engine while it was running. That thing really turned some rpm's.

Drunk tanker driver pulled in one night and filled the premium tank up with diesel.

Racing with the other attendant to get to that familiar car pulling up to the pump. Weren't mini skirts great!!

Trying to figure out where the gas filler was....remember 58 pontiacs?

When business got slow later at night a few motorcycle buddies would show up and we'd all sit around on those wooden coke bottle cases and shoot the breeze.

Without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable low paying jobs that I ever had!!!

Drew

 

I pumped gas as a kid in the mid 60-s ... I remember that I got $1.00 and hour and after a year I got a raise to $1.10. The best part was that I closed the station at 11 pm and after the owner went home at 6, I opened my own repair shop for 5 hours. I did all the oil changes and minor repairs for my friends and neighbors. I made a lot of money with no overhead.

 

Oh, yeah, Bud, making pump jocky's a law would help the price of gas!
Just an FYI guys, it costs money to hire people. Minimum wage, that tool used by unions to strong arm their labor rates with companies and the gov't, is now damn near 8 bucks an hour. The gas station owner isn't going to absorb that cost, he HAS to pass it on to you. The cost of adding one, single, solitary employee in order to comply fully with OSHA regulations, is $12,000.00. Got that? Twelve grand! That's America today. There are some communities that have ordinances that require gas station's to pump your gas scattered across the country, there are some in Oklahoma that I know of. There's also still a few privately held stations that just plain do it if they have time for their customers, again, there's a Sinclair station in Tulsa that does this on Pine Street.
I know this may be construed as political, but it's not meant to be. But if we don't get gov't the hell off our backs you'll never see young folks getting their working start pumping gas again, and more's the pity.
Minimum wage ought to be about $2.00 an hour. I wasn't worth $1.35 minimum wage was when I started working, and I dare say kids today are sorrier (for the most part) than we were back then. The work ethic, (again, for the most part) is virtually non existant today.

 

I also went from a paper route to gas jockey in '75... Min. wage was $2.65 back then.. And a pack of smokes was .45 cents.. Back then we were still selling leaded 96 octane fuel... Man that stuff smelled great! Made lots of bucks around Christmas time when them same ol' customers came in to get fueled up for the holliday.. I remember this one ol' gal gave me a 20 spot an' told me to go buy myself something.... I blew it all at the local pool hall playin' the pinball machines..

 

That the way it no6

 

That was my first job here in Pa right before the the gas wars of the 70's . It was just like you explained no6. It was a fun job and people back then were friendly. You got to meet a lot of people and even get some dates. And they love to stand around and BS. At Christmas most the gas station and repair garages would have tables set up and every one would come by and just to say hi and stand around and BS. It use to be a big thing in this area to see how many places you could make that day.

Man things have changed. Now you got to wait in line behind someone paying for there coffee just so you can pay to get your gas and if you paid extra you have to go back in and stand behind some other people paying for there coffees. No one talks and if you said hi they look at you like you are some kind of nut.

But over the river in N.J. they still pump it for you because it against the law to pump it yourself. And it cheaper.

 

In NJ they don't let you pump your gas either. So when the guy gives me grief I tell him "fine just pump it!" Then he askes me to do it because he can't find the gas filler (I have a '56 chev)

 

The Mobile station had a ice cream freezer that we sold half gallons out of, one night this woman pulls up to the front door, her car door was litteraly 3 feet away, anyway she blows the horn and I look out, thinking to myself what is wrong with her that she can not come in. Well she keeps blowing the horn and I finally get tired of hearing her, (you know where this is going), I walk out and ask her if I can help her, she say's, " can you bring me out a half gallon of vanilla?" The station owner had a lot of customers spoiled.

 

I worked at a full service gas station while I was going to college. Best job ever! If I could make the money I do now pumping gas.....I'd still be doing it (LOL)!

 

I hate going into a gas station and seeing the attendant behind the counter too busy texting or talking on the phone to even realize what I need. They barely even look up to see who you are, just scan your items and go back to what they were doing. I would do anything to have what use to be a real gas station. I have thought about trying to open up one of these when I retire. A self serve old style service station with a 2 bay garage for minor repairs. Maybe even some home cooked food in the store. I think it would be a really fun place to work. I just gotta think of a good place to have one, but I may try to do it one day. Somewhere in N.C. probably.

 

Ding Ding then out the door I went, to the drivers window it was always fill it or 5 bucks etc, put the nozzel in then did the windshield and checked the oil if they wanted it. A little trick from the 60's was to put the customers name on a piece of masking tape inside their gas door and call them by name to get repeat business. Next step take the gas company CC and put it into the CC machine with all the little leavers to make the total amount then back to the drivers window to get a signature on the plastic CC holder give the reciept and on to the next customer. What about the uniforms took about 5-6 pay days to have it paid for at about 80 cents a payment. The loudest uniform I ever had was a bright red pair of Pacific 66 coveralls.

 

The problem with "creating" minimum wage jobs is they all go to middle age "illegals" you rarely see high school kid's working anywhere. As far as Oregon goes, you better watch the attendent closey. I have had regular gas pumped into my OT daily that runs on premium only. This was after asking for premium. The gas cap even specifies premium gas only. Guy was too busy talking on is cell phone to pay attention. Also have had gas dribbled all over the tank of my Harley. Since most minimum wage employees don't give a shit I'd just as soon pump my own. Face it, "the good ole days" are long gone.

 

i just remembered. I'm Mexico you are not allowed to pump your own gas, at least not in Chihuahua. There is always someone standing at the pump, you tell them what you want and how much, they even slide your card in the pump, after that they even as to check your fluids.

 

My first job was at an Esso gas station in 1971. Owned by two brothers who were former drag racers, it was heaven for a 16 year old. I learned a lot about cars and I don't think they ever got tired of answering my questions about engines, cams, carburetors etc. Also learned the hard way about removing the radiator cap on a hot engine.
I remember that the customers usually were real nice, people seemed to appreciate that you were taking care of their car, especially if your brought something that needed repair to their attention. I even got tips for repairing tires quickly etc. Making $1.90 an hour, even a $2.00 tip was something. That was probably one of the best jobs I ever had.

 

Yeah, we're not suppose to pump our own fuel, but I do,
except when it's raining. Most places around me, have
what i call "pump jockeys", rather than attendants.
They don't do windows, and 90% of these chuckle heads
wouldn't know how to check your oil. Air for your tires.
Some have it, and some don't. And those that do, charge you.

 

I worked at the Phillips 66 station at White Oak & Burbank in the San Fernando Valley when I was 18 in 1974.

After work the older guy I worked with (he must have been ~22) would buy a 6 pack and we'd sit on the crates beside the station and have a drink. My co-worker didn't talk much, particularly at the end of a long, hot day; but it really infuriated him for some reason when people jumped the red light by cutting through our station. So as he enjoyed his beer he'd carefully choose a wheel weight from the bucket out by the crates, and as each car cut through, he'd fling a wheel weight hard at it.

No one ever came back to see what that noise was.

 

take your soapbox, and beat your face with it.....repeatedly.

minimum wage $2.00? really? tell ya what. go right ahead and start doing your work for that, let me know how it pans out for you. lead by example.

besides we are talking about attendants...NOT how the government and unions screwed up your precious little minimum wage.

 

i know of 2 here in tulsa...both are full service and self..they both have bays for oil changes and lite repair..one has advertisments on TV talking about their full service..they also have a restored 54 chevy truck out front..

 

After doing the obligatory mowing yards and a paper route, I started working in a gas station at 12. Obviously, the child labor laws weren't enforced in those days. Worked at 2 different stations when I was in high school, and I was fortunate they were both stations that were considered cool and allowed people to hang around BS and bench race. Learned a lot there, and I was around all the cool people and rods and was getting paid to boot. Someone mentioned the boob and beaver shots that were not infrequent, when cleaning the windshield. I still remember a couple of my favorites. One would almost always give a good beaver shot when with her husband, but they were even better when she was alone. Pretty exciting for a high level testosterone teenager. After doing my duty in Viet Nam and back in college, a friend of mine had a cool station. I, on occasion "manned" the pumps, for free.........just seemed like fun. Seemed like in those 5-6 yrs. since high school the women got even braver and the boob and beaver shots were more frequent. If I only knew then, what I do now.....

 

One other thing about Jersey is that gas is CHEAPER than in NY, CT and PA where you have to get out in the rain and snow to pump your own. Of course the local guy lets me pump my own into the roadster....

 

There are still several full service stations in South Louisiana, They are always a little more expensive but I like using them, especially the ones that are actual old service stations that have been there since the 1930s-1960s.

 

Oregon is so liberal, I think all the real men packed there shit and moved to Montana. As far as having a state law that says you cant pump your own gas. It's just a insulting way for the state to emasculate men and say "Your to stupid" and we will do it for you ! shut up, get back in line and dont ask anymore questions. I dont care if it's raining, snowing or 115* I will do it myself without some jackoff spilling gas on my custom paint job. Full service should be a choice by the paying customer.

 

I wish I had worked at a service station but by the time I started driving they were going to self service or gas only and junk food,there was a shell station that resisted the trends but the owner was strange and would watch out his window of his house a block down the road with binoculars so I worked elsewhere.

 

we have one here in darlington i think they have one or two pumps and its an original old station....ill drive out of my way to go by there

 

Remember when you was a kid in the back seat how all them gas station attendants always had a BIG roll of cash in there shirt pocket they would pull out to make change.Now they are behind bars and bullet proof glass

 

I did it in New Jersey for a year and a half while I lived there! One of the best jobs I ever had!! Great place to work for a gearhead... Especially when the boss was a gearhead too, with several 50s and 60s cars!
Rest in peace Jim!

Klaus

 

Back when the minimum wage was $2.00 an hour, you could buy at least 5 gallons of gasoline for that hour of work. Now it's just over 2 gallons for that hour of pay.