That Sinclair station is way cool. I dont think I'd like some dude puting gas in my car for me, unless you are disabled theres no reason why you cant do it yourself. Do you really want some dorks greasy paw prints all over the side of your car?
Most stations in New Zealand are sorta still full service but you have to ask and the're more interested in selling coffee, muffins and magazines. They don't carry spares or such like any longer but if your lucky you can buy over priced oil if you need it. The real hurt is seeing all the old servos from the 50s & 60s being knocked down over the years like in the US, but people don't seem to care about that history here. They reckon if you can bottle "that new car smell" you'd make a killing but there is nothing like that real workshop smell of oil ingrained in the old concrete and timber benchs.
Champlin Sinclair, Champlin, MN. (Near Hwy 169 and Dayton Rd.) Full service at the pumps and a couple service bays. Common to see an old car or two in the service bays or waiting in for service work. My experience is that these are guys that know how to fix stuff on old cars, not just replace parts. Same prices for gas as at the convenience store/station across the street.
Carle's Texaco in Richmond, VA just up the road from my house changed hands last year. Richard Carle stubbornly stuck to the old way. He or his assistant David pumped the gas, checked your oil and cleaned the windshield. David also doubled as the mechanic and did auto repair. The new owner- a foreign national- put in self-service pumps and a convenience store. Our little bit of Mayberry is now gone. RIP.
.....one just open in Janesville ,Wisconsin....Gas is the same price as the other stations....He told me he wanted to help older people and women with small kids so they won't have to get out of their cars.....Said people really like it and also was getting a got a lot of tips....Maybe the good old days of service are coming back...
Omaha has a couple of full service islands at a 5 cent premium for full service. I remember the full service days and the fight to wash the windshield when certain cuties came in wearing skirts. Bad boys! ~sololobo~
We still have 2 (very small, one pump island) here in my town. I spent most of my youth working for my dad at his Texaco and Gulf stations. Those were some really good times back than. I miss the ol full service stations.
Here is a link to an article about this one: http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2009/07/west_michigans_few_fullservice.html I'm headed that way later today and I'll see if it's still there/open.
Hey kids...........I remember full-service as five guys coming out to pump gas, check fluids, wash the windshield, check tire pressure and lastly give you a free piece of glassware. Now that was full-service!! As a side note; During the gas-wars of the '70's I remember one station dressing the attendants up as Arabs and having them pump the gas. What a laugh that was!
I remember going to one when I was a kid. My mom used to go to this one station by a grocery store all the time since she didn't have to pump gas herself. They had the attached garage as well.
Worked at an Enco station in the 60s. High gas prices in the 70s pretty much did the full service guys in. The self serve stations were selling gas for 3 to 5 cents a gallon less, that's when gas went from 30 cents to 70 or 80 cents and most people were in shock at the high prices and pumped it themselves in protest. Back then you could get a full tank in a new 64 or 65 Chevy for 6 or 7 dollars and someone would pump it for you, clean your windows, check your oil and give you an NFL Green Bay Packers glass (here in Wisc.) I really got to know cars working in the grease rack there. It really was a better and simpler life. To much bullshit today.
Lots of good memories working as a pump jockey/tire monkey at a Standard Oil station when I was 15-16. That would have been in '76 -'77. Full service. Start filling the gas, run around and clean windows and check the oil. Always fun to make a game of it and try to get it all done before the pump nozzle would shut off. When you really think about it, it is surprising that pumping your own gas is allowed anywhere considering the lack of common sense that is so pervasive in society these days. How many times have you seen someone with a cigarette in the vicinity of the pumps? Dumbass! I know in the beginning of self serve, they took the latch off the nozzles so you had to stand there holding it open. You couldn't walk away.
Worked at Wayne Marks Exxon in Grand Prairie Tx in the 70's. My dad worked at the same place for the same guy in the 50's. Wayne finally retired in the 80's. They tore it down and built a GW jr's. Now it's an overpass when they concreted beltline right over downtown. Went back last year to look around. Got depressed and left. Came back home to my stuff and felt much better.
My uncle had a full-service when I was a kid/teen. Paul's Conoco in Ames, Iowa. I learned a lot and really enjoyed hanging out there. Forget the old mechanic's name, but man he could fix or fabricate anything. "Not scared" as we say. I believe those days are gone. I can't remember last time anyone came out to pump my gas and wipe the windshield..
i only know of one left in wichita, they don't post their gas prices, as i recall about .20 cents higher then self service
I remember as a teenager working at a full service car wash in Fort Wayne that also offered full service as far as checking windshield washer fluid, oil, tranny fluid, batteries, tire pressure, cleaning windshields etc...I remember this one older lady that used to stop in and get 5 bux of gas in her Granada and would pop the hood and 9 times out of 10 would honk the horn and ask you to do something...you knew it was coming but it would startle you and piss you off every time.
I'm gonna remember that! I can't wait 'till this summer for the drags again and I'll be stopping in Mound City for gas.. BTW, if you get fuel in Oregon, you will NOT pump your own gas....law requires an employee pump it. Herb's Veltex in The Dalles, Oregon will pump your gas and still wash your windshield for you for free. Don't even hafta ask. They'll also ring-up your credit card and bring you the slip to sign while you sit in the car.
Nooooooo, no no no! YOu do NOT wanna be at 30th and Ames anytime after dark. Drive-bys are the rule not the exception. People get dead there a LOT!
There's a couple still left around here. I loved working those as a kid. Pretty cool job where you had a tire changer and a lift at your fingertips. I remember offering a guy to trade wheels while we were stopped at a red lite on my day off. He said OK, but wanted to keep his tires. I said, follow me. We went the the station I worked at, hoisted both cars and I went to work. Less than an hour later I had wheels I liked a lot better
Come on Dude, where's the respect ? I pumped gas when I was a kid for a few years, if you left any paw prints on a car, your ass would be looking for a new dollar an hour job. Plus the shot you sometimes got thru the windshied when cleaning them in the hot summer, some good looking gal with a short skirt on , leaving greasy paw prints was the last thing I thought about leaving on that car.
When I was a kid, my Dad would pull into a Billups Service Station in Pearl, MS, and before the car stopped rolling, four guys in white jumpsuits would come running out towards us. Two would jump on the running boards and start cleaning the windshield. When we got to the pumps, one of those two jumped off and started pumping gas after asking, "Fill'er up?" The others checked fluids, tires, and finished cleaning the glass. 'Scuse me...got to get back to building my time machine.
Interesting facts were that the full service stations like the ones I managed was profitable and kept cars in good working order for our customers however when new ownership changed the service bays into a mini-mart they experienced higher profits with less liability. But as pay at the pumps became more common all these mini-marts experienced a sharp decline in consumable product sales. Another result of mini-marts and self serve stations has been the sharp increase in catastrphic failures which required expensive repairs from car dealerships and other service centers.. These repairs could have been easily avoided with the proper observation and maintenance that full service stations used to offer!