Full or self-serve gas?

[Gumbo4x4]

Full service was on its way out when I got my license in '83. Probably haven't had anyone else pump my gas since '86 or so. Pay at the pump is the most awesome thing ever! So very glad that became common before my kids were born!!

 

[ols386]

I’m in Michigan and can’t remember the last time I saw a full service gas station.

 

[ols386]

I believe NJ is the last state in the Union where full service is mandated by law.

I wonder why NJ won’t allow self service.

 

[nene0182]

I live in a town of about 50k in N.D. and we have 2 full service stations. The cost is about .10 more per gallon. I’ve never used them eve though I drive past both every day.

 

[disykat]

Like others have said, full serve isn't just having someone pump your gas. At least in Oregon, full serve is considered cleaning your windshields etc. Most places are what used to be called "mini-serve," meaning they just pump your gas.

Most gas stations in Oregon still do not allow you to pump your own. Pumping your own is only in effect in counties beneath a certain population.

I live in Washington and haven't seen a gas station with attendants who can pump gas in years and NO ONE is ever going to clean your windshield! I have seen gas stations with service available in the Midwest though.

 

[tvguy]

I'm in California. There are still a few gas stations with Full Service as an option. All the ones I can think of around here are not affiliated with major oil company, and tend to do repairs. The photo below is from Google maps of one near me. Full service will cost you 50 cents a gallon more. This station also a large senior citizen customer base. The kind of folks who may drive 1,000 miles a year, and maybe use 4 tanks of gas a year, and don't mind paying for to have the gas put in their car.

I should add that ADA requires self service gas stations to pump gas for a customer if that customer has a disability and requests the service.

https://www.ada.gov/gasserve.htm

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I wonder why NJ won’t allow self service.

The Retail Gasoline Dispensing Safety Act, listed above, has been there since 1949.

 

[shoney]

My town doesn’t allow you to pump gas and i usually get gas near home. Speedway sometimes clean windows depending on who helps you.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Like others have said, full serve isn't just having someone pump your gas. At least in Oregon, full serve is considered cleaning your windshields etc. Most places are what used to be called "mini-serve," meaning they just pump your gas.

I live in Washington and haven't seen a gas station with attendants who can pump gas in years and NO ONE is ever going to clean your windshield! I have seen gas stations with service available in the Midwest though.

In nj they may clean your windshields but it rarely happens. You can ask or you can do it yourself. Once in a great while I’ll get a nice one and they’ll just do it but that’s like once a year.

 

[RedAngie]

I wonder why NJ won’t allow self service.

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The Retail Gasoline Dispensing Safety Act, listed above, has been there since 1949.

Every five years or so some NJ legislator proposes allowing self service gas and he's practically tarred and feathered. Most legislators are scared poop-less of upsetting their constituents so they continue to ban self service.

Very few people give a damn about the reasons listed. Some NJ residents may cite them as an excuse, but if they're being honest, it's really because they just don't want to pump their own gas.

I like getting gas in NJ when I happen to be there and having the convenience of full service.

 

[AP1209]

In Texas here and my dad used to work at a mechanic shop/gas station in the early 90's and they had a full service pump. Most of there pumps were self serve but 1 or 2 of them were full service. I believe it cost like 10 cents more per gallon for full service. They washed windows, checked fluids and pumped gas. I've never seen another shop like that. They eventually went to all self serve.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I'm in California. There are still a few gas stations with Full Service as an option. All the ones I can think of around here are not affiliated with major oil company, and tend to do repairs. The photo below is from Google maps of one near me. Full service will cost you 50 cents a gallon more. This station also a large senior citizen customer base. The kind of folks who may drive 1,000 miles a year, and maybe use 4 tanks of gas a year, and don't mind paying for to have the gas put in their car.

I should add that ADA requires self service gas stations to pump gas for a customer if that customer has a disability and requests the service.

https://www.ada.gov/gasserve.htm

When I worked as a manager I always would go out and do the gas for ADA folks even I was working by myself. I would explain I was by myself and I would go back and forth between helping them and ringing up customers. They were very understandable. There were times I needed gas to get home and did not want to fill my stupid tank.

 

[usnuzuloose]

In Texas here and my dad used to work at a mechanic shop/gas station in the early 90's and they had a full service pump. Most of there pumps were self serve but 1 or 2 of them were full service. I believe it cost like 10 cents more per gallon for full service. They washed windows, checked fluids and pumped gas. I've never seen another shop like that. They eventually went to all self serve.

I did that for people when I worked even though we did not have to. I really enjoyed my job doing that.

 

[bcla]

By law in California, a driver with a disabled placard/plate/tag can request an attendant pump the fuel at the self serve price. There are some rules on this which I believe are staffing related. Found a description from the California DMV:

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffvr07
In addition to parking privileges, service stations must refuel a disabled person’s vehicle at self-service rates unless the service facility has only one employee on duty.​

Here's a typical pump at Costco:

I haven't really seen full service in a while in California. The closest I remember was a Shell station that they called "Mini-Service". They pumped the fuel and cleaned the windows. They didn't so any of the traditional full service stuff like checking tire pressure or checking the fluid levels.

 

[MillauFr]

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The Retail Gasoline Dispensing Safety Act, listed above, has been there since 1949.

Government interference at its worst. Government has no business telling me I can't pump my own gas.

 

[lsyorke]

I wonder why NJ won’t allow self service.

Cause Jersey girls don't pump gas!

 

[MillauFr]

In Seattle they have an app that you can use to have someone come to your house to fill up your tank. No need even to go to the gas station.

 

[bcla]

When I worked as a manager I always would go out and do the gas for ADA folks even I was working by myself. I would explain I was by myself and I would go back and forth between helping them and ringing up customers. They were very understandable. There were times I needed gas to get home and did not want to fill my stupid tank.

That note does mention the single employee rule. But of course there's nothing that says that single employee can't do it.

As for Oregon, I remember being in some remote location where I saw nobody there at a gas pump. I was wondering what it took to get someone to pump. This was at Crater Lake National Park, where the main general store has maybe one pump. I think they normally need to have someone come out. When I've gotten gas at busy gas stations, there were always a couple of employees right there waiting for customers.

 

[bcla]

Cause Jersey girls don't pump gas!

This was the women's answer to "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche":

 

[RedAngie]

Cause Jersey girls don't pump gas!

And most Jersey girls love it!!! There are even products boasting about it.