Bring Back Full Service Gas Stations

Today we’re taking a jab at self service gas stations.

How often do you come across a full serve gas station anymore?  They seem to be few and far between these days.  In our small town, we do have one.  I enjoy having my windows cleaned, my oil checked and the full serve of having my gas pumped and paying from my inside my car.

When you go to a self serve gas station we are doing the work for them.  The attendant is inside behind the cash register being paid a wage to ….well….be a cashier.

There are plenty of good reasons to implement full service stations including, the inflammability of gas, the risk of crime from customers leaving their car, the toxic fumes emitted by gasoline, and the jobs created by requiring service.  Most filling stations in the United States have offered a choice between full service and self service. Until the 1970s, full service was the norm, and self service was rare. 

The first self service station in Canada was located in Winnipeg, Manitoba  in 1949 and was operated by independent Henderson Thriftway Petroleum, run by Bill Henderson. The first self service gas station in the United States was in Omaha, Nebraska in 1958, run by Sam Rosenbaum.

Today, few stations advertise full service, and those that do usually only provide self service unless a manager is involved. However, full service stations are more common in wealthy and upscale areas.

It’s another way to cut down on the cost of wages.  If you actually look at the benefits from the customer stand point, you can’t find many.  From the other side of the fence, offering full service benefits them in saving wages.  I cannot see any other benefit to taking away the full service.  As pointed out above, there are risks and loss of jobs , yet we continue to see fewer and fewer of the old-fashioned full service gas station.

So what do you think?  Don’t care? Tired of pumping your own gas when it’s pouring rain or freezing cold?  Need a part-time summer job for your teen but the local gas stations are only looking for cashiers? Or does it never even cross your mind?

Let’s hear your views.