On Monday 21 August 2006 11:07, Marc Shapiro wrote: > Paul Johnson wrote: > > The upswing day-to-day upswing is that we usually pay less for gas than > > > >neighboring states: Insurance for self service is more expensive than > > hiring someone to sit in the kiosk and wrangle pumps, and the gas line > > moves faster since you're not having to wait behind grandma to get the > > job done. Another side effect of having minimum-service islands > > everywhere is they tend to be one-way, so if you're lucky enough to have > > a right-hand gas tank, the line is far shorter, if there is one. > > Actually, I have found that the lines are longer, here in Oregon, than > when I lived elsewhere. Depends on where you gas up, too. If you shop by price alone and only take thoroughfares, yeah, you're gonna hit long lines, right tank or not. But if you go to well-staffed high-volume stations like truck stops or stations off the beaten path like taxi stands, then about the only time there's a line is at evening rush hour (when it's most expensive to get gas anyway, since gas expands in the heat, so you're getting less gas for your dollar at the hottest part of the day) or when there's a big taxi shift change. I'm sure the same could be said about other cities, whether or not mini-serve is available. The only time it's as slow as self service is if you ask for a fill up (but if you don't want to wait around you just memorize how big your gas tank is and buy $N instead of getting a fill). Gas stations themselves could go a long way in speeding things up at stations with bodegas by going back to what they used to do and do the cashiering at the pump like they do at locations without a bodega, and expecting you to get off the gas line as quickly as possible and parking if you want to go shop. (Arco, Conoco and Texaco are the worst offenders here, Shell is hit or miss, while Tesoro Alaska, Mobil, Estby, 76 and most independents still expects you to get away from the pump as soon as you're not getting gas) > I do not have a right hand gas tank, so I get > to sit in a long line and look at the other, empty lane, being unused. > For those of us with left hand gas tanks (the majority), after I get to > move up to a pump I have to wait for the attendant to get to me to pump > my gas, instead of just getting out and pumping my own. Then, after the > tank is full, I have to wait for them to get back to me, just to take > the nozzle out and hand me my receipt. This usually adds at least a > minute, if not more, to my time at the pump, not including any > additional time waiting in line to get to a pump. If we eliminated that > extra time at the pump it would virtually eliminate any waiting in line, > as well. Knowing that's how gas stations work in your area, it would have been prudent to have kept this limitation in mind when you purchased your vehicle. Otherwise you're stuck waiting in line or paying 10-30¢ more per gallon at a self-service cardlock or being an inconsiderate driver by going the wrong way into the right-hand pumps at a Washington self-serve station. > Having pumped my own gas for 32 years and in many states prior to moving > to Oregon, I can say that I have probably seen as many gas spills from > gas station attendants as from self pumping customers. The total number > of spills, from either, sources, is rather low. Go to Vancouver (WA or BC, either of them, doesn't matter). Or Seattle. There's usually a standing puddle of gasoline in front of at least one pump and the place reeks of gasoline by comparison to even a truck stop gas station in Oregon. This isn't to say that even the career gas pumpers don't occasionally spill, at least here they're required to clean up gas spills quickly. Even then, seeing kitty litter or a spill kit in use or a puddle of gas is the exception and not the rule at mini-serve stations. (That being said, the only time I've seen them spill was earlier today at an Estby station near Intel where I work since it was running on fumes when I pulled in, the tank burped while refuelling and the nozzle dropped out. And the Estby station gave me the gas gratis to make up for spilling gas on fender...$5 car wash for $30 gas...can't complain too much...) -- Paul Johnson Email and IM (XMPP & Google Talk): baloo@ursine.ca
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