A few years ago somebody in Washington State got the bright idea to get rid of full service gas stations and go to self-service. They used the campaign ploy that if we went to self-service the price of gasoline would go down. It sounded reasonable to most people and who didn't want to save some money? Needless to say we now have self-service exclusively.
I miss the full service stations where an attendant pumps the gas, cleans the windshield and checks the oil. I liked that kind of service. It meant that I didn't have to weather the storm, or get my hands dirty checking oil and cleaning the windshield. I didn't mind paying the few cents extra for each gallon of gas I was purchasing for that kind of service.
I generally buy unleaded premium (the middle of the road grade) and have been paying $1.65 a gallon.
Oregon borders Washington to the south, and the beautiful city of Portland Oregon lay just across the border. I work in Portland and since my commute is long, I make sure that my gas tank never gets too low.
The other morning I realized that I needed to stop at some point for gas. Since I was already on the freeway headed south, I decided to run out at lunchtime and fill up.
I drove into the full service gas station. (Oregon is not a self-service state) The attendant cheerfully greeted me and I asked him to fill it up. In the interim he cleaned my windshield and checked my oil.
I watched the attendant scurrying around in the blustery weather while I sat in my warm, cozy car making a mental note that I was happy to pay the extra few cents a gallon to have this kind of service.
As I was pulling out of the gas station I glanced up at the sign, and realized that I had just paid the same $1.65 a gallon for the same brand and same octane of gas I always buy in the Washington self service stations!
Who's kidding whom?
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