Oregonians Horrified That Others May Now Choose To Pump Own Gas

[Kev m]

Web and Howard man I can't imagine.

I literally have never had an attendant give me any guff about pumping my own, and if they're busy or slow I'll just go ahead and fill my car too.

Wonder what the difference is?

[Darren Williams]

Web and Howard man I can't imagine.

I literally have never had an attendant give me any guff about pumping my own, and if they're busy or slow I'll just go ahead and fill my car too.

Wonder what the difference is?

Foreigners not knowing how the locals play the game?   

[Rough Edge racing]

Web and Howard man I can't imagine.

I literally have never had an attendant give me any guff about pumping my own, and if they're busy or slow I'll just go ahead and fill my car too.

Wonder what the difference is?

  Perhaps you have something called patience?

[TimmyTheHog]

Web and Howard man I can't imagine.

I literally have never had an attendant give me any guff about pumping my own, and if they're busy or slow I'll just go ahead and fill my car too.

Wonder what the difference is?

Up in BC Canada, there are two cities still have Full Service law in place, Richmond & Coquitlam.

Both are "illegal" for drivers to fuel up their own gas.

Now, as a motorbiker, I do NOT want anyone touch my bike when fueling up especially most of them do it with sloppiest attitude as they are usually paid minimum wage or lower as "family biz"

Also, I had actually waited for nearly 5 mins to just have someone acknowledged my existence in numerous occasion when I needed to gas up in my 4 wheels...

if not because I wasn't in a hurry, I might have just pump my own gas and "break the law"...

On top of that, most places are 5~10 cents MORE if you go with full service...

[guzzipete]

The new law in Oregon is not really that big of a change.

Oregonians driving non-commercial vehicles will be allowed to pump their own gas -- so long as they're stopped at a service station in a rural area (counties with 40,000 people or fewer) between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Motorcycles riders have been allowed to pump their own for a couple of years. An attendent is supposed to swipe your card and hand you the nozzle, but most don't. I ride quite a bit in rural Oregon and have had no issues pumping my own gas when on the bike.

[Arizona Wayne]

The new law in Oregon is not really that big of a change.

Oregonians driving non-commercial vehicles will be allowed to pump their own gas -- so long as they're stopped at a service station in a rural area (counties with 40,000 people or fewer) between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Motorcycles riders have been allowed to pump their own for a couple of years. An attendent is supposed to swipe your card and hand you the nozzle, but most don't. I ride quite a bit in rural Oregon and have had no issues pumping my own gas when on the bike.

Yes, up to know they ask you if you want to pump your own gas because they are afraid they might damage your MC gas tank some how.  But that doesn't make what they actually  make their actions legal.  At the same time they would take my CC and put it in the dispenser instead of letting me do it myself. If you were in a car/truck then they wouldn't offer you the same thing. 

[Brand X]

As a Oregonian for 61 years, there is some truth to this one..

 

[oldbike54]

As a Oregonian for 61 years, there is some truth to this one..

 That happens here also .

 Dusty

[Lannis]

As a Oregonian for 61 years, there is some truth to this one..

I blame BP for that error-prone situation.   Prior to BP coming to the US, green was ALWAYS diesel and red was ALWAYS gasoline .... But in the UK, green is petrol ....

Lannis

[PJPR01]

I blame BP for that error-prone situation.   Prior to BP coming to the US, green was ALWAYS diesel and red was ALWAYS gasoline .... But in the UK, green is petrol ....

Lannis

So you're saying that folks who never traveled outside of Oregon to California and Nevada and had to pump their gas there, that these same folks were actually traveling to the UK and got confused there.

I find that a stretch in imagination by a long shot!

[twowheeladdict]

I love the comments like "I don't know how to pump gas."  This issue has always been about jobs.  Now NJ, with it's strong union influence, is the only state where it is illegal to pump your own gas.  I'm not against unions.  At some point we have to recognize featherbedding for what it is, waste.

I think there should be jobs for those who didn't or can't be educated to do something more with their lives.  Better than being on disability in your 20s.  When I rode in NJ, the guy took my card from my hand and slide it in the pump and then handed it back to me.  He then handed me the nozzle and let me pump my own gas into my tank.  It thought it was kinda funny. 

[Lannis]

So you're saying that folks who never traveled outside of Oregon to California and Nevada and had to pump their gas there, that these same folks were actually traveling to the UK and got confused there.

I find that a stretch in imagination by a long shot!

No, I didn't mean that.

I mean that before BP came to the USA, all US gas nozzles were red and all diesel nozzles were green.

Then in BP stations, they started using green for gasoline at their stations (like in the UK).   NOW, people don't flinch back from a green nozzle before sticking it in their tank and pumping.   You can't just go by the nozzle, you have to look at the pump itself to see what you're pumping.   

Of course you should do that, but it's sort of like suddenly using octagons for Yield signs and triangles for Stop signs.   Sure, you should read the words, but it can cause problems I would think ...

Lannis

[PJPR01]

Gotcha!  I can't remember for sure, but I always thought the nozzle diameter on Diesel pumps was larger than the diameter of gas nozzles and would not even fit into a gasoline car.  Haven't checked in a while, but I suppose that may not be the case for all models of cars.  Nothing worse than tanking up a full tank of diesel in a gasoline car...that would be an expensive mistake for sure!

[normzone]

I remember on our Renault R8, in Nebraska somewhere, going across country, we stopped in a little station and a woman attendant came out to pump our gas.   The gas filler cap was under the rear-engine "hood", so you had to raise the hood to get to the filler. But the first thing you saw when you opened the hood was the air-cleaner intake horn, just the right size for a gas nozzle.   So guess where the first gallon of gas went

My mom told of asking a kid attendant if he would top off the radiator, since the '39 Buick Special had a leaky water pump. She grabbed him as he was going for the oil filler cap on top of the valve cover.

Yes, [PJR01], you are correct.

[Aaron D.]

I think there should be jobs for those who didn't or can't be educated to do something more with their lives.  Better than being on disability in your 20s.  When I rode in NJ, the guy took my card from my hand and slide it in the pump and then handed it back to me.  He then handed me the nozzle and let me pump my own gas into my tank.  It thought it was kinda funny.

Well, wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to send a check and let him go fishing?

[rodekyll]

This topic reads funnier if you shift the setting and replace "pump attendant" with "self-checkout attendant" or "restroom assistant".  And when you think about it, when the shift occurs the discussion doesn't change.


 

[ITSec]

I blame BP for that error-prone situation.   Prior to BP coming to the US, green was ALWAYS diesel and red was ALWAYS gasoline .... But in the UK, green is petrol ....

Lannis

Well, I'd agree with that logic if Shell hadn't been here first. Its proper company name is 'Royal Dutch Shell', which reminds me of that old saying about the best and worst of worlds based on European stereotypes.

The Dutch are (reportedly) either tall, crazy, or both - and let it be noted that I've met some under-tall Netherlanders in my time... 

[pete roper]

This will make some of you laugh. Up until I read the last few posts in this thread I'd never actually thought about or realised that bowser handles and pumps were colour coded! Really! It had never occurred to me!

Now it's been pointed out it is of course obvious but I've always just read the words and numbers on the bowser. It never occurred to me the handles had any significance, I just thought they did it to brighten the place up......:D

Pete

[jas67]

Gotcha!  I can't remember for sure, but I always thought the nozzle diameter on Diesel pumps was larger than the diameter of gas nozzles and would not even fit into a gasoline car.  Haven't checked in a while, but I suppose that may not be the case for all models of cars.  Nothing worse than tanking up a full tank of diesel in a gasoline car...that would be an expensive mistake for sure!

Yes, the nozzle diameter of Diesel pumps is larger, except when it isn't.    There are two smaller stations in our area that I've had the misfortune of trying to buy diesel from that have gasoline nozzles on their diesel pumps.   2013 and near VW diesels have a special fill port that you can not put the smaller gasoline nozzle in.    It has a drop door that doesn't open until releases on opposite sides of the hole are pressed outward by the correct sized nozzle.    Both of these times, I was very low on fuel, and a bit pissed that I had drive even further to find fuel.

So now, as a general rule, I look for a major chain store like Sheetz or Rutters, as I know that they have the correct pump handles.

[blackcat]

"A December 2015 Rutgers-Eagleton poll found that almost three-quarters of the state’s residents preferred to have gas pumped for them, and that 84 percent of women preferred the service."

The majority of New Jersey residents seem to be OK with the service and until the NJ Gov raised the tax on gas it was still cheaper than a lot of east coast states.

[rodekyll]

"A December 2015 Rutgers-Eagleton poll found that almost three-quarters of the state’s residents preferred to have gas pumped for them, and that 84 percent of women preferred the service."

The majority of New Jersey residents seem to be OK with the service and until the NJ Gov raised the tax on gas it was still cheaper than a lot of east coast states.

I wonder how the poll question was asked.  Did they say "Do you prefer to sit in your warm dry car while someone else stands in the cold rain getting their hands stinky?" or did they ask "If you could save a dime/gallon by pumping your own gas, would you?"

The intent of the law is to allow folks the option to self-serve from credit card-operated pumps, in rural areas, at night when the station is otherwise closed.  The alternative has been to shut down the pumps when the attendant goes home, leaving night drivers sleeping in their cars until the pumps reopen.  It's not a law banning full-serve pumps, and it's an option that's allowed to a small percentage of gas stops.  It's not happening in the cities.  It's not happening during the day.  It's really a non-event unless you need the option.

[webmost]

[Kiwi_Roy]

I will translate for you
Bowser = Pump


Sent from my shoe phone!

[twowheeladdict]

Well, wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to send a check and let him go fishing?

Easier and cheaper for who?