this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2023
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I understand if people have a moderate preference, but I don’t understand why some people have STRONG opinions about pumping their own gas.
When the weather is crappy, I’d rather have someone pump my gas for me than leave the car and do it myself. In New Jersey, pumping your own gas is actually illegal. Gas stations must pay an attendant, yet gas isn’t any more expensive in New Jersey than it is in New York or Pennsylvania. In fact, sometimes it’s cheaper. The overhead doesn’t appear to be passed on to the customer.
If there was a price difference, then okay, but since the prices are just about the same, I just don’t get it. I welcome any explanations or personal opinions.
It's a matter of personal independence and speed. If I'm at a gas station to fill up then I'm not making progress in getting where I want to be going. I know what grade of gas I want put in my car, I know how the pumps operate, and I can generally fuel my car faster than going through the back-and-forth process of dealing with an attendant. Of course, I've also only lived in places where self-service was the norm, so I'm very used to pumping my own gas. Whenever I drive down to visit my sister in Portland I always try to fill up across the river in Washington just so I don't have to deal with the mandatory full-service in Oregon.
I mean you can do like me and just pump your own gas... I've never been stopped in Oregon from doing it and in face the attendants usually thank me.
I've been yelled at by gas attendants in Oregon when I've tried to pump my own gas before. I find it just easier to just avoid refilling in the state if I can.
I think it's fine for people to have the service if they want it but either direction shouldn't be mandatory. Beyond accessibility type laws anyway.
I do find it to be quicker to do it myself and like that I don't have to interact with anyone.
For real! I understand it takes a few minutes longer but it's sooooo nice not having to get out of the car.
I am severely biased though, I drive a VW Golf diesel and Oregon allows drivers to pump their own diesel fuel. If the attendant takes more than two seconds to service me I just do it myself.
I have the same car and have just started doing it myself by default to let the attendant help someone else
It turns a two minute stop into a giant pain in the ass. It's a major inconvenience that serves absolutely zero purpose.
I can see not wanting to interact with anyone. In my country, most stores even have self service. Pretty great :)
I'm actually pretty bummed about the change. It's a luxury (and one of the things that makes Oregon special) to be able to wait in a heated or air conditioned car while someone else pump my gas. I also don't understand why some people are so gung ho to pump their own.
Washingtonian here; I just prefer to pump it myself. I don’t have to wait for someone to come over after I’ve been there for 5+ minutes while the attendant services other customers, I don’t have to wait for them to come back after the gas has stopped pumping, and all this waiting time compounds if the station’s busy.
It’s not that I don’t like waiting in general, it’s just that it’s a task that generally doesn’t require waiting in my day-to-day so I find it irksome.
As an Aussie who has always pumped their own gas, I'd LOVE to be able to rock up and have someone just do it for me. Why is this the case in your state, out of curiosity?
The ban on self service in New Jersey was originally passed way back in 1949. It was presented as a safety issue.
Every once in a while, someone proposes a bill to make self-service legal, and it’s always been shot down by a wide margin. I don’t think such a bill has even made it to the governor’s desk in my lifetime.
Much of the public sees full service as a free luxury, and most politicians don’t want to do something known to be unpopular. I heard about the situation in Oregon, but didn’t expect bill to pass.