Do you know how to pump gas?

[Catwoman]

12 hours ago, wintermom said:

Unless the attentant put gas in a diesel car. This happened to my mil in NJ. No one is ever going to do that in their own car. The self-serve pumps have different sized nozzles so it can't physically be done. 

I like having control over who touches my car.

That is absolutely bizarre, because you have to tell the attendant specifically what kind of gas you want, and unless that was the guy's first day on the job, it's incredibly obvious that the diesel handle is an entirely different color and is not right next to the one for the different grades of gasoline. Also, they have to press the correct button for the gas to start flowing, so the attendant honestly must have been a complete moron. I mean, he had one job to do and that was it!

Seriously, I have never heard of this having happened to anyone in NJ. I have actually heard of it happening to new drivers at self-serve stations in other states (and probably to some NJ and Oregon drivers who had never pumped their own gas! LOL) I know I nearly put diesel in my car when I was on a road trip and was distracted -- luckily I caught myself in time, but I can definitely understand how it could happen.

Your MIL was extremely unlucky; I'm so sorry that happened to her! 😞  If her engine was damaged, I hope she sued the gas station, because they were obviously responsible!

Edited August 10, 2023 by Catwoman

[Pawz4me]

19 minutes ago, KSera said:

What happens when gas gets old? We have a gas powered car we very rarely use. A tank of gas easily lasts 6 months. Sounds like  this could be an issue?

My understanding is that it starts to break down, becomes less combustible and can (possibly) cause engine damage. We keep a decent amount of gas for our generator, but we always put Sta-Bil in it. That's supposed to keep it good for up to two years.

[Resilient]

On 8/9/2023 at 1:36 PM, Corraleno said:

I know how to pump gas and so do my kids, because we lived in NM before moving to Oregon. Self-service has been legal in rural areas of Oregon for a few years, but it just changed for the rest of the state last Friday. I was caught off guard when I was at Costco yesterday and didn't realize until I was already trapped in a self-service line that they only have one full service line now.  I love not having to get out of my car and pump gas when it's cold and rainy and windy, and I'll probably use the full service line at Costco from now on, unless it's really long. There's no difference in price.

Same here; moved from a different state, but yeah: I like the full service.  Also the OR law is that gas stations can make HALF their pumps self service. The pump-your-gas-for-you law was basically a jobs program, but it does provide actual service to those who want it.  

Everyone should know how to pump gas. It's so not-hard. Back in the dating days, I decided that a guy wasn't The Guy because he didn't know how to check his oil.  So I checked in for him.  We are still friends, as he is really a great person...but I just couldn't go there with that lack of skill.  ;0)

[Resilient]

23 hours ago, 73349 said:

All our gas stations are covered. I don't go out from under the cover, because I pay at the pump. I'm not getting rained on.

But it's still _cold_!  🙂

[wintermom]

nm

Edited August 10, 2023 by wintermom

[fraidycat]

I can and do pump my own gas when necessary, but mostly go to the full-service station or send my hubby to fill my tank. 

[happypamama]

I don't like pumping gas because it requires standing still, so if I can luck out and have my husband do it, great, but I definitely know how and do it frequently.

 

Both of my kids who are old enough to drive know how to pump their own gas and do it frequently also.

[regentrude]

4 minutes ago, happypamama said:

I don't like pumping gas because it requires standing still

Why do you have to stand still? Don't all the nozzles now have auto switch off and you can wash the windows etc while the gas pumps? 

[happypamama]

50 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Why do you have to stand still? Don't all the nozzles now have auto switch off and you can wash the windows etc while the gas pumps? 

I don't know, I usually have the van, and I don't do the windows in it myself because I can't reach the windshield very well since I am very short and it is very tall (full-size van).  But also, it costs a fortune to fill, so I usually can't afford to put in a lot at once since I don't drive it often, so I do need to watch it.

[dsmith]

On 8/10/2023 at 1:03 AM, wintermom said:

Unless the attentant put gas in a diesel car. This happened to my mil in NJ. No one is ever going to do that in their own car. The self-serve pumps have different sized nozzles so it can't physically be done. 

I like having control over who touches my car.

I think the gas stations near us have separate pumps for diesel, so if the attendant did that it would be because I pulled up to the wrong pump. I'm trying to remember seeing pumps where they do both - maybe on the highway? And I think most attendants would look at my car and ask me if it really took diesel, unless maybe they were new to the job. I believe it is legal to pump your own diesel in NJ. 

[Wheres Toto]

48 minutes ago, dsmith said:

I think the gas stations near us have separate pumps for diesel, so if the attendant did that it would be because I pulled up to the wrong pump. I'm trying to remember seeing pumps where they do both - maybe on the highway? And I think most attendants would look at my car and ask me if it really took diesel, unless maybe they were new to the job. I believe it is legal to pump your own diesel in NJ. 

Yes, you can pump your own diesel.    And yes, they are completely separate pumps in a different color with big signs on them.     The price is generally a bit more than the regular grade too so that's generally noticeable.   

There are a few cars that take diesel or are available in a diesel model, so the attendant might assume the driver knows what their vehicle needs.  

[SKL]

The diesel discussion reminds me of the time I (as a new driver) proudly told my dad I'd saved money by pumping diesel into our Chevette.  😛  (Diesel was cheaper than regular at that place & time).

I have told my kids not to do that, but I should probably remind them a couple more times.  Things that mom says have a way of going in one ear and out the other.  😛

[wintermom]

10 minutes ago, SKL said:

The diesel discussion reminds me of the time I (as a new driver) proudly told my dad I'd saved money by pumping diesel into our Chevette.  😛  (Diesel was cheaper than regular at that place & time).

I have told my kids not to do that, but I should probably remind them a couple more times.  Things that mom says have a way of going in one ear and out the other.  😛

Ouch! That is a lesson learned the first error, I'm sure. 

[wintermom]

I am guessing that if this board had more car lovers on it, there might be a few more chiming in about strangers touching their cars at gas stations. I am not a car lover, especially, but I prefer having control over who does stuff to it that could have an impact. Gas leaking onto the paint when removing the nozzle, for example. 

[SKL]

13 minutes ago, wintermom said:

Ouch! That is a lesson learned the first error, I'm sure. 

Well, since my sister totaled the Chevette before it had time to get old ....

Being a parent of driving teens is not for the faint of heart ....

Edited August 12, 2023 by SKL

[Catwoman]

2 hours ago, wintermom said:

I am guessing that if this board had more car lovers on it, there might be a few more chiming in about strangers touching their cars at gas stations. I am not a car lover, especially, but I prefer having control over who does stuff to it that could have an impact. Gas leaking onto the paint when removing the nozzle, for example. 

Well, we (and most of the people we know) drive luxury cars and are very careful with them, and nobody thinks twice about "strangers" touching their cars at gas stations. 

The attendants don't spill gas on the cars! 

I'm not sure you have a realistic picture in your mind of how this works, probably because you're not used to it.

We also regularly use valet parking and don't worry about that, either. It's just normal.

[KSera]

3 hours ago, Catwoman said:

We also regularly use valet parking and don't worry about that, either. It's just normal.

We really don’t like to valet! We will avoid it if humanly possible (it usually is).

I confused by the stories of diesel in a car’s gasoline tank at the gas station, because the nozzles are different sizes to prevent this from happening. Though perhaps for stories that happened a long time ago, before this mechanism was in place. 

[-----]

41 minutes ago, KSera said:

We really don’t like to valet! We will avoid it if humanly possible (it usually is).

I confused by the stories of diesel in a car’s gasoline tank at the gas station, because the nozzles are different sizes to prevent this from happening. Though perhaps for stories that happened a long time ago, before this mechanism was in place. 

The cancer center I go to has valet parking.  It's a wonderful service for the patients.  The patients drive right up to the front door of the building and the valet parks the car.  We get the validation in the clinic where we have the appt and pay at the front desk on the way out.  It's cheap and well worth the money - especially for those having trouble walking.

I had never used a valet until we moved here.  In fact, I don't think I've ever been anywhere that had valet parking until here.  First time for everything.

Edited August 12, 2023 by kathyl

[wintermom]

44 minutes ago, KSera said:

We really don’t like to valet! We will avoid it if humanly possible (it usually is).

I confused by the stories of diesel in a car’s gasoline tank at the gas station, because the nozzles are different sizes to prevent this from happening. Though perhaps for stories that happened a long time ago, before this mechanism was in place. 

The incident I referred to with the error of gas in a diesel car did happen several years ago. I'm curious about how people who don't fill up their own vehicles know about te differences in nozzles between gas and diesel, though. How would you know this when you never pump your own gas?  You would know at a self-serve station, but why assume that an attendant run pump is exactly the same? 

[wintermom]

4 hours ago, Catwoman said:

Well, we (and most of the people we know) drive luxury cars and are very careful with them, and nobody thinks twice about "strangers" touching their cars at gas stations. 

The attendants don't spill gas on the cars! 

I'm not sure you have a realistic picture in your mind of how this works, probably because you're not used to it.

We also regularly use valet parking and don't worry about that, either. It's just normal.

I'm not sure you do either, especially if you don't pump your own gas. Spillage is really easy to do, even when one isn't trying to. I will wash the area with the squeegie if I do spill. Once the nozzle is removed from the gas tank, there can be small amounts of liquid that drips. When attendants are filling 2 or more vehicles at a time, what makes you assume that they are perfect and never make common errors? I think it's more wishful thinking, but go about your day and pretend that all is good. 

[marbel]

23 minutes ago, wintermom said:

The incident I referred to with the error of gas in a diesel car did happen several years ago. I'm curious about how people who don't fill up their own vehicles know about te differences in nozzles between gas and diesel, though. How would you know this when you never pump your own gas?  You would know at a self-serve station, but why assume that an attendant run pump is exactly the same? 

At stations with an attendant, the customer tells them what they want. (I'm not actually sure this answers your question.) 

[prairiewindmomma]

As if no one in my state (where until this week we couldn’t pump gas) owns a nice car. 😂

I have had zero issues with gas drops on my paint. Pardon the bird splatter on my windshield (I went to the touchless car wash after I got gas) but here’s a photo of me getting gas at Costco. I am queued up in the attendant line, and my total wait time was under 2 min in queue. All of the stations were full.
 

This attendant doesn’t have gloves on, but most of the time the attendants at this station wear chemical rated gloves when handling gasoline.

Edited August 12, 2023 by prairiewindmomma

[KSera]

46 minutes ago, wintermom said:

The incident I referred to with the error of gas in a diesel car did happen several years ago. I'm curious about how people who don't fill up their own vehicles know about te differences in nozzles between gas and diesel, though. How would you know this when you never pump your own gas?  You would know at a self-serve station, but why assume that an attendant run pump is exactly the same? 

It’s been much longer than several years since the nozzle stopped fitting. And the attendant run pumps are exactly like the gas stations in every other state, they just have someone who pumps (like the full serve line in other states). They didn’t have to suddenly replace pumps in Oregon with special new self serve ones, they just let people do it themselves now. In any case, I think I missed the whole middle part of this thread to understand why there would be any contention about any of this either way 😂. (And I don’t drive a gas powered car, so I have the best of all worlds and don’t ever visit the gas station anymore anyway!)

43 minutes ago, wintermom said:

I'm not sure you do either, especially if you don't pump your own gas. Spillage is really easy to do, even when one isn't trying to. I will wash the area with the squeegie if I do spill. Once the nozzle is removed from the gas tank, there can be small amounts of liquid that drips. When attendants are filling 2 or more vehicles at a time, what makes you assume that they are perfect and never make common errors? I think it's more wishful thinking, but go about your day and pretend that all is good. 

Wouldn’t people notice their paint was all damaged around the gas tank if this was an issue? 

[Catwoman]

47 minutes ago, wintermom said:

I'm not sure you do either, especially if you don't pump your own gas. Spillage is really easy to do, even when one isn't trying to. I will wash the area with the squeegie if I do spill. Once the nozzle is removed from the gas tank, there can be small amounts of liquid that drips. When attendants are filling 2 or more vehicles at a time, what makes you assume that they are perfect and never make common errors? I think it's more wishful thinking, but go about your day and pretend that all is good. 

Wow, no need to get all snarky about it.

Actually, I do pump my own gas, because we have multiple homes in different states, so I am very familiar with both ways of doing things. I very much prefer the convenience of full service.

To be honest, you seem a little OCD about the gas dripping thing, but hey, you do you.

I can only tell you that if you do it right, you don't drip gas on the car. You just don't. 

And if you're really so concerned about your car, I guess you never park in a public parking lot, because there's a whole lot more possibilities of your car being damaged in a parking lot than by a gas station attendant.

Seriously, you need to chill about this. You don't know what you don't know.

[Catwoman]

3 minutes ago, KSera said:

It’s been much longer than several years since the nozzle stopped fitting. And the attendant run pumps are exactly like the gas stations in every other state, they just have someone who pumps (like the full serve line in other states). They didn’t have to suddenly replace pumps in Oregon with special new self serve ones, they just let people do it themselves now. In any case, I think I missed the whole middle part of this thread to understand why there would be any contention about any of this either way 😂. (And I don’t drive a gas powered car, so I have the best of all worlds and don’t ever visit the gas station anymore anyway!)

Wouldn’t people notice their paint was all damaged around the gas tank if this was an issue? 

I agree! I read the whole thread and I still don't understand the contention! 😂

Honestly, I don't know why she's being so aggressive about this. Like you, I have never seen a car with paint damage around the gas tank, so I have no idea why she's so worried about it. And really, it's not hard to prevent drips!

Also, she seems to be assuming that the gas pumps are somehow different in places that have self-service, but as you said, they are the same pumps. If anything, a gas station attendant would be far less likely than a car owner to make an error and fill a tank with the wrong fuel (even if the nozzle fit,) but I seriously doubt it's a common problem. 

But hey, as long as she doesn't move to New Jersey, it's all good, right? 😉 

[itsheresomewhere]

5 hours ago, Catwoman said:

Well, we (and most of the people we know) drive luxury cars and are very careful with them, and nobody thinks twice about "strangers" touching their cars at gas stations. 

The attendants don't spill gas on the cars! 

I'm not sure you have a realistic picture in your mind of how this works, probably because you're not used to it.

We also regularly use valet parking and don't worry about that, either. It's just normal.

There are quite a good amount of us in NJ who don’t like having our gas pumped as not all who do it pay attention.  Attendants do spill and I have complained about it.  But I rarely use valet as I don’t like others driving my car or changing the settings. 
 

The diesel in the gas tank has happened to one person I know and we also caught an attendant starting to put a gas nozzle in our diesel.  But these have been old stations who somehow have gotten around upgrading.  

[Catwoman]

1 hour ago, wintermom said:

The incident I referred to with the error of gas in a diesel car did happen several years ago. I'm curious about how people who don't fill up their own vehicles know about te differences in nozzles between gas and diesel, though. How would you know this when you never pump your own gas?  You would know at a self-serve station, but why assume that an attendant run pump is exactly the same? 

An attendant run pump is exactly the same.

I fill up my tank in multiple states.

They are the same. And the diesel nozzle is in a different place and is an entirely different color. It's a very obvious and intentional difference. 

[Terabith]

I don't think there are even any full service gas stations around here.  Most gas stations have a sign about pushing a buzzer if you are disabled and need assistance, but even then, only if more than one person is there, which it hardly ever is.  I think it would be seriously inconvenient to be a disabled driver (or non driver) around here.  So yes, everyone in our house can pump gas.  

[Catwoman]

1 minute ago, itsheresomewhere said:

There are quite a good amount of us in NJ who don’t like having our gas pumped as not all who do it pay attention.  Attendants do spill and I have complained about it.  But I rarely use valet as I don’t like others driving my car or changing the settings. 
 

The diesel in the gas tank has happened to one person I know and we also caught an attendant starting to put a gas nozzle in our diesel.  But these have been old stations who somehow have gotten around upgrading.  

I guess it depends on where you buy your gas?

We travel all around the state and have never had any issues. I also don't know anyone from NJ who doesn't complain about having to pump their own gas in other states. I guess we're just a lazy bunch! 😉 

I have always used valet parking, so I guess I don't notice any inconveniences. I just press the memory button when I get back in the car and all of the settings revert back to my own, so it's no big deal to me. 

[Catwoman]

1 minute ago, Terabith said:

I don't think there are even any full service gas stations around here.  Most gas stations have a sign about pushing a buzzer if you are disabled and need assistance, but even then, only if more than one person is there, which it hardly ever is.  I think it would be seriously inconvenient to be a disabled driver (or non driver) around here.  So yes, everyone in our house can pump gas.  

I have often thought about that when I am at our house in the midwest. When my dh was waiting to have spinal surgery, I always made sure that I was the one who filled up the gas tank, because self-service is a real nuisance for anyone who is in pain or is disabled, and finding an employee to help isn't always easy. Costco seemed to be about the best for having attendants around to help when needed, but at most other stations, that wasn't the case at all. 

[itsheresomewhere]

7 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

I guess it depends on where you buy your gas?

We travel all around the state and have never had any issues. I also don't know anyone from NJ who doesn't complain about having to pump their own gas in other states. I guess we're just a lazy bunch! 😉 

I have always used valet parking, so I guess I don't notice any inconveniences. I just press the memory button when I get back in the car and all of the settings revert back to my own, so it's no big deal to me. 

Which is funny as most I know all want us to have the option to pump our own. We do a lot of traveling around NJ and this issue does exist.  

[KSera]

12 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said:

The diesel in the gas tank has happened to one person I know and we also caught an attendant starting to put a gas nozzle in our diesel.  But these have been old stations who somehow have gotten around upgrading.  

It’s not the station that makes it fit or not fit, it’s the car. The diesel nozzle is always bigger than the gasoline nozzle. Any car made in the last 25 years has a plate that makes the fuel opening too small for the diesel nozzle to fit in it. 

[itsheresomewhere]

4 minutes ago, KSera said:

It’s not the station that makes it fit or not fit, it’s the car. The diesel nozzle is always bigger than the gasoline nozzle. Any car made in the last 25 years has a plate that makes the fuel opening too small for the diesel nozzle to fit in it. 

What they do is use hoses not made for diesel. So the hoses are all the same color meant for gas.  The owners are cheap or they don’t care to use the correct nozzle. As a diesels owner, it one thing you have to look out for with some of these gas stations.  

Edited August 12, 2023 by itsheresomewhere

[SKL]

I am sure my car has had gasoline dripped on it, but I have never seen any damage from it.

Then again, I am not fussy about such things.  I don't believe in valuing tangible items so highly that a potential slight defacement would upset me.

As for valet parking ... I used to think this was for fancy people, but one day I realized that the cost is about the same as parking it yourself (at least where I am).  So, whether I valet or not depends on the convenience factor.  If I'm going someplace where there isn't enough nearby parking, or it's not safe to park and walk, or the weather is horrible, or various other reasons, I am happy to valet.

I share cars with 4 other people on the regular, so apparently I'm not fussy about that either.  😛

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

As if no one in my state (where until this week we couldn’t pump gas) owns a nice car. 😂

I have had zero issues with gas drops on my paint. Pardon the bird splatter on my windshield (I went to the touchless car wash after I got gas) but here’s a photo of me getting gas at Costco. I am queued up in the attendant line, and my total wait time was under 2 min in queue. All of the stations were full.
 

This attendant doesn’t have gloves on, but most of the time the attendants at this station wear chemical rated gloves when handling gasoline.

How does payment work?  Do they run your cc in a hand held device or do they take your cc over to the pump?

Do you tip?

[Catwoman]

42 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

How does payment work?  Do they run your cc in a hand held device or do they take your cc over to the pump?

Do you tip?

They take your cc to the pump. You can see them the whole time. Then they give you a receipt after they put the gas cap back on.

No tipping. 🙂 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Catwoman
Forgot to answer the tipping question

[prairiewindmomma]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

How does payment work?  Do they run your cc in a hand held device or do they take your cc over to the pump?

Do you tip?

I pull up, shut off my vehicle. They approach and say some version of, “What can I do for you?” I say, “regular fill, please.” They say, “Do you want a receipt?” I say, “Yes, please” or “No, thank you”.  They take my card and swipe it, then hand it back to me (you can watch the whole time). At the end of the fill they hand me the the receipt and I say. “Thanks! Have a good day!” (or some other polite phrase).

No tipping. If you want to get out of your car to wash your windshield or dump trash you can. I also see some people swipe their own credit cards occasionally. I once saw someone add their own oil. 90% of people never leave their vehicles.

 At Costco, the car in front or behind me (depending on my position in the bays) has been timed so that we leave at roughly the same time, and the next two cars pull into the slots behind us if there is a line. 
 

 

 

[itsheresomewhere]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

How does payment work?  Do they run your cc in a hand held device or do they take your cc over to the pump?

Do you tip?

They take it to the machine.  While tipping is not expected, I have noticed a trend in my area with some of the gas station attendants asking for a tip or having a tips appreciated sign. But I live in an area where a lot of places are now asking if I want to tip on things I wouldn’t tip and most wouldn’t.  Not allowed at Costco or Sams. 
 

[Laura Corin]

On 8/10/2023 at 5:35 PM, mommyoffive said:

I keep my gas tank totally full.  It stresses me out way to much to not have a totally full tank.  So yes when life is busy with kid stuff I am filling it everyday, but I like it like that.  And yes I live somewhere that has bad weather for half the year. 

I had a colleague who only ever filled up his car half full of petrol. Otherwise,  he said, you are using petrol to carry petrol around. 

I can see the argument but I'm not organised enough to do that - I  fill the tank and refill at 50 miles left, unless travelling. 

Eta - an attendant taking your card to the pump would only sometimes work here. All cards are chip and pin, and you need to enter your pin after a certain number of tap transactions - frequency  known only to the card company. 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Laura Corin

[Carrie12345]

On 8/10/2023 at 10:13 AM, kokotg said:

I'm surprised no one's mentioned (unless I missed it, which is entirely possible) the biggest introvert reason for not liking full serve: I don't want to talk to a stranger to get my gas. My marriage nearly ended almost as soon as it began when we visited in my in-laws who had just moved to New Jersey and I realized my husband thought, "fill it up with the cheap stuff!" was the appropriate way to talk to the attendant. So much cringe! 

😮🤣

It’s NJ. Chattiness is not expected, lol.

”Hi. Fill it with regular please, thanks.” :::roll widow::: :::play with phone:::

Unless you’re a cute teenager and it’s a cute attendant. 😉 

[Carrie12345]

11 hours ago, Catwoman said:

I have often thought about that when I am at our house in the midwest. When my dh was waiting to have spinal surgery, I always made sure that I was the one who filled up the gas tank, because self-service is a real nuisance for anyone who is in pain or is disabled, and finding an employee to help isn't always easy. Costco seemed to be about the best for having attendants around to help when needed, but at most other stations, that wasn't the case at all. 

I’ve noticed that, in my area at least, the buttons to request full service are absolutely not fully accessible. That’s really upsetting, even just as a person who knows she’s going to get old(er).

[Katy]

My grandmother taught me how when I was 11 or 12. She even taught me how to top it off after the auto shut off. Though I never do that anymore because I find I almost never spill or get gas on me if I don’t. 

DH usually takes one of the kids to fill my gas tank for me in winter so I rarely have to stand in the cold.

DH is very particular about the kind of fuel we use though. He wants top-tier with a detergent added, which basically means BP, Costco, or some P66 stations, and maybe a local place or two. I didn’t even know that was a thing before I met him. He likes to keep vehicles forever and I’m ready to sell if they need a tow. 

[Pawz4me]

47 minutes ago, Katy said:

She even taught me how to top it off after the auto shut off. Though I never do that anymore because I find I almost never spill or get gas on me if I don’t. 

 

Just posting this as an FYI to those who may be new to pumping gas -- It's bad to top off a tank after the auto shutoff. Bad for the environment and bad for your vehicle. Topping off can damage a valve that's part of your emissions system, and it's a fairly expensive fix. I believe it's called the onboard refueling vapor recovery system or something similar.

[Wheres Toto]

14 hours ago, wintermom said:

The incident I referred to with the error of gas in a diesel car did happen several years ago. I'm curious about how people who don't fill up their own vehicles know about te differences in nozzles between gas and diesel, though. How would you know this when you never pump your own gas?  You would know at a self-serve station, but why assume that an attendant run pump is exactly the same? 

I rarely pump my own gas but I know to look and see where the diesel pumps are and don't go to them.   All stations I've ever been to have it as a completely separate pump in a different color very clearly marked.    In my suburban area, there is usually only one diesel pump.   I think in some of the newer rest stops on the parkway/turnpike, they are a completely separate area since there are more large trucks.

 

14 hours ago, wintermom said:

I'm not sure you do either, especially if you don't pump your own gas. Spillage is really easy to do, even when one isn't trying to. I will wash the area with the squeegie if I do spill. Once the nozzle is removed from the gas tank, there can be small amounts of liquid that drips. When attendants are filling 2 or more vehicles at a time, what makes you assume that they are perfect and never make common errors? I think it's more wishful thinking, but go about your day and pretend that all is good. 

I've never had spillage when I go to the gas station.  The attendants are pretty efficient and since they are doing it all day long, they have the moves down pretty well.  Usually it's at least a minute or two before they remove the pump after it stops (they generally stop automatically and the attendant is assisting others before coming back) so maybe that takes care of any drips?  Since they aren't pulling it out the second it stops or even before it stops, which I've definitely seen people do at self serve?

11 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

How does payment work?  Do they run your cc in a hand held device or do they take your cc over to the pump?

Do you tip?

As others have said, hand them the credit card, ask for what you want, they insert/tap it, sometimes ask for zip code, hand you the card back right away or at the end along with a receipt.  No tipping.  

This did remind me of one advantage to full serve - with attendants constantly on duty and very familiar with their pumps you are less likely to have those readers stuck on the machines that are cloning your card information to steal your card number.   

[shawthorne44]

Yes I know how.   I can't imagine people flipping out about that (although I believe you).    

It drove me batty when I had to work in Oregon.   I'd have a rental car that needed to be filled up before it was returned and because of the law of needing an attendant, there wasn't a 24/7 station at least near the airport.  So, I couldn't do what I did everywhere else and just fill it up on the way to the airport.   Fortunately my employer didn't fuss about the excessive price for gas by Hertz. 

I asked about that and was told that it was because it isn't safe to pump gas.   I said, "So then you have someone do it all day?"   

 

 

 

[Catwoman]

3 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

😮🤣

It’s NJ. Chattiness is not expected, lol.

”Hi. Fill it with regular please, thanks.” :::roll widow::: :::play with phone:::

Unless you’re a cute teenager and it’s a cute attendant. 😉 

That's so true! Chattiness isn't really a thing at the gas station. 😁

Now that we have all been talking about this, I am finding it hard to imagine how @wintermom's MIL had her tank "accidentally" filled with diesel at a NJ gas station unless she specifically pulled up to a pump marked "diesel only," which would make the situation her fault, not the attendant's. (I guess it could happen to anyone who was distracted and unfamiliar, but it's still our own responsibility to make sure we order the right type and grade of fuel.)

I can't picture how it could have happened otherwise, because as in your example of how to order gas in NJ, we don't say much to the attendants, but we absolutely do need to tell them which grade of gas we want them to put in our car. Diesel is an entirely separate designation. The attendant can't fill up our car without us specifying what grade of gas we want because the pump won't start filling the car until a selection is made.

The more I think about this and read other posts by NJ drivers, the more I think wintermom's MIL made a stupid mistake (which could certainly happen to any of us if we were in a new place and not paying attention,) and when she told the story, she was trying to cover up her embarrassment by blaming the attendant. 

[Catwoman]

2 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

I asked about that and was told that it was because it isn't safe to pump gas.   I said, "So then you have someone do it all day?"   

I always wondered the same thing. If it's unsafe for us to pump our own gas for a couple of minutes a week, I guess we just need to sacrifice poor Bill and Anthony over at Sunoco, because those poor guys are pumping gas 8 hours a day, 5 days a week!  🧐

I still really hope NJ never goes to self-serve gas, though. 🙂 

 

[maize]

I've never seen a full service station--not even one with a full service lane--in my current state. 

I loved the service stations in Japan with all the attendants cheerfully calling out "irashai!" I didn't have a car myself so I only experienced them when riding with someone else.

Edited August 13, 2023 by maize

[Carrie12345]

26 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

Yes I know how.   I can't imagine people flipping out about that (although I believe you).    

It drove me batty when I had to work in Oregon.   I'd have a rental car that needed to be filled up before it was returned and because of the law of needing an attendant, there wasn't a 24/7 station at least near the airport.  So, I couldn't do what I did everywhere else and just fill it up on the way to the airport.   Fortunately my employer didn't fuss about the excessive price for gas by Hertz. 

I asked about that and was told that it was because it isn't safe to pump gas.   I said, "So then you have someone do it all day?"   

Even with self serve in my area of PA, few gas stations are open 24 hours. Someone has to be on the premises, whether or not they’re pumping gas for people.

[kokotg]

4 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

😮🤣

It’s NJ. Chattiness is not expected, lol.

”Hi. Fill it with regular please, thanks.” :::roll widow::: :::play with phone:::

Unless you’re a cute teenager and it’s a cute attendant. 😉 

That's more chatting than I'm up for a lot of days 😂 Like, seriously--I can talk to strangers, I sometimes even enjoy talking to strangers, but in a situation like that where I can do something perfectly well all by myself, I'd much rather just do it and save my human interaction energy for something else.