Pumping gas? (Portland, Corvallis, Beaver: transplants, houses, casinos)

[jm21]

Originally Posted by Imperial1904

I don't think that's it. Even in self pump states, I hated going in to pay all the time, but atleast it's alot faster than waiting. Even with someone pumping your gas, if you get more than $10, they'll usually go to other cars and then you have to wait for them to come back to pay. I estimated I usually wait twice as long vs. pumping gas myself, but that's me and I grew up in SoCal where the pace is alot faster than Oregon.

And I grew up in OR and lived in SoCal, and self-serve in SoCal seemed slower to me. And then there were the times when the pump wasn't turned on yet early in the morning, or wasn't working right but there was no attendant to tell you...not very often mind you, but it happened. Oh, and one time I was really tired after being up for 2 days straight (probably shouldn't have been driving) and I didn't notice I had left my wallet and gas cap on the trunk of my car until just after I had pulled out of the station.

I've only been to one station in OR in the last several years where I've had to walk inside to pay (in Albany, right before I-5). I never have problems getting timely service (and if I did, I'd get out of the car and yell at the jack asses), except on very busy days...but those huge lines at some stations in CA were crazy too! I'd go to the more expensive stations sometimes just because there was always a crowd around the cheap ones.

I guess here in OR, we think sometimes things that seem slower can often be faster...like if you just obeyed the traffic laws and merged on time instead of rushing up and trying to get a little ahead, the whole line of traffic would move much faster. All that jockeying for a slightly better spot that Californians do is a big cause of slow traffic imho, but if you ask them they'd call their style fast-paced and complain about the slow OR drivers. Sort of like how a nice, polite, orderly line is usually faster than a mad rush, aside from being safer and more pleasant.

[RockyMtnr]

Originally Posted by jm21

*partial quote*
I guess here in OR, we think sometimes things that seem slower can often be faster...like if you just obeyed the traffic laws and merged on time instead of rushing up and trying to get a little ahead, the whole line of traffic would move much faster. .

Thank You, Thank you, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!
Spread the word Brother! (or Sister). Testify!

Doggone right that sort of driving works in California - been there, done that - nothing smoother moving than a California rush-hour ... bumper-to-bumper at 85 mph or so where you put on a turn-signal and a hole magically appears right where you need it ... and if you delay a half-second it closes right back up and you're out to dry ....... but it doesn't work most other places. Oregonadians seem to take care of business just fine - at slightly over the speed limit. Those dang out-of-state drivers ... the only difference I see between California drivers and Washington drivers is, the Washington drivers are setting in the middle of the injury-accident that they created ... while the California drivers are loooong gone from the one they created!

[LADY_DI]

Originally Posted by RockyMtnr

Kind of hard to figure out where you're at, Lady Di - lazy and rude doesn't seem to apply to the Oregonians I've met ... except in a few cases.
At my gas stations, the clerks DO take the cash in and come back out with your receipt. However, it creates a bit more of a wait so, what I've started doing when I want to pay cash (and don't need a receipt) is to simply hand them a dollar amount and ask them to pump it.
It only takes a few times filling up to know how much it takes to fill your vehicle so, if your normal fill-up is ... say ... $27, simply hand the pumper a $25-dollar bill (okay, ya got me, a $20 and a $5) and ask for $25 bucks worth.
I actually had an attendant clean my windshields the last fill-up! Now, granted, the fellow was about my age and when I was a kid, there were always two or three people going over your car at ever fill-up and self-serve didn't exist ANYWHERE - but it's been a while since I've had someone do that.
It was a cash fill and I didn't have any other cash with me - or, I would have tipped him.
Nowhere have I had an attendant be rude. Now, the clerk inside the store is a different story - but I digress as it is not the subject here.
Lady Di, just a suggestion - especially since I am not acquainted with you - try a touch more patience and maybe a relaxed smile ... THEN, go to the gas station and put the attendant at ease. If that doesn't work after a couple of tries, it's time to find a new station.

all the gas places ive been to they give you a ticket and say go inside to pay and most dont speak english and yes i do too ive been to alot and they all do the same ticket and you go pay i live in salem where to you live

[RockyMtnr]

I am just over from you in Lincoln City. Fill up in or near Salem "occasionally". Moving to Silverton soon.
Apart from LC and Salem, I've filled up either in Portland or in Grants Pass - but using my card, I believe, most times ... and that is my usual method of payment. I do not know if I've ever paid cash in Salem. Heck, I'm still figuring out how to get through Salem - just found out that gold-guy ain't the angel Moroni on a Mormon Temple but is a pioneer on the capitol - so, take my word with a grain of salt (sea salt, please). p.s.(nice smile).

[LADY_DI]

Originally Posted by RockyMtnr

I am just over from you in Lincoln City. Fill up in or near Salem "occasionally". Moving to Silverton soon.
Apart from LC and Salem, I've filled up either in Portland or in Grants Pass - but using my card, I believe, most times ... and that is my usual method of payment. I do not know if I've ever paid cash in Salem. Heck, I'm still figuring out how to get through Salem - just found out that gold-guy ain't the angel Moroni on a Mormon Temple but is a pioneer on the capitol - so, take my word with a grain of salt (sea salt, please). p.s.(nice smile).

i will thank you have a great day stay warm lol

[gnab gib]

Originally Posted by mgforbes

Two key lobbies keep killing the 'pump your own gas' initiatives. The first is AAA, which sees it as an issue of convenience for motorists. The other is AARP, which represents all those poor benighted seniors who would freeze to death if they had to get out of their cars. Personally, I'd be satisfied if they just decriminalized it. I've had an assortment of 'weird' cars over the years that require odd gyrations to get fuel into them, and I'm just as happy to take care of it myself.

Some stations care, some don't. Late at night seems to work better, most places. The 'official' reason is fire safety; pump operators are allegedly trained to handle volatile fuels safely, and to be able to react properly if a fire breaks out while fueling. But it's really just an excuse, driven by the entrenched interests who like things Just As They Are, Thank You. MGF

LOL! Yes, that's all it is. People in 48 states can pump their own gas, yet you don't hear about an outbreak of fires at gas stations.

Geez, if we ever do move out to Portland, we're gonna have to go up to Washington for gas, so I can do it myself. $500 fines? That's insane. Just give people a choice -- it doesn't seem like too much to ask. One self-serve island, one full-serve island. Or, if you want your gas pumped, you honk your horn. Or something.

And just think ... if the state went completely self-serve, your gas prices would probably drop.

Wow, I never imagined my post would generate 5 pages of discussion. This is truly a hot topic.

[gnab gib]

Originally Posted by RockyMtnr

Kind of hard to figure out where you're at, Lady Di - lazy and rude doesn't seem to apply to the Oregonians I've met ... except in a few cases.
At my gas stations, the clerks DO take the cash in and come back out with your receipt. However, it creates a bit more of a wait so, what I've started doing when I want to pay cash (and don't need a receipt) is to simply hand them a dollar amount and ask them to pump it.
It only takes a few times filling up to know how much it takes to fill your vehicle so, if your normal fill-up is ... say ... $27, simply hand the pumper a $25-dollar bill (okay, ya got me, a $20 and a $5) and ask for $25 bucks worth.
I actually had an attendant clean my windshields the last fill-up! Now, granted, the fellow was about my age and when I was a kid, there were always two or three people going over your car at ever fill-up and self-serve didn't exist ANYWHERE - but it's been a while since I've had someone do that.
It was a cash fill and I didn't have any other cash with me - or, I would have tipped him.
Nowhere have I had an attendant be rude. Now, the clerk inside the store is a different story - but I digress as it is not the subject here.
Lady Di, just a suggestion - especially since I am not acquainted with you - try a touch more patience and maybe a relaxed smile ... THEN, go to the gas station and put the attendant at ease. If that doesn't work after a couple of tries, it's time to find a new station.

The more I read about this, the more incredulous I become! So even though you can't pump your own gas, some stations still make you go inside the station to pay? If I'm being forced to have someone else pump, you'd better believe that I'm also gonna expect them to also clean my windshields, check my oil (this is how full-serve worked in the old days -- not just pumping the gas), and either run my credit card or bring me change. That's the least they can do for making me sit and wait.

[RockyMtnr]

Yeah, Yo, haven't seen this yet. They always run my card at the pump.
No, Yo, it's not like the "old" days - glad somebody else out there remembers!
Only one person has ever done anything extra - and he didn't ask, he just did it - another one of "us".
So Yo, Yo; there is no choice that I know of so, like me, you're just gonna need to adjust ... and I must confess, that came a lot easier than I was expecting 'cause I'm usually a Bear whether I plan to be or not - and it only took a couple of fill-ups to adjust.
Best Wishes Adrian,
Rocky

[gnab gib]

Originally Posted by RockyMtnr

Yeah, Yo, haven't seen this yet. They always run my card at the pump.
No, Yo, it's not like the "old" days - glad somebody else out there remembers!
Only one person has ever done anything extra - and he didn't ask, he just did it - another one of "us".
So Yo, Yo; there is no choice that I know of so, like me, you're just gonna need to adjust ... and I must confess, that came a lot easier than I was expecting 'cause I'm usually a Bear whether I plan to be or not - and it only took a couple of fill-ups to adjust.
Best Wishes Adrian,
Rocky

Thanks for the wise words of warning. I used to swing by a full-serve station back when I was in college in Michigan, so it's not as if I'm dead-set against the idea. I just can't fathom not having the choice.

Either way, Portland is just across the river from Vancouver, so either way, I'll figure it out.

[ladysrodgers]

Originally Posted by YoAdrian

The more I read about this, the more incredulous I become! So even though you can't pump your own gas, some stations still make you go inside the station to pay? If I'm being forced to have someone else pump, you'd better believe that I'm also gonna expect them to also clean my windshields, check my oil (this is how full-serve worked in the old days -- not just pumping the gas), and either run my credit card or bring me change. That's the least they can do for making me sit and wait.

Welcome to Oregon! I used to buy gas at a station in Grants Pass where I had to wait forever for service and to beat it all, I had to go inside the store to use my card. They only accepted debits. Sheesh.....lol

At other stations in the same town, I still had to get out of my car - wait in a long line at the register until my car was filled, then pay.