Throwback old fashioned Service stations in Oregon? (Bend, Prairie City: home, landscaping)

[citizensadvocate]

Oregon and New Jersey are well known for being the last two holdout states to require full service gas stations. Though while attendants are required to pump gas for customers, not all stations are created equal, though this is no different from other service industries where some shops are willing to go the extra step to serve customers while others not so much.

I read that Bend Oregon, home to Stop and Go Shell Station, which since 1997 was famous for being bought by an entrepenuar who made a point to have the gas station mimic the style of old fashioned service stations of the 1930s to the early 1960s where attendants wore white uniforms with folded hats, and greets cars as they pulled in for fuel, with one pumping gas while others washed the windshield, rear window and side windows, and check the tire pressure and oil. Kind of like how Johnny Rockets which opened in 1986 tries to mimic the burger joints of the 1950s.

I read the article on
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/...-station.html?

For those living in Bend Oregon have you been to this particular station, if so what do you think of it? Is it still this way as of today? Are there other stations in the area or elsewhere in Oregon that still offer a throwback experience of old fashioned uniformed "service" these days?

[Coniferian]

Bend locals can give an update, but Google Street View shows a Shell station there as of June 2012, and you can see someone in white shirt and pants.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by citizensadvocate

Oregon and New Jersey are well known for being the last two holdout states to require full service gas stations. Though while attendants are required to pump gas for customers, not all stations are created equal, though this is no different from other service industries where some shops are willing to go the extra step to serve customers while others not so much.

I read that Bend Oregon, home to Stop and Go Shell Station, which since 1997 was famous for being bought by an entrepenuar who made a point to have the gas station mimic the style of old fashioned service stations of the 1930s to the early 1960s where attendants wore white uniforms with folded hats, and greets cars as they pulled in for fuel, with one pumping gas while others washed the windshield, rear window and side windows, and check the tire pressure and oil. Kind of like how Johnny Rockets which opened in 1986 tries to mimic the burger joints of the 1950s.

I read the article on
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/...-station.html?

For those living in Bend Oregon have you been to this particular station, if so what do you think of it? Is it still this way as of today? Are there other stations in the area or elsewhere in Oregon that still offer a throwback experience of old fashioned uniformed "service" these days?

Personally all I care about is that the attendant, gets my gas pumped as fast as possible.

Looking at the picture though, I do wish if people are going to do retro things, they would do more research and try to be more authentic. To the best of my knowledge very few gas station attendants ever dressed like the guy in that picture. Neckties would have been a terrible choice of clothing for a gas station attendants, who were generally required to check a lot of things under the hood of customers cars. Until the early 1950s most gas station attendants would have worn a dress shirt (not necessarily white) a jacket, a peaked cap and maybe a bowtie. After the 1950s when causal clothing was becoming common, they would have likely just worn coveralls and a company logo baseball cap.

Customer service is about service, not about how the employees dress, and that is what the management should be focused on. I'm not going to choose a gas station because the attendants are dressed in white shirts. I'm going to go to a station that gets me in and out the fastest.

[citizensadvocate]

Right on,
Have you by chance visited this gas station in Bend Oregon?
Good service does not always correspond to how they dress. Though most importantly the station needs to be adaquently staffed to meet the demand. This is same as with many other service industries. These days due to a combination greed and a number of logistical reasons many industries cut their staffing to the bare minimum which means they will be overwhelmed when customer flow is high. In case of all full service gas stations it means many people will be waiting long for an attendant to come help them and they will often not get the chance to go the extra mile for them as they are overwhelmed and short handed to handle even the most basic tasks ie greeting customers taking payments pumping gas etc. According to this article apperantly they must be well staffed if they have a staff member for each task. Now it’s just for us to find out how accurate is the article.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I had to look it up on line to see what station it is. I drive by there all the time and never noticed that attendees wear uniforms or that the landscaping is clever.

The station is popular. The convenience store is super clean, there is a huge growler bar with a gigantic selection.

I've only bought gas there a couple of times and was oblivious to the extra service that I must have been offered. Several of the gas stations I use will wash windshield if they aren't super busy, so I guess that didn't stand out to me.

Gas is a couple of cents higher than elsewhere but not enough difference in price to be shocking.

[Metlakatla]

There's a mom-and-pop station in Prairie City. They don't dress in sailor suits or wtf ever -- just an older couple with a business who know a little something about customer service.