Self Serve Gas at issue again!

[Rumann Koch]

Originally Posted by McFrostyJ

I was just in South Florida a couple months ago and sure wish you guys could do something about all those stupid toll roads.

I hear you brother.

[Rumann Koch]

Originally Posted by McFrostyJ

As far as gas station attendants go, IF we got rid of them the price might dip for awhile but then it will inch right back up and about 10,000 people will be out of work. Where will those 10,000 low skilled people find jobs? With automation taking over more and more each day, those low skilled jobs will be harder and harder to find.

You think we have a homeless problem now? Just wait. It will get worse and cutting more jobs will not help the situation.

Thank you - this is exactly what I've been arguing the real reason for attendants at Oregon's gas stations is.

I'm no fool to believe that it is for safety reasons as there are many safety features at modern self-serve stations. I don't appreciate a government's feigned concern for public safety that is actually a ruse to increase consumer costs to pay for a social benefit - to employ the otherwise unemployable. And we consumers, who pay this additional 'social benefit tax', get no added service and are actually inconvenienced!

I saw a lot of huge piles of deadfall in the forests of Oregon, a very significant fire hazard. IMO - better to get the low-skilled attendants to help clear/dispose of this large, important hazard to public safety than to prevent me from pumping my own gas.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Rumann Koch

Thank you - this is exactly what I've been arguing the real reason for attendants at Oregon's gas stations is.

I'm no fool to believe that it is for safety reasons as there are many safety features at modern self-serve stations. I don't appreciate a government's feigned concern for public safety that is actually a ruse to increase consumer costs to pay for a social benefit - to employ the otherwise unemployable. And we consumers, who pay this additional 'social benefit tax', get no added service and are actually inconvenienced!

I saw a lot of huge piles of deadfall in the forests of Oregon, a very significant fire hazard. IMO - better to get the low-skilled attendants to help clear/dispose of this large, important hazard to public safety than to prevent me from pumping my own gas.

Part of the reason for the bill in question being introduced is that gas station owners are having trouble staying fully staffed, so I'm not on board with "what about the jobs" thing. With the way the bill is written, not that many jobs would even be lost, and since there's a labor shortage, those who did lose jobs would quickly be absorbed back into the job market.

This bill would just give gas station owners the right to designate 1/4 of their pumps as self-serve.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by xz2y

Well, there's that aspect, for sure. But also, the issue of "topping off" to round up or whatever. I would be furious if guys pumping gas did this. If I'm there for a fill-up, and the sale is $10.37 and the pump stops automatically at that point, then that's the sale. Don't keep pumping until it hits $10.50 or whatever.

Topping off is a complete waste and bad for the car. On my car, the gas spills out of the tank and onto the ground, making a stinky mess. Been there, done that. I have a small car with a small tank and when the pump automatically stops, that needs to be the end of pumping. I think that the gas pump guys would want to "top off." I could be wrong, but I do remember this being an issue years ago when gas station attendants were common.

Out of curiosity, what is/was the rationale for having gas station employees pump gas and not self-serve pumps in Oregon? Seems like it would just raise the price of the gasoline.

There is a long history behind the issue. Back in the '60s, the big oil companies were squeezing out the mom and pop service stations and converting them to gas stations. During the Arab oil embargo in '73, they cut off gasoline deliveries to the independent stations to drive them out of business. Even before credit cards came in, many states bowed to big oil and made people pump their own. You paid a cashier in a kiosk or at a window. Typically it was a window in the side of the building. Convenience stores were not a thing yet. Requiring attendants to pump gas was a way that Oregon put a leash on big oil, so the slide toward self-service was blocked here.

Since that time, people have come to realize that if we go to self-service, we would pass a law that eliminates thousands of jobs overnight. So far, the voters have not been willing to do that. Since gas prices in neighboring states are higher, people don't feel like it's costing them anything.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by Rumann Koch

And even $1 less per gallon in Florida!

I paid $2.45/gal yesterday, and I didn't have to wait for a 'trained' attendant to eventually get around to do what I, as an adult consumer, could easily and quickly do for myself.

Gasoline prices have historically been lower near the oil fields and refineries, though demand has resulted in higher California prices. There are no oil fields in the PNW. The nearest oil well is on the Alaska North Slope, and that's a sour, high acid, high sulfur crude that has to be blended with other sources. Almost all PNW gasoline comes from the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes.

Florida has a much different supply chain. The refineries export excess diesel to Europe where cars run on the suff, and Europe exports gasoline to the US, where cars run on the stuff. It's a whole different business model.

[PNW-type-gal]

The topic is self-serve gas.