Anecdote
So today after work, I pulled into the nearby Kwik Fill that I have been going to all summer basically, and pulled up to the pump.
Just then, a man approaches my car. He shouts something at me and I feel myself begin to panic.
"There must be some kind of misunderstanding here", I think to myself. He looks in and my hand searches in vain for the window control button but finds the power mirror adjustment instead. I flash my eyes down quickly to locate the button for the window.
As my skin begins to crawl even more, the window comes down slowly as we stare each other down. I am prepared for anything...
"What can I do for ya? Fill 'er up?" He said, very unaggressively.
"Uhhhh yeah-" I said as I had a personal epiphany. "Has this always been full service?"
"Well this side is. That side over there is self serve. Same price" he said as he gestured to the other row of pumps I have never used. He went on to clarify:
"We do full service every day from 6am till 7pm."
At about $30 into it, I realized that I had neglected to turn my engine off so I did. Then, as the situation called for, there was about 2.48 minutes of awkward silence. After a while, he finished pumping my gas and gave me the receipt. I thanked him and continued on my way. As I drove off into the day, I wondered why people choose to have someone else pump their gas. Maybe it is the feeling of having someone refuel you (i.e. the NASCAR craze... o_O). And why does it make sense for the gas station to hire a guy to stand out there and do this for hours? And what do most people do while he is pumping their gas? Become enveloped in the awkward silence? Balance the check book (what people used back in the day before debit/credit cards in place of "real" money)? There really wasn't enough time to do anything productive. I'd rather get the practice of filling up my own gas. Plus then I wouldn't still be wondering if I was supposed to give him a tip...
Just then, a man approaches my car. He shouts something at me and I feel myself begin to panic.
"There must be some kind of misunderstanding here", I think to myself. He looks in and my hand searches in vain for the window control button but finds the power mirror adjustment instead. I flash my eyes down quickly to locate the button for the window.
As my skin begins to crawl even more, the window comes down slowly as we stare each other down. I am prepared for anything...
"What can I do for ya? Fill 'er up?" He said, very unaggressively.
"Uhhhh yeah-" I said as I had a personal epiphany. "Has this always been full service?"
"Well this side is. That side over there is self serve. Same price" he said as he gestured to the other row of pumps I have never used. He went on to clarify:
"We do full service every day from 6am till 7pm."
At about $30 into it, I realized that I had neglected to turn my engine off so I did. Then, as the situation called for, there was about 2.48 minutes of awkward silence. After a while, he finished pumping my gas and gave me the receipt. I thanked him and continued on my way. As I drove off into the day, I wondered why people choose to have someone else pump their gas. Maybe it is the feeling of having someone refuel you (i.e. the NASCAR craze... o_O). And why does it make sense for the gas station to hire a guy to stand out there and do this for hours? And what do most people do while he is pumping their gas? Become enveloped in the awkward silence? Balance the check book (what people used back in the day before debit/credit cards in place of "real" money)? There really wasn't enough time to do anything productive. I'd rather get the practice of filling up my own gas. Plus then I wouldn't still be wondering if I was supposed to give him a tip...