[sdiy] Death of DIY?

[Christopher Randall]

On Jul 16, 2005, at 8:44 PM, Jay wrote:

> on 7/16/05 11:37 PM, James Patchell at patchell at cox.net wrote:
>
>> Well, heck...here in the states (US)...it is against the law in 
>> Oregon to
>> pump your own gasoline at a service station
>
> Are you supposed to tip the attendants? It always feels awkward 
> getting gas
> in that state.

It's funny you bring that up. I was raised in Oregon, but left in '86. 
I just moved back two months ago, and that is one of the things that 
takes some getting used to. (It wasn't a law when I was a kid.)

In general, there seems to be two kinds of gas stations in this state. 
There's the big 24-pump MegaGas with attached MegaMart, then there's 
the little service stations. At the former, you have to wait longer for 
the pumper dude to come over and get the ball rolling, because there's 
generally only one guy for every 12 pumps or so. Then you have to wait 
again for him to notice that your tank is full. Plus he's so busy 
running around doing the pumping thing that he doesn't have time to 
wash your windshield or anything like that.

The smaller 2 to 4 pump stations have one guy, and he generally washes 
your windshield without even asking, and offers to check the oil or 
whatever. He's right there when you pull up, and stands there until 
you're done. These stations usually cost a bit more per gallon, but 
quite frankly, I think it's worth it. If I'm forced to get full service 
either way, well, I might as well get full service, right?

Anywho, my rule of thumb is to generally tip the pumper guys at the 
second sort of station a buck or two. The drag-ass baggy-pants pierced 
forehead Real-World rejects at the former type haven't yet gotten a tip 
from me, and I can't see that changing any time soon.

Chris Randall
Audio Damage, Inc.
http://www.audiodamage.com

On Jul 16, 2005, at 8:44 PM, Jay wrote:

> on 7/16/05 11:37 PM, James Patchell at patchell at cox.net wrote:
>
>> Well, heck...here in the states (US)...it is against the law in 
>> Oregon to
>> pump your own gasoline at a service station
>
> Are you supposed to tip the attendants? It always feels awkward 
> getting gas
> in that state.