So since moving to Massachusetts I have been irked and put out every time I went to get gas. If it wasn’t one thing it was another; maybe that’s the real reason why i bought a hybrid, to lessen the number of times I have to be displeased with the state of gas stations in the commonwealth, but probably not. The problems:
- Full service. I am perfectly capable of pumping my own gas thank you very much! I am also perfectly capable of putting my credit card in the little reader and pulling out swiftly. I don’t need an attendant to do these things for me and do them slowly. Unfortunately if you just pull up to a random gas station theres a 50/50 shot it will be full service only :-(. Oh no, it will not be prominently indicated as such on the sign. Some cities even have New Jersey & Oregon like bans on self service.
- Ok, so you pulled up to a gas station, and its self service. You start pumping gas, and you flip down that little lever that will hold up the handle while you proceed to not stand there holding it like a jackass. Oops the lever is there, but those little ridges that allow you to set your desired level of handle holding up, oh no those aren’t there. Sometimes the little lever isn’t there either, so you’re standing out in the cold doing the job of a few small pieces of aluminum. Oh sure, full service stations have the little levers so the attendants don’t have to just stand there, but self service, no way, if they had that there’d be no reason to goto a full service station. Until yesterday I literally thought there must be a state law against these things.
So yesterday I went to a new gas station because I was running on the 2 gallons of gas my car has when the gauge says empty, but I ran into a traffic jam and had to divert from my usual route. It was self service complete with working lever and ridges! I’m saved, these people have my business for as long as I live here, regardless of price. It is The best gas station in all of Massachusetts!