Hi Speed Gas Station

I have to say I am sad to see Gas Station week come to an end. I think Gas Stations are a very visible indicator of the loss of Customer Service in the US over the last 40 years. Here is hoping that one day it makes a comeback.

Remember, tomorrow is Mystery Person contest. I detected a little disappointment that last week's contest was too easy. I have some ideas for a really good one for tomorrow. 

Gas Station Body Work

Today's picture is from the 1920's and shows the garage attached to a gas station. You can see the station offered not only gasoline, but body work and auto painting as well. I can remember Mr. Gay's filling station, which we frequented in the 1960's offered body work, and auto painting. He did each job with great pride. 

I enjoyed all the lively discussion on yesterday's picture. Apparently a lot of you remember the Jimmy Carter gas lines. I got a nasty comment from what appeared to be a Jimmy Carter fan. I deleted it. I don't mind snide comments from long time visitors/contributors, but don't like drive by shooters. If you are going to leave snide comments, you need to first become part of the community here. Just the way we are going to do things here.

Gas Lines

No look at gas stations would be complete without briefly considering that National Disaster known as the Jimmy Carter administration. I realize I might offend some visitors with that statement, as perhaps there might be 2 or 3 people in the world who look back fondly on the Carter years in Washington. The main thing I remember was the lines at the gas stations. During the Carter years, issues arose with both the Availability and Affordability of gasoline. In some cases you could not afford to drive because of high gas prices, and then sometimes gas was not available at any price. I can remember people would wait in long lines for gas, only to find the station ran out of gas as they got to the pump.

I can remember that the gas pumps had only two digits for price per gallon, $.XX per gallon. In designing the gas pumps, they had never dreamed that gas could actually reach $1 per gallon. When the prices shot up, gas stations scrambled to try and figure out how to deal with the fact that the pumps could not properly price the gasoline.

Minute Service Station

Today's picture is of the Minute Service Station, and it was taken in 1925. In earlier posts this week, and in your comments, we lamented about the "sameness" of everything today. There is little local flavor or unique experience possible in the retail sector any more. In addition, customer service is a thing of the past. Employees in retail outlets often show utter contempt for customers (try asking a Home Depot 'associate' where the duct tape is). In cases where companies are trying to have customer service, the employees appear to be plastic robots reading off a script (would you like fries with that?).

Growing up, I can remember we always got our Gasoline from a gas station with an independent proprietor. The man's name was Mr. Gay. When you pulled in, he came out, filled you up, cleaned the windshield, checked the oil, and checked the tire pressure. All the while, he would engage you in interesting small talk and conversation. He always had complimentary bubble gum for the kids. He would let you know if your fan belts or hoses were looking worn, and he did oil changes and engine repair in his shop. If you broke down, he had a tow truck and would come and get you. He took pride in the way he took care of his customers, and stopping in for gas always was a pleasant experience that brightened the day a little. So sad that this type of service is all but lost now days.

Service Station

Today's picture is from 1925, and shows an old Texaco service station. If you click on the photograph, you can see an enlarged version, where you can see lots of detail. I like how the owner of the station has his name on the sign above the building. The pumps are the old type which had large glass jars on top. The attendant had a hand pump which he would use to pump gas up into the glass jar, to the desired amount. Then the gas would gravity flow into the car's gas tank. This was a pretty ingenious system, and it let the customer actually see the quantity and quality of gasoline he was purchasing. These types of pumps were pretty much gone by the time I came along.

Old Gas Station

Good Sunday Morning to you all, and Welcome to Old Gas Station Week here at OPOD. As you might guess, I like the gas stations of bygone days better than what we have today. I hope you will click on the picture above for a closer look. What I like, is that in the old days, everything was unique . . . each gas station reflected the unique personality of the owner, the employees, and the customers. Each one was different, and each one was interesting. Today, everything is the same. In my former jobs I had to travel a lot, and what I noticed is that everything is pretty much the same everywhere now. There is less and less local flavor in communities, and we have become a nation of big box stores, fast food chains, and convenience stores with gas pumps. I miss the days reflected in this picture.