[wkdneidbwf]

oregonian here.

full service in this context just means some gruff gentleman pumps your gas. getting your windows washed or oil checked is all but non-existent. so no, i don’t think there is any appeal for tourists. it’s an inferior experience.

gas stations are extremely understaffed these days, to the point where it’s rare at some stations for all the pumps to even be open. cars queue at popular stations while two employees man a dozen pumps. it can be agonizingly slow and frustrating.

i’ve read and heard a lot of pushback on self serve and i don’t get it. iirc stations are still required to offer full service on a portion of the pumps, so folks who don’t want to pump still won’t have to.

edit: all of this is of course my anecdotal experience from the willamette valley area.

[NobodyNada]

This is exactly my experience too. My usual gas station experience involves waiting in a long line (they’ve only got one guy working the pumps, so only 2 or 3 pumps are open); pulling up to a pump; waiting a while for the attendant to get to me; handing him my credit card and yelling my rewards phone number at him (my gas tank is on the passenger side, making this annoying and error-prone); waiting briefly for the actual pumping; and then waiting for the guy to come back around to disconnect the hose.

It’s 5-10 minutes of waiting on a good day, or upwards of 20 minutes on a bad day, for 60 seconds of pumping gas. All the while most of the pumps are sitting there unused.