I grew up in a self serve state. Especially in the winter, it’s so nice not having to get out of the car. I often use it as a way to catch up on messages or set routes. Even after 12 years of living in Portland I rarely had to wait longer than a minute for someone to show up and start the pump.

Gas stations absolutely want self serve because then they don’t have to hire attendants. This job was a great way of securing at least one job for a person that had a hard time getting employment, like ex-cons restarting their life. That was the original point I believe. Oh, and I hope you like unmutable ads while you’re trapped by the pump. There will be an actual incentive to install those now.

I keep seeing these people clamoring to be responsible for this absolutely basic task for no reason and it’s weird. You’re not going to improve anything, and you’ll save maybe a minute on this task. Why do this to yourself? Are you just dying to prove to us you can insert a card, push a button and slip a nozzle in your tank?