Whatever Happened to Full Service ?

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icture this: you drive your car into a local gas station and four or more smiling service attendants, bedecked in white descend on your car without missing a beat, like angels detached from automotive heaven—one to pump the gas, two to wash the front, rear, and side windows, while the others check your oil and tires.

State laws in New Jersey and Oregon have made it mandatory that a gas station employee must fill your tank.

This may sound like the introduction to a Twilight Zone episode or the punchline to one of those “how many ________s does it take to change a light bulb” jokes. But, believe it or not, this was a familiar sight at service stations nationwide, and if you don't believe it there are plenty of old TV commercials somewhere on the internet that speak to that bygone era where people could expect to get more for what they paid for.

For example, one commercial from the Esson Company (the early name for ExxonMobile) was known for its memorable tag line, "Everyone likes that little something extra.”  

And yet while customer service remains the benchmark of any successful enterprise, there was something special about extending the courtesy of full-service (at no expense) to average citizens merely looking to fill up their cars with gasoline.

Sure, there still exists the “full-serve” option at many gas stations where attendants still fill up your tank for a few extra dimes, but with gas prices rivaling the Gross National Product of a small country who wants to pay more for gas these days?

Interestingly enough, since the late 50s state laws in New Jersey and Oregon have made it mandatory that a gas station employee must fill your tank, because of fire hazards associated with dispensing fuel.  

These days the notion of courtesy is just a notion, and you get just what you pay for when you roll into a Mobile, BP, Shell, or 76 station. Gas.