Any petrol stations which still give any "service" at all?

breda said :

It would be an interesting experiment for a servo to offer assistance for a small surcharge (say $1 per customer). Assuming a normal volume of business, that would more than pay for wages.

Don’t think so mate. Servos make their money from having people sit behind a counter to process orders for fuel and merchandise in the shop. Look at the prices of the items in the shop – that’s where money is made. $1 for every customer would go nowhere near subsidising another staff member on $15-17 an hour (without employer-paid taxes and super contributions) across a 24 hour opening schedule to walk around offering assistance.

Also, not sure if anyone here is an LPG user, but I had a very negative experience two weeks ago with a servo employee at an unnamed petrol station who wasn’t able to connect the LPG filler to my car, after I had reported a problem with the pump to him (which he refused to acknowledge).

Not sure that having “assistance” when it comes to LPG is always the best way.

Davo111 said :

if you’re not capable to check oil/tyre pressure on a car you shouldn’t be driving. Sorry, but its true.

I could feel the same way about anyone who didn’t build their own computer, but no, I realise that not everybody wants to do that, sometimes we just want to use the machine for its purpose.

Until they start teaching things like checking the air in your tyres or changing your oil in a licence test (which I think they should tbh, would make the “road ready” course worthwhile), I think it’s a total wank to look down on people for not knowing how to do it. I learnt from my father, but that’s not something everyone has the opportunity to do.

This question has brought a lot of unhelpful comments from critics, inferring that people are lazy because they would like driveway service. (Who’d have thought we’d all have 2nd jobs “working” for no pay at a servo people?)

But seriously, I’d like to know the answer to this question because I’m now finding it difficult and dangerous to fill my car at petrol stations. That’s because I wear a full leg brace and am on crutches full time and they are a recipe for disaster at service stations. Did you know that crutches slip on wet or oily surfaces and you fall?

Now while I “know” how to dispense my own petrol, check water and oil and put air in the tyres, (just in case the critics would like to know, so I’m not “lady helpless”) and I have an unblemished record as a good driver, but (as stated previously) my condition is getting worse and I have now become an accident waiting to happen at servos. Just watch me trying navigate around the car filling it up and then slipping and skidding my way on oily, slippery concrete surfaces and then up to the teller’s counter, entertaining him as he leans on his elbows watching me interestedly to see when I’ll fall. And I do, often.

I’d LOVE to find a servo with driveway service in the ACT, I’d be their customer for life and tell everybody I meet with a similar injury to go there.

PS: Just a thought, but I wonder if the lucky, young and able bodied critics here have thought that the only difference between me and them is a simple broken leg from a skiing accident or a good slam from a cricket bat? Would they change their views? Maybe.

dvaey said:

No-one says you have to know how to make a car in order to drive it, but if youre going to drive it at least bother to learn the basics like filling fuel and tyres.

The thought that there are people driving who cant fill their own car without a person to help them, is almost as scary as knowing theres people driving who cant read the english roadsigns without a translator sitting next to them.
—————————————————–
Wow, all of your irrational prejudices are on display here. Firstly, the OP didn’t say she does not know how to fill a car, only that she prefers not to. Second, my mate in a wheelchair who drives would be thrilled to hear that you think he should not be able to get around town because he can’t change a tyre or fill his tank unassisted. Third, the gratuitous (and irrelevant) swipe at migrants tells us more about you than about them.

It would be an interesting experiment for a servo to offer assistance for a small surcharge (say $1 per customer). Assuming a normal volume of business, that would more than pay for wages.

Clown Killer said :

Applied logically you could not like to eat Thai food unless you knew how to make it from scratch or wear clothes unless you could make them yourself.

Well, not quite. Applied more logically, you could not like to eat Thai food unless you can feed yourself. Just because you need a Thai chef to make food from scratch, it doesnt mean you need the waiter to spoon it into your mouth like a baby. No-one says you have to know how to make a car in order to drive it, but if youre going to drive it at least bother to learn the basics like filling fuel and tyres.

The thought that there are people driving who cant fill their own car without a person to help them, is almost as scary as knowing theres people driving who cant read the english roadsigns without a translator sitting next to them.

Sometimes princesses need to mix with the commoners… you know, like when they step out of the Roller into the Opera House and have all those yucky people ogling them, and this is just an example of such an occasion. Sad I know, to be born in the wrong century, perhaps into the wrong class as well, but we all have to deal with the hand we are dealt.

You may take solace in the fact that eventually you will become too old to drive and not have to deal wirth the basic source of your 21st century mobility any more.

just_so said :

…I think we’ve established that, in answer to my *actual” question, there are no “service stations” left in Canberra, and so fuel companies are raking in even more money, while the customer dumbly (and in some case apparently rather masochistically) complies with their ‘self-serve” model…

To be fair, the individual outlets that would be providing said service are quite often not owned by the fuel companies so a lower cost of labour is beneficial for their already slim-ish profit margins.

So no confirmation on the Kingston Mobil and its status as a “service” station?

cranky said :

Slightly OT.

I have recently been refueling a diesel truck. How on earth diesel can be seen as a godsend has got me beat, when the stinky, slippery mess on the pavement at the pumps is so off-putting.

Mix in a bit of wet weather and you have a recipe for probable physical harm.

I have spent a number of years with diesel vehicles and have never come to any physical harm when filling the tank. Financial harm is more prevalent when you realise that diesel is far cheaper to produce that ULP but they manage to charge more for it. I guess they think that because you use less of it, they can charge more for it.

No just_so, I don’t know anywhere you can have a petrol station worker to check your oil and fill your tyres – you know why? Because I am a small handed female that doesn’t enjoy these tasks, but I am self sufficient enough to learn how to do these things for myself.

I wouldn’t be so incensed if you had legitimate reasons for not doing these tasks e.g: a physical disability or old age (which you may be, but have instead decided to use other ‘reasoning’).

Okay I’m done.

Dearie me ‘Fruit’ old thing! Fancy getting so “incensed” about my likes and preferences. I am self-sufficient enough to earn a good income, raise three kids on my own, maintain a healthy menagerie of animals…. But apparently I must also do things I don’t WANT to do, and would be happy to pay someone else to do, to satisfy your criteria of “self-sufficiency”. Are you saying my “reasoning” must be based on what YOU think, not on what I think? That’s not very reasonable, Fruit. I don’t enjoy baking bread either, so I buy it from a bakery – naughty, worthless me. I also refuse to use those “self service” checkouts at Woolies, as I believe that to do so robs someone of a job. Does this make me less than “adequate” in your eyes. Care much? Not really.

I think we’ve established that, in answer to my *actual” question, there are no “service stations” left in Canberra, and so fuel companies are raking in even more money, while the customer dumbly (and in some case apparently rather masochistically) complies with their ‘self-serve” model.

BTW – any petrol sellers out there who would be prepared to break the mold, and offer actual service would have my custom in a shot. As well as that of a lot of people I know who resent cueueing up to make their clothes & hands smell of petrol.

There are many people who struggle with self service petrol stations (and supermarket check-outs, airport check-ins etc). These might be: people with disabilities including mobility problems, arthritis etc; frail elderly people; or even just people with very small hands.

I am surprised that some commenters have so lovingly embraced the reduction of service all around us, and regard those who question it with scorn. It certainly makes it easier for companies to cut costs by reducing customer service when customers themselves champion it as a feat of machismo to DIY.

Slightly OT.

I have recently been refueling a diesel truck. How on earth diesel can be seen as a godsend has got me beat, when the stinky, slippery mess on the pavement at the pumps is so off-putting.

Mix in a bit of wet weather and you have a recipe for probable physical harm.

The only reason that full service petrol stations are in such severe decline is because theres so many uptight douche-bags who are more than happy to do all that stuff themselves.

And as for the wankfest of an argument that people need to learn or like or even be able to do this or they’re somehow innadequate as drivers/road users – how the hell does that work? Applied logically you could not like to eat Thai food unless you knew how to make it from scratch or wear clothes unless you could make them yourself.

just_so said :

Dear trevar, Davo111 & Swidt. I did not ask for your brainless abuse, I simply asked if anyone knew of a petrol station (no, I didn’t call them “service stations”) which still offerred driveway service in Canberra. I would like to find one, as I don’t actually *enjoy* putting air in tyres, checking oil, etc. I would rather someone to do it for me – a service for which I would gladly pay.

I find the smell of petrol quite revolting, and having very small hands, I find the nozzle of the petrol bowsers rather difficult to manage (though I *do* manage). They were obviously designed for large (male) hands – back in the days when petrol stations did have attendants, and those attendants were almost all male. However, I do enjoy driving very much, and have done so without an accident or injury for over 35 years now. I have every right to drive – I don’t recall being asked basic car maintenance question when I got my driving license. BTW – I also can’t change a tyre on my present car as the spare is too heavy for me to lift out of the boot. I can, however, ring NRMA, so I guess I’m not a total menace to the driving public.

Cheer Calamity and other normal helpful people on here.

p.s. when last I was in Ireland, driveway service was very common, and kept many young people in employment. And they were courteous as well. Delightful. 🙂

At the risk of sounding ‘abnormal’, the above post has motivated me to actually log in and post a response which I don’t usually do.

No just_so, I don’t know anywhere you can have a petrol station worker to check your oil and fill your tyres – you know why? Because I am a small handed female that doesn’t enjoy these tasks, but I am self sufficient enough to learn how to do these things for myself.

I wouldn’t be so incensed if you had legitimate reasons for not doing these tasks e.g: a physical disability or old age (which you may be, but have instead decided to use other ‘reasoning’).

Okay I’m done.

fgzk said :

Tasmania, Cambridge rd, Cambridge, next to the Hobart airport. They also do the toasted things wrapped in gladwrap. Its the closest I know of.

Smithton’s closer (by land/sea. Maybe not by air, but who flies to a service station?). Didn’t see any toasted-gladwrap-things there, though 🙁

trevar said :

I believe there are some places in Africa where incompetent drivers are still babysat by petrol station attendants…

My neighbour used to be a rally mechanic and could do most jobs on a car with his eyes closed, however he developed cancer and due to his failing health wouldnt be able to easily do those things anymore, just because he can still sit in the car seat and drive, doesnt mean he wants to get dirty checking tyre pressures.

More on-the-topic though, I believe there is one near Balranald.. which makes one wonder how the driver managed to get to such a remote place without filling the car themselves anyway. It was nice being able to pull up after a long all-day drive and have someone pump my petrol while I got out for a stretch.. Another thing I saw on the SA side of the border is service stations setup like an automatic carwash, no attendants around and everything is self-serve with pay-at-the-pump. Interestingly the fuel was about 15c cheaper than the normal servo up the road.

Tasmania, Cambridge rd, Cambridge, next to the Hobart airport. They also do the toasted things wrapped in gladwrap. Its the closest I know of.

Dear trevar, Davo111 & Swidt. I did not ask for your brainless abuse, I simply asked if anyone knew of a petrol station (no, I didn’t call them “service stations”) which still offerred driveway service in Canberra. I would like to find one, as I don’t actually *enjoy* putting air in tyres, checking oil, etc. I would rather someone to do it for me – a service for which I would gladly pay.

I find the smell of petrol quite revolting, and having very small hands, I find the nozzle of the petrol bowsers rather difficult to manage (though I *do* manage). They were obviously designed for large (male) hands – back in the days when petrol stations did have attendants, and those attendants were almost all male. However, I do enjoy driving very much, and have done so without an accident or injury for over 35 years now. I have every right to drive – I don’t recall being asked basic car maintenance question when I got my driving license. BTW – I also can’t change a tyre on my present car as the spare is too heavy for me to lift out of the boot. I can, however, ring NRMA, so I guess I’m not a total menace to the driving public.

Cheer Calamity and other normal helpful people on here.

p.s. when last I was in Ireland, driveway service was very common, and kept many young people in employment. And they were courteous as well. Delightful. 🙂

I feel sorry for people who’s hands are painted on.

Calamity said :

I can check oil (not rocket science, is it?), but given that I’m not a mechanic, I would very much like someone more skilled in mechanics than I to look under the hood now and then to ensure it is still running safely and well.

FYI a service station attendant would be no more mechanically qualified (or competent) than the blokes who wash windscreens at intersections, and they certainly couldn’t verify the safety or wellness of your engine from a quick peep under the bonnet. If you want peace of mind, get a qualified mechanic to service the car regularly.

That being said, I have no issue with driveway service as a customer experience and feel that its eradication is one of those little niceties that we’re all a little bit poorer for losing.

Hmmm, I can just see it now:

“You there, fill it up with petroleum distillate, and re-vulcanize my tires, post-haste!” -Montgomery Burns

Closest one I’m aware of is in Smithton, Tas. Couldn’t believe it when a young chickybabe commenced fuelling the car for me. I told her I was surprised that driveway service still existed anywhere in Aus. She seemed surprised at my surprise. Then I was surprised again when there was no E10 available. And she was again surprised by my surprise coz she’d never even heard of the stuff.
(ftr, the pump price here was about the same as self-serve places in the area)

#3trevar
7:13 pm, 20 Feb 11
I believe there are some places in Africa where incompetent drivers are still babysat by petrol station attendants…

That just makes me laugh. Because I don’t know much about what goes on under the hood I’m an incompetent driver? Incompetant mechanic, maybe. But I think I drive quite well, actually. I can check oil (not rocket science, is it?), but given that I’m not a mechanic, I would very much like someone more skilled in mechanics than I to look under the hood now and then to ensure it is still running safely and well. Had no idea that made me incompetant! What a fool I feel!

I take it, then, that men who ask their wives to iron their shirts and incompetant at wearing clothes and should have the right stripped (pun intended) ASAP! And those who can’t tell the difference between a cornice and a bracing joint should probably not be homeowners? Right. Right. Glad you cleared that up. On another note – where’d you get that spectacular high horse? You do know how to groom it correctly, I hope.

I agree with Davo111.. If you don’t know the very basics of car maintenence you shouldn’t be driving. They are easy to learn, so you should give it a go yourself.

Also, try thinking of them as ‘petrol’ stations, rather than ‘service’ stations 🙂

Checking the oil when the engine is hot isn’t the best idea anyway, actually ditto tyres, they’ll be warm and show a higher reading. I always disliked going to full service petrol stations (the Duntroon one was like that) as the attendant invariably couldn’t work out how to open my car’s bonnet.

if you’re not capable to check oil/tyre pressure on a car you shouldn’t be driving. Sorry, but its true.

Otherwise, find a 10 year old in the neighbourhood (where dad has an air compressor) and pay him $10 to do it once a fortnight/monthly.

I believe there are some places in Africa where incompetent drivers are still babysat by petrol station attendants…

Didn’t you know. They are not service stations anymore, they’re supermarkets that sell fuel.

Hopefully the Mobil in Kingston still does, otherwise their pricing structure of being 10-15¢ above everyone else would seem ever harder to defend.