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Comment by redleggedfrog | Hacker News Reader

Well that fucking sucks. Now I have to get out of my car, in the sweltering heat or bitter cold, stand there while it fills, or get in and back out, and have my hand smell like gas until I can find a sink to wash, which sure as Hell isn't going to be in the bathroom at the service station.

I'm born and raised in Oregon, and know how pump gas, but certainly don't like it.

You folks all got Stockholm Syndrome. It has been great just pulling up, giving your credit card, and having a friendly chat. Now get to be like everywhere else where cat litter is sprinkled all over the ground from people who can't be bothered to fill correctly and doing stupid shit like driving away while still attached.

1 step forward, 2 steps back.

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"I know how to pump gas" and "my hand smells like gas after I pump gas" are mutually exclusive statements.

It is? It sure seems like the handles of the pumps end up smelling like gas. Maybe where you live it's better, but when I've driven elsewhere this was most certainly the case. Or maybe my sense of smell is too sensitive. ;^)

Also, grew up on a farm with its own gas pump for the vehicles. Pumped a lot of gas.

Eh, you shouldn't regularly get gasoline on your hand, for sure, but it is a legitimate point that pump handles do frequently have some smell. Not that it's ever bothered me, but I like the smell of gasoline so I'm probably not the best to ask.

Oh for fuck's sake, no, you don't. [0]

The law requires stations to still have full-service pumps. In fact, half of their pumps must remain full-service.

> SECTION 2. (1) A filling station, service station, garage or other dispensary where Class 1 flammable liquids are dispensed at retail may not designate more than the same number of fuel dispensing devices for self-service use by customers as are designated for attended service by an owner, operator or employee of the dispensary of Class 1 flammable liquids.

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Downloads/Meas...

[0] EDIT: I should probably clarify that my frustration at the beginning of this comment is not directed at you, but how this information is being widely missed.

Full service isn't so fun when you're in rural areas outside of working hours. I've been in a couple of dicey situations in Eastern Oregon due to closed gas stations.

If your hand smells like gas after using the pump, I'm not sure you're doing it right.

There is frequently residual petroleum, and therefore petrol stank, on the pump handle from incompetent previous users. Especially the Diesel pump.

> from incompetent previous users

Never seen this before. But in my area there are only self-service pumps except for few Shell pumps.

I think they're suggesting you should wear a glove.

No, I just can't remember the last time my hand smelled like gasoline. I mean generally the gas goes out of the nozzle into the tank. Seems like there might be some weird acrobatics involved to actually get it on the handle. Hell, most handles have a boot on them to further prevent that sort of thing.

I can see that you're emotional about this, but as someone who doesn't exactly love pumping gas it's nowhere near as apocalyptic as you seem to think it is.

Yes, you're quite right. I can go electric in a few years when the ranges are better.

We got our first electric car four years ago and it's been great. It's actually my preferred road trip car (Model 3 LR) these days. Even the Bolt my wife drove for a few years was mostly just fine, as long as we were staying within Oregon & Washington.

I haven't been to a gas station in months, and maybe longer than a year. And IIRC that wasn't even to get gasoline, just to refill a propane tank. We have one remaining ICE vehicle (a pickup, which tows our travel trailer) and my wife takes care of that when she goes to Costco. Even then, it only gets driven a thousand miles a year or so, so she doesn't have to do it too often. Plugging in at home and starting every day with a full battery is really nice.

Marie Antoinette would be proud of you. (I am aware she didn't say Let them eat cake or even Qu’ils mangent de la brioche but that doesn't change the metaphor.)

Wow thanks so much for posting a defense - I had no idea people thought like this. I’ve literally never once noticed my hands smelling like gas, but I’m assuming you’re just a sensitive person on that front.

In general/more substantively, I feel this is a place where the free market is an appropriate tool. If there are people like you, there should still be some full-service gas station attendants.

I think the law being repealed is great for one big reason: can you imagine having to work a job that you know for a fact is useless and unwanted by (almost) all of your clientele? That’s soul crushing shit right there

I'm with you. Moved up from California half a decade ago and I don't think I've ever self pumped gas into my current car and I thoroughly enjoy that fact. The only time I've encountered lines is once in a blue moon, the station just happens to be busy (less often than California) or at Costco...

Also grew up in Oregon. The comments on this are surreal in their misconceptions about what it's like.

1. Smelly hands is an issue. That's the thing I hate most about dealing with self-serve.

2. There is no tipping of gas station attendants.

3. The main bottleneck in throughput is the number of pumps, not the number of attendants. I can't recall ever being in a situation where the problem was shortage of staff.

4. All the stories I've heard about dealing with terrible staff were from Portland. I haven't been there enough to comment on that.

Oregon has sweltering heat and bitter cold?

I live in Oregon, and a couple years back it was 47C here at my house. The year before that, we had an ice storm that covered everything with 1.5 inches of ice and knocked down a half dozen poles within a quarter mile of my house, and countless trees.

So... yes?

Edit: Ha, those two events were actually the same year.

I've lived in places (Tracy, CA, Sacramento, Ca) where it's over 120 for 2 weeks straight in the summer, every summer. Not just that one time.

I've also lived in places (New York, Colorado) where storms like that knocking out critical infrastructure is again, a yearly occurrence.

It's true, Oregon has way more extreme temperatures than I personally thought before this interaction, but it's still milder than many other places in the country I suppose.

Portland has hit over 110F in the last few years. It's also a city with nasty ice storms.

Was there last year driving through and it was over 90F at 11:00p.m.

Depending on where you live, yes.

Oregon is more than just Portland, but even Portland summers reach the 90s on a regular basis, and we've gone over 100 degrees several times in the summer. Winter usually hovers around 30-40 degrees, but sometimes dips to the 20s, and we've definitely had 10-20 degree cold snaps.

Go outside of Portland, and you'll easily find deserts that reach 100+ degrees on a regular basis, and highlands that go below zero.

Yes? We had the unfortunate experience of moving houses during a week when temperatures hit 115 degrees (though our car claimed it was 119).

Oregon is amazing, it's got deserts, beaches, mountains (including ski areas), forests, volcanic areas...

Well said. I live in Ashland, OR, and we get 100+ in the summer and pretty darn cold and snowy in the winter.

Heat, yes.

Read the law. It allows stations to provide both self service and attendant service.

Is this how you pump gas? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3j6Kl5MaPc

Zoolander has mastered the art.

https://youtu.be/4xwsZ5vC5Oc

If there's demand for a more expensive service like this the market will fill it.

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