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Comment by noduerme | Hacker News Reader

In the 80s a lot of gas stations in California still had a full service line alongside a self serve line. Full service cost more for the gas. They would come to your car with the credit card slider (carbon paper), check your oil, wash your windows. It was also expected to tip.

An attendant at a gas station in Oregon actually washed my window the other day while the gas was pumping. First time I tipped a station attendant in years.

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From what I hear, locals don't tip. Not a surprise given they don't have a choice (and a lot of Oregon has historically been poor, up until the recent flood of Californians).

I mean, waiting for someone to pump my gas in Oregon is ridiculous. I'm already subsidizing the guy's paycheck, and it's a complete waste of my time to wait for him to handle six other people. I'm not inclined to tip. The reason I tipped the kid at the 76 in Wilsonville was because he was the first human being I saw in recent memory who gave a shit about his job. It doesn't take much, but it's vanishingly rare. I think that's what tipping was supposed to be for originally.

There is/was full service at a gas station in Menlo Park on Sand Hill Rd - That is the only full service gas station I recall ever seeing in California

I won't say they're common in Massachusetts but you see them now and then.

When I lived in Colorado, I had a habit of checking my oil every time I filled up my tank, and would top it off when it was low.

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