My local Speedway gas station not only charges .75 cents for 3 minutes of air....but now the machine accepts MC/Visa.
Has it come down to this?
My local Speedway gas station not only charges .75 cents for 3 minutes of air....but now the machine accepts MC/Visa.
Has it come down to this?
I noticed the same thing where I buy gas. Just wonder how long it will be before you have to swipe your Visa to get the crappy squeegee to clean your own windshield.
I am not condoning it.. but I do understand why the station owners are doing it.. they have a very slim margin on gas.. slimmer than you might think, especially in this economy.
However, does it really cost 75 cents to run a small airpump for 3 minutes?
There is used to be a time when a gas station had "full service" with people to pump your gas, check and fill your oil, and clean your windows... aside from NJ which mandates that you cannot do selfserve.. those days are long gone
In CA, gas stations are required to make compressed air available to anyone who buys gas. They still put the coin operators on the compressors to trick people, but you can just go in and ask them to turn it on or give you tokens for it.
mad_machine wrote: There is used to be a time when a gas station had "full service" with people to pump your gas, check and fill your oil, and clean your windows..... those days are long gone
I remembers
Salanis wrote: In CA, gas stations are required to make compressed air available to anyone who buys gas. They still put the coin operators on the compressors to trick people, but you can just go in and ask them to turn it on or give you tokens for it.
Ah...therein lies the rub. I used to ask the guys (I am kind of a regular there, close by for gas) to "flip the switch"...worked a couple of times, then they told me that the switch was taken out.
mad_machine wrote: I am not condoning it.. but I do understand why the station owners are doing it.. they have a very slim margin on gas.. slimmer than you might think, especially in this economy. However, does it really cost 75 cents to run a small airpump for 3 minutes?
Therein lies the rub... It costs the station MORE than 75 cents just to process the transaction thru the card companies.
Where I usually buy gas, they have a $10 minimum for card purchases for this reason. Yet they accept cards for air. I don't get it.
I hate full service stations, I would rather do it all myself but would like to have air available. Texas may still have water and air at the pumps like I remember some having back in the 90's. Here in Grant, AL theres a station with free air still and a spigot for water.
grafmiata wrote:mad_machine wrote: I am not condoning it.. but I do understand why the station owners are doing it.. they have a very slim margin on gas.. slimmer than you might think, especially in this economy. However, does it really cost 75 cents to run a small airpump for 3 minutes?Therein lies the rub... It costs the station MORE than 75 cents just to process the transaction thru the card companies. Where I usually buy gas, they have a $10 minimum for card purchases for this reason. Yet they accept cards for air. I don't get it.
I think recent credit card reform severely limits the amount a credit card company can charge per transaction. This may explain the appearance of a card reader on an air machine (and also explains why I no longer get reward points on my debit card).
there are credit card readers on video games and those claw machines that are full of cheap stuffed animals that aren't worth the 50 cents it costs to play..
MarkZ28 wrote: I hate full service stations, I would rather do it all myself but would like to have air available. Texas may still have water and air at the pumps like I remember some having back in the 90's. Here in Grant, AL theres a station with free air still and a spigot for water.
I never understood the hatred for somebody else pumping your car. In the 25 years I have been driving and the 20 years I have lived in NJ.. I have never had a gas jockey hurt my car. No nicks, no scratches, no lost gas caps ( saw more of them in PA) and only one or two overflows.
And I never wind up smelling like gas
I still check my own oil and clean the windows though
My issue with pump jockeys is will either overfill the tank trying to round up to the next dollar or put in regular when you ask for premium.
mad_machine wrote: I never understood the hatred for somebody else pumping your car. In the 25 years I have been driving and the 20 years I have lived in NJ.. I have never had a gas jockey hurt my car.
+1
It's a job for someone.....and a job I personally don't want. Even with full serve, I paid $3.49 / gallon for gas yesterday in NJ. Not complaining.
If the free air deal bothers you, buy One Of These for $18.
Run_Away wrote: My issue with pump jockeys is will either overfill the tank trying to round up to the next dollar or put in regular when you ask for premium.
I had an overpump a couple of times.. but that was a new (to me) car that did not not like any clicking after the initial stop.. and while I have never gotten the wrong fuel, It does make sense to pay attention
Eh, it's just the point. Maybe they aren't making margins on the fuel...but they sure as hell are on every other item in the store.
There are (2) "Swifty" gas stations (full serve oddly) in our little 'burg that have free air. I think that the only thing they sell are cigarettes.
Where my parents live there are a couple of stations that are full service only, you aren't allowed to pump it yourself.
My only gripe with full service used to be that the "pump jockey" usually had about 3 or 4 other jobs that they would have to try to do at the same time (such as wait on folks at the "mini mart" inside the gas station or try and do an oil change in under a half an hour....none of the full serve stations where my folks live have "other services" to occupy the pump jockeys.
Because full service costs more, these stations have "sale days", days once a week when they "discount" the gas a few pennies per gallon. I try to avoid ever getting gas in that towwn as all the stations are supplied by one company and the guy who owns it is a new age robber baron.
aeronca65t wrote:mad_machine wrote: I never understood the hatred for somebody else pumping your car. In the 25 years I have been driving and the 20 years I have lived in NJ.. I have never had a gas jockey hurt my car.+1 It's a job for someone.....and a job I personally don't want. Even with full serve, I paid $3.49 / gallon for gas yesterday in NJ. Not complaining. If the free air deal bothers you, buy One Of These for $18.
God that hurt me, I just filled up at 4.69$ a gallon. here in California and they don;t even have the heart to offer service.
aeronca65t wrote:mad_machine wrote: I never understood the hatred for somebody else pumping your car. In the 25 years I have been driving and the 20 years I have lived in NJ.. I have never had a gas jockey hurt my car.+1 It's a job for someone.....and a job I personally don't want. Even with full serve, I paid $3.49 / gallon for gas yesterday in NJ. Not complaining. If the free air deal bothers you, buy One Of These for $18.
I found a really old one of those the first time I cleaned out my van. It must be as old as the van but it still works! My rx8 came with one that has a gauge on it, too, which is nice, so I have one per car.
Reading this gives me an idea. This looks like an opportunity to me. Somebody should approach the gas stations and ask them how much they make on the air. Pay them that amount, to put a sign on the compressor saying " This compressed air compliments of X company. Have a nice day"
Whenever I need air, and I have to pay for it, I keep that mother running until it shuts off. Even if I just need a couple of pounds. I paid for it , dammit.
mad_machine wrote: I never understood the hatred for somebody else pumping your car. In the 25 years I have been driving and the 20 years I have lived in NJ.. I have never had a gas jockey hurt my car. No nicks, no scratches, no lost gas caps ( saw more of them in PA) and only one or two overflows. And I never wind up smelling like gas
I live in PA, but since I work in NJ, I'd pumped diesel maybe a dozen or so times since I bought my TDi in 2003 - until last year, when it seemed to take the attendant too long for my tastes to get to the pump, so since I'm pouring additive into the tank before anyway, if they don't get to me in time, I'll process the card and pump it myself. Techinically it's illegal.
That said, when I pull into the same station with my Dodge, I've had to pump it myself 50% of the time as the guy doesn't even come out to me.
The Triumphs and the Volvo, however, we almost always find a station that will let us pump it ourselves. Usually this isn't a probablem as soon as they find out they can't set the nozzle and walk away, but you have to hold the filler and manually regulate how fast it goes in.
I think we need a constitutional ammendment that protects our right to 'free' compressed air. Also, I should get a free loaf of bread every time I go to the grocery store. I mean, they're making enough money off of all the other stuff in the cart, right?
Jesus. Put 75 cents in a jar every day for the next 3 months and buy a compressor.
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