Gas jockey
Encyclopedia
A gas jockey, or gas station attendant, is someone who works at a full service
gas station
performing services other than working the register
. Their jobs include pumping gas, wiping windshields, checking your oil, and in the past, cranking your car to get it started. Gas jockeys were often tipped for their services, but rarely are now, since they usually only exist in New Jersey and Oregon, where non-gas station workers are banned by law from pumping gas.
s, where gas would be put in buckets and funneled into vehicles. As gas stations became entities, they were little more than a roadside pump with an attendant there to pump your gas (manual pump).
and 1979
) in the 1970s, gas stations and people wanted to keep the prices as low as possible and this led to a decline in full service gas stations.
Today: Today gas jockeys and full service gas stations in general are not common, and are usually considered somewhat nostalgic
.
However, all stations in New Jersey and Oregon offer only full service and mini service; attendants are required to pump gas because customers are barred by statutes in both states from pumping their own gas. New Jersey banned self-service gasoline in 1949 after lobbying by service station owners. Proponents of the ban cite safety and jobs as reasons to keep the ban.
Full service
Full service is a term that has many different uses. In general the term implies that the customer will receive as much service as is reasonably possible.-Gas station:...
gas station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
performing services other than working the register
Cash register
A cash register or till is a mechanical or electronic device for calculating and recording sales transactions, and an attached cash drawer for storing cash...
. Their jobs include pumping gas, wiping windshields, checking your oil, and in the past, cranking your car to get it started. Gas jockeys were often tipped for their services, but rarely are now, since they usually only exist in New Jersey and Oregon, where non-gas station workers are banned by law from pumping gas.
History
In the beginning, gas stations were usually located at general storeGeneral store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
s, where gas would be put in buckets and funneled into vehicles. As gas stations became entities, they were little more than a roadside pump with an attendant there to pump your gas (manual pump).
Decline
During the gasoline shortages (19731973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
and 1979
1979 energy crisis
The 1979 oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled his country in early 1979 and the Ayatollah Khomeini soon became the new leader of Iran. Protests severely disrupted the Iranian oil...
) in the 1970s, gas stations and people wanted to keep the prices as low as possible and this led to a decline in full service gas stations.
Today: Today gas jockeys and full service gas stations in general are not common, and are usually considered somewhat nostalgic
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
.
However, all stations in New Jersey and Oregon offer only full service and mini service; attendants are required to pump gas because customers are barred by statutes in both states from pumping their own gas. New Jersey banned self-service gasoline in 1949 after lobbying by service station owners. Proponents of the ban cite safety and jobs as reasons to keep the ban.