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Full-service gas stations may have
mostly vanished from the American scene
in the 1970s, but at least one Kyrene
Corridor holdout still offers the
premium service at one of its pumps—at a
premium price, of course.
For 30 cents per gallon more, you can
watch from the cool confines of your
air-conditioned interior while a service
attendant sweats the onerous job of
pumping gas, checking the fluids, tire
pressure, belts and hoses, and washing
the windows.
“It’s very popular with the moms with
their kids in the car and the older
population,” said Tony Stewart, shop
manager at the Oasis gas and service
station on the southwest corner of
McClintock and Elliot roads. “Mostly
it’s the mothers with kids. They don’t
want to leave their kids unattended
while they go inside.”
Some of Stewart’s regular customers use
the service every time they fill up, he
said. Others throw it in once a month to
make sure their car is looked at by a
professional and is in good repair. Some
just stop by before a long road trip to
make sure their car can survive the
journey.
“It's well worth it for what you’re
getting in return, as far as the full
check-over, to make sure your car’s in
good shape to go and drive around,
especially tire condition when it’s hot
like this,” Stewart said.
Most U.S. stations stopped offering full
service after the 1973 Arab oil embargo,
except in Oregon and New Jersey, where
self-service is still prohibited.
The Americans With Disabilities Act also
mandates attendant service to drivers
whose cars display a handicapped license
plate or placard, except in cases where
only a cashier is on duty. Such service
cannot result in an added charge, even
at a full-serve pump if additional
services are not provided.
Yet even that rule doesn’t fully address
the needs of handicapped drivers, who
ADA observers say are finding fewer
stations that offer repair facilities in
combination with gasoline service.
Stewart’s station is one of the nation’s
few still offering both.
Stewart said his family-owned station
has offered the service for 18 years,
first at a Mesa location, then in
Chandler and now at its current
McClintock and Elliot perch.
Customers looking to utilize the
station’s full service simply need to
pull up to the pump and wait. The lone
pump, the one closest to the service
center, is designated for full service.
When a customer sits at the pump, a
mechanic will step outside and fill the
tank within a few minutes.
“It’s usually no more than a two-minute
wait at the pump before we start pumping
the gas,” Stewart said. “We have to make
sure what we’re doing in the shop is
good enough that we can stop and go
outside and get them taken care of as
fast as possible.”
Stewart said he hears a lot of positive
feedback about the comfort the service
provides.
“It (results in) peace of mind for
whoever comes to the full serve to know
that their car’s getting looked over and
they’re going to be okay until their
next major service,” he said.
Stewart estimated that about 15 to 20
people use the premium service each day. |
