I remember when as soon as you pulled up a smiling attendant was waiting to ask the driver how much petrol he/she wanted. In went the pump to the fuel tank, up went the bonnet and oil and water and anything else that needed checking was done. Air in tyres was checked and more pumped in if required. Bottles of oil with spouts on the top were lined up outside the garage door making topping up the oil an easy job. Front and back windscreens were washed and even side windows if needed. Then the driver handed over the money and the attendant took it into the shop and returned and handed you the change. Never once did we ever come across an attendant who wasn’t happy and smiling. For many years they were men but before this service was stopped ladies were starting to do this job. I’m guessing a lot of it had to do with the fact a lot of petrol stations back then were privately owned, even when run as Shell, Mobil etc. therefore staff were usually family members, relatives. I remember when you could get a nice meal for a reasonable price at a roadhouse, which was a petrol station with its own restaurant. Lots of travellers stopped for a meal there. One of the towns we lived in during the early 90’s still had attendants who would fill your car with petrol and check under the bonnet and clean the windscreen. Even family owned petrol stations don’t offer this service now. Now they are service stations, back then everyone called them petrol stations.
.png){kind=icon}
