My credit card chip apparently frazzled out on me this past week, but as the card expires in two weeks, I assume Wells Fargo will be sending a new card in the next week, so I haven't hassled with calling them. Pulled into the local station here in Oregon. Up until about two years ago, it was illegal to pump your gasoline in Oregon. Lots of lobbying finally forced a change. Now stations must have at least as many full-service pumps as self-service pumps, and they cannot charge a different price for self-service compared to full-service fueling. In my experience, LOTS of people still use full-serve. Anyway, I pulled into the self-serve side because my chip was not working and I did not want to make trouble for the attendants. One of them saw I was having trouble and came over -- long story short, he took care of me when he did not have to, meanwhile also running back and forth to the full serve islands. So, I gave him a five dollar tip on a $25 fill-up. He was an older guy, probably late 50s. His face lit up. I have tipped gas jockeys before when they offer good service, but it's fairly unusual for anyone to tip. He thanked me profusely, which sort of embarrassed me, but also made me feel a bit good about myself. I can't imagine any guy his age takes that job without needing the money, so I hope it helped him a tiny bit. And it is a pain in the ... job and fairly thankless and as I mentioned they are seldomed tipped. Like next to never. But, that brings up the whole tipping thing. I am really getting tired of the in-store tip jars. A couple of weeks ago, grudgingly went into a local bakery to buy five bagels at $3.50 each as I had not had time to make my own (yes, I make my own based on an old Findhorn Family recipe -- look up the Findhorn Family for an interesting diversion). The guy serving was lackadaisical and slow and not all that friendly, but while he never said anything, he seemed dumbfounded I did not drop a buck or few in the tip jar. It ain't a required action, dude, and frankly, I am a bit tired of the jars. As an aside, it seems most people still use the full-serve option at Oregon gas stations -- who wants to get out into the pouring rain in Oregon?
i always tip the guys in jersey 5 bucks (or 20 when i'm feeling flush) on the way to florida. they are out there in some of the worst weather, and i doubt they are making much money. i don't mind tip jars as much as the new devices that want you to add the tip while the server is standing there looking at you, or worse, before you're even served.
