Is anyone out there old enough to remember full service gas stations in the U.S? I am (barely, o.k.), but I really have to reach waaaaay back in my memory banks, what’s left of them. I guess the last time I can remember visiting a full service gas station I would have been around 10 or so. I can remember how revolutionary it was when the self service stations began to pop up. Then they combined the self service station with the convenience store. Now of course you have the combination self service gas station-convenience store-fast food restaurant. Next maybe they will add movie theaters. Why not? Well life is much simpler in Costa Rica. To my knowledge (someone out there may know different, but I don’t think so) there is not a single self service gas station in this country. I believe Nicaragua has them (at least in Managua) and certainly Panama has them, but not good old Costa Rica. We do things the old fashioned way around here. At most gas stations the attendant will be more than happy (in fact the more you ask them to do, the happier they seem to get!) to not only fill your tank, but check your oil (and other fluids), the air in your tires and wash your windows. A tip is appreciated for that level of service, but not expected and certainly not required.
Now the deeper issue here is the question of why? Certainly businessmen (gas station owners) in Costa Rica realize that it is more economically viable to go the self service route. Would Costa Rican society rebel at such a change and refuse to drive their cars and start riding bicycles instead (hey, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing…certainly would eliminate some of the traffic congestion)? Why the insistence on doing things in this ancient and archaic way? It is as if Costa Rica stubbornly refuses to let go of their collective buggy whips. Maybe because here the pleasure of full service outweighs the economic pain of not changing to self service….huh? Okay here is where I may get a little too philosophical for a post about full service versus self service gas stations. Maybe it is that the U.S. is more focused on the almighty dollar and on maximizing the economic production of every decision. Which is exactly what has gotten the U.S. into so much economic trouble lately, isn’t it? They are just too smart for their own good. This obsession with all things economic and material could be called greed and the end result of rampant greed is exactly what we see being played out in the U.S. economy at this moment. Whereas here we sit in our cars in Costa Rica while the friendly gas station attendant fills our tanks and attends to all our driving needs. Who gives a hoot that the gas station could make more money if we got off our asses and pumped the gas ourselves. The decision is thus based not on maximizing profit, but on what makes us feel better, what makes us happy. If the looks on the faces of the news reporters at Fox, CNN and other networks is any indication, folks in the States don’t seem to be too happy right now. Problem is that happiness is not found in what you have on the outside, but what you are on the inside.
Comments
michael alan
I too remember them vaguely. Technically, it doesn’t seem to make sense that they haven’t ‘crossed’ over yet, it’s not as if they’re not progressive- but I’m glad they haven’t. Unfortunately, I’m sure it’s just a matter of time, so for the time being, I’ll enjoy the full service, and, “YES, feel free to check under the hood.”