To Tip or Not to Tip
Decatur Metro | August 10, 2011This question has come up a couple of times already, but I’m not sure we’ve ever came to a consensus on it, so I thought we might benefit from a more dedicated conversation about it. Hannah writes in…
This may fall into the Friday Free for All, as it’s kind of random:
I made my first visit to PURE today. I’m 33 years old and have never driven through a full-service gas station. I made quite the fool of myself by asking the attendant “so, what am I supposed to do here?” After a chuckle, he said nothing and politely filled the tank up.
Was I supposed to tip this guy? If so, how much? A friend of mine says no – that gas at full-service has historically been marked up.
I’m guessing I’m probably not the only one wondering the answer… can you clarify?
P.S. PURE is awesome. Full-service rocks. Forgive me if this question has already been answered in previous posts.
Latest from Decaturish
I’m not sure of the etiquette, but I’ve only been to one full-service gas station since I was a kid, and the attendant politely declined my tip when I awkwardly offered it.
I’ve never seen or heard of tipping a filling station attendant for filling the car with gas. BTW,OR and NJ do not allow self-serve. I’ve never seen tipping in NJ.
I’ve tried to buy gas at Pure three times now, and all three times they’ve been closed – and this was not at night.
I’ve tried to buy gas on Sunday twice there. Are their hours of service posted somewhere so I plan better?
Full disclosure….I’m one of the business partners that worked to get the Pure Station up and running. Our philosophy behind the full service approach was two fold. One….that is the way I remember getting gas with my parents in Decatur and as a kid thought that was pretty cool. Two…you get to know and meet / talk to your customers / neighbors. I think this is what Decatur is all about…you get to know the people that work at the bank, restaurants, etc….you should know your car service technicians too. Our gas prices do not have any additional mark-up from full or self service. We try and keep our gas prices as low as we can and as we grow we can get better volume discounts on gas and will pass that on to our customers. In reference to tipping….it is very nice to have someone offer that but I do not think it is necessary. Just come back and do business with us….that is the best tip we could ever receive. Tell your friends, family and business contacts to come support us. Decatur is different and we do things differently here. Our businesses reflect that independent nature and that was our goal. If you have any ideas or thoughts…we are always open to them….thanks for supporting The Pure Station….our Facebook page is a great place to share any ideas. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Pure-Station-Decatur-Georgia/136556583089492
Thank you Scott. That is what I love about Decatur, or almost any small town or neighborhood commercial area. It allows us to get to know those with whom we do business.
Me to wife: “You ought to check out that new gas station, they have full service.”
Wife’s report of experience: “I pulled up, there was no one there. I got out of the car and went in the store, still no one. Finally, a guy came out of the garage and said, ‘You know we don’t have any regular gas, right?’ I said, ‘How would I know that?’ The guy said, ‘We have premium, it will only be a couple of bucks more to fill up.’ I said, ‘I only want about half a tank’ (Admittedly, my wife loses points for not saying, “Gimme $10″) The guy replied, ‘I don’t know how much half a tank is.’ I said, ‘I’ll just go somewhere else.’ ”
And scene…
Still hoping to have the fabulous experience everyone else talks about, friendly peeps, tasty food. I don’t think I will coax my wife back there, though.
I really like Pure and use them. I’m happy to have them in the community for all the reasons Scott (above says). That said, I read his response as saying that (while not necessary) tipping is appropriate. I’m a generous tipper and if there is any chance I’m supposed to tip, I’ll be tipping. But I don’t really want to tip for refueling. Thus, I’m going to feel uncomfortable either way (tipping or not). And I want to support this station. I would rather have the gas price higher and a sign that says “no tipping.”
I guess this reminds me of whenever we travel–the constant need to tip so many people in so many positions gets stressful. I’d rather pay for it in another way (one big tip at the end or something).
So to sum, welcome Pure! Love to use you. Would you ever consider a no tipping policy?
Maybe it’s just me and my own issues. . . .
So I am gathering from these comments that they are full serve only. Correct?
Mrs. Pink!
no tipping….just come back and do business with us….no tipping necessary.
Got my car worked on there yesterday; nice job and everyone was super friendly. Thanks for bringing PURE to downtown Decatur.
I hope Cheryl mentioned the Decatur Bulldog Boosters when she had her car worked on yesterday! PURE has generously agreed to donate 10% of the bill to anyone who mentions the DBB during the month of August – gas is NOT included. The DBB supports all of our student athletes at Renfroe Middle School and Decatur High School.
I recall full service stations back in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s charged a little bit more per gallon to make up for the increased labor costs associated with the full service. It was always fun to be handed the clipboard so you could sign the charge slip.
“It was always fun to be handed the clipboard so you could sign the charge slip.”
Indeed it was! That meant Daddy was paying for it. (Didn’t even have to flash a credit card in my little hometown, they knew who I was and I just told them who to charge it to and signed for it.) My first credit card was an Amoco card, after college, and boy, what a rude awakening it was when the statement came! Took me several months to get the hang of the whole concept.
I have used PURE 6+ times now and every time I have left the station, I have said,
“We are lucky to have them in Decatur!”
They are a GREAT local business and I hope they do exceedingly well…..especially given that they sell gas in Decatur.
Agreed! I wasn’t meaning to knock PURE with my tipping issues. Feels like Mayberry (in the good way).
I really appreciate having another gas station in Decatur, and also like the whole hometown philosophy Scott expressed. My question: what does “full service” mean if I’m purchasing gas at Pure? In olden days, the attendant that pumped the gas also cleaned windshields and offered to take a look under the hood (check fluid levels) and/or check tire pressure. After pumping my own gas — and taking care of those ancillary chores myself — for several decades, I don’t know what to expect.
Thumbs up for Pure!!! They fixed my car this week and washed it.. even got the 200 pounds of dog hair out. They are one of Decatur’s best businesses already!
And to think you can pop over to McKinney’s while they fix your car and pick up pharmaceuticals!
I hope you tipped after they weighed the 200 pounds of hair
Love you Guys! I thought I was in New Jersey or was that Oregan……am I becoming bi-coastal?
Do they have diesel or bio-diesel?
My first job when I was a teenager was working at a full service gas station and drive through car wash. No one ever tipped for gas or car wash!! I even had to wipe down the lower part of the car with a soapy mitt as the car wash in those days did not hit that part of the vehicle so well. We did not wash windows of the cars getting gas though – there was a pay extra car wash for that!
The question about the hours of service still has not been addressed. Every time I drive by it looks like they’re closed.
Hours are posted on their Facebook site. Link was provided above.
You mean I have to move my wrist and go look?
I’ve gotten so spoiled on DM that I expect to keep my wrist in one position and just scroll the mouse up and down.
you don’t tip full service gas attendants, ice cream scoopers (who try and trick you with college fund bucket), airport shuttle/rental car drivers unless they help you with your luggage – this goes for hotel /airport shuttle drivers, sandwich makers at deli’s, jimmy johns etc.. –
tip bartenders, waiters, pizza, food delivery – based on performance (attentiveness, getting your order correct, pleasantness, timing)
no automatic tip for shitty service. What I have found over the years is service has gotten worse, and expectations for tips at non-tipping places has increased….
Veered off course a bit from subject but interested in peoples thoughts on who to and who not to tip?
Hopefully I can answer any questions / feedback that have come out of this posting….and all feedback is good….please let us know if we can do better or change anything we are doing. Thanks to Decatur Metro…..ya’ll do a great job by the way….
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday
8am – 6pm (or by appointment)
Saturday
8am – 1pm (or by appointment)
Joel Ross is the master technician on site and Craig Leonard is the station operations manager.
Station phone number : 404-856-0393
When we opened some of the pumps were a little slow to get working since they had been down for 8 months….so we had some technical issues on that end….but we have seemed to get around that with the help of our gas provider. May still have an issue now and then but we will keep those pumps working as best we can.
If you ever have a problem or need to discuss anything related to the station feel free to call me or e-mail me.
Scott Drake
cell 404-932-7652
If you find yourself in desperate need of gas at some odd hour when we are not open….I live in Decatur and I might just come up and open up for you….now that’s full service!
Full service indeed. Wow.
Scott, thanks for your response. I’m very glad to see a real service station open in Decatur (as opposed to a gasoline dispensary/convenience store), and I appreciate your and your partners’ hometown retail philosophy, I wish you all success in your enterprises.
Please clarify “full service” so that I have appropriate expectations. I grew up and began driving on my own when “full service” was still the norm, and it meant the attendant pumped my gas, cleaned my windshields, offered to check fluid levels and usually checked tire pressure. The one time I’ve bought gas at Pure so far (I hardly ever drive, so haven’t bought it anywhere else since), the attendant pumped my gas but did not offer to attend to any of the other items. I was a little surprised, but then again, that’s more service than I get anywhere else these days. I just want to know what to expect, so please define what y’all mean by “full service.”
Thanks!
Used them every week for gas since they opened!
Great service!!!
Are you supposed to just stay in the car? Or are you supposed to get out and go in to pay? Thanks!
I just stayed in the car by the pump and paid the nice employee through my car window.
They also have really healthy, fresh lunches in a little fridge inside the service station office. So you can fill up and grab a healthy lunch at the same time.
Raised in Jersey. There, as was mentioned above, you don’t tip for filling up a tank, though you might tip for cleaning windows, checking oil, etc.
Full Service description at The Pure Station does include us checking your fluids and anything you want us to check for you at the pumps. Typically….people are short on time so some do not elect for us to perform that service. But we should always ask and if you have something you need us to check please feel free to request that. All we ask is that you allow us that time to do so….sometimes those checks can take a second. Some people do want to come in and pay and like the post said above grab some food from the Oakhurst Market….and some people stay in the car and we run the payment inside. Still….please no tipping….just keep coming back, that is the best tip we can receive.
Visit us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Pure-Station-Decatur-Georgia/136556583089492
Which types of fuel do you carry? (Diesel, Regular, Premium, etc)