Thursday, November 13, 2014

Support Your Local Independently Owned Gas Station






















Haven't seen the Ridge and Devon Shell tow truck in awhile (its inside of the service bays right now). The photos above were taken last year when building 14-A (at S and C) was still under construction. City gas stations are more resistant to change and corporate take over. Why? Zoning.

Not sure if the BP across the street is company owned. Chances are it is. Publicly traded businesses work to maximize profits to the nth degree.

Getting rid of auto repair and replacing it with a McDonalds or Subway (the Touhy/Sheridan Shell is a good example of this being a good idea, that area is a veritable food dessert) will make you a whole lot more money. Over the years the service in service stations has all but disappeared. In its place self serve gas, fast food, lottery tickets, coffee, cigarettes and junk food. New Jersey and Oregon are exceptions to the rule. These two states mandate that gas stations remain full serve. People get paid to pump gas, check the fluids, clean your windshield.

That's a major problem in the modern economy. We rely heavily on service jobs to support people and the economy. But the large companies have cut back on them. Take for example the dearth of baggers in grocery stores. Bagging your own groceries is now common practice. Heck we even scan our items and ring ourselves up now. Next we'll have to pickup the phone ask for a price check too.

If you lost your cell phone and need to make a call from your car stop off here.

No comments: