Here's some cold water in the face, folks!
While many in other parts of the U.S. are belly-aching about $4.00 per gallon gas where they live, some here in Chicago have already experienced a gallon of gas for $5.00!
Well - this pricey petrol is for any grade, and at only one station we can find - in the pricey Gold Coast Neighborhood of Chicago, at a BP Station at the corner of LaSalle and Clark Streets. And it's for FULL SERVICE gas!
You remember "Full Service Gasoline," you Boomers, don't you?
Back when the first Doobie Brothers album (in vinyl, of course) came out, ALL gas stations pumped your gas, checked your oil, and topped off the wiper fluid - all for less than 50 cents a gallon! Well, around Chicago, and we assume elsewhere, Full Serve Gas Stations are hard to come by. Instead, you see the big Pumper Stations, with the mini-mart attached.
Who buys full service?
Surprisingly, many folks. Those who've got the extra dough, and don't mind the nearly 9% premium. Those who don't want their hands smelling like gasoline.
And, sometimes, just regular customers who have gotten accustomed to their Gas Station Attendant.
Well, at nearly $5 for a gallon of gas, the station has found that even such loyalty has its limits. Sales are down at the Full-Serve Pumps (eight out of twelve pumps at the station pump Full Serve gasoline; the remaining four provide Self Serve, at a savings of 40 cents per gallon today).
Several of the attendants pumping full serve have seen their tips decline (tips for pumping gas - believe it!), and a few are considering other jobs.
Loyalty, it seems, goes out the window - as its price gets too high!
See our post on BlogChicagoHomes.com today for more info, as well as a link to Mary Schmich's first-hand account in yesterday's Chicago Tribune.
DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
$% gas for now $6 gas by the end of summer, get use to it as it is here to stay.
Take care!
RJH
Hi Dean,
$5 yikes, we're not quite there yet in SoCal but edging close. We were just talking about it the other day betting when it would happen here. Personally I expect by July 4th, hope I'm wrong but it could happen. Right now it's about $4.65 or so.
Gas is insane. It's almost at $5 a gallon here in Washington. I don't know when people will cut back on their driving??
Andy Laughlin
Connect Realty
Dean it is just aweful, Americans can forget about saving these days it seems!
Thanks,
Tom Davis
World Class Delaware Realtor
I was driving by gas stations with $4.59 for regular a couple of days ago, but it seems to have eased by a WHOLE 2 CENTS in the last 48 hours.
Wow, don't remember the last time we saw a full service station. It's been a long time.