> Well...why? Is there some reason for it to be legistated that 
> an attendant must pump your gas? 

I can only speak to my recollection of how it went in New Jersey. 

Self-service gas really didn't exist in the US at all prior to the 1973
energy gasoline shortage. (Anyone else remember the Allman Brothers LP,
"Wipe the Windows, Check the Oil, Dollar Gas"?) In the wake of the
seemingly endless lines of cars waiting for their ration of gasoline,
already squeezed gas station owners (most of whom were independents and
franchisees in those days) began looking for ways to cut expenses, and
of course payroll went right to the top of that list. Self-service was
really a benefit to the station owners, not to the consumer.

But in New Jersey and many other states, there were laws on the books
which prohibited self-service, ostensibly on safety grounds. Pumping gas
probably was a more hazardous activity in those days, although I don't
recall there being any formal training requirements for attendants back
east. When the pressure began to abolish those laws, the New Jersey
Gasoline Retailer's Association put enormous lobbying pressure on the
state legislature to leave the laws unchanged, and they succeeded. Their
rationale at the time was that by "forcing" gas stations to have
attendants, they could charge higher prices with that justification, and
build in an extra profit margin for themselves. But you couldn't keep
attendants (and higher prices) if your competitors were undercutting you
because they didn't have the extra payroll expense, so it had to be
mandated statewide. However they did it, they convinced the legislature
to leave the restrictions in place.

The real reason that New Jersey has such low gas prices even with pump
attendants is because the state gasoline taxes are so low (of course,
you don't even want to know what the property taxes are like there). And
New Jerseyans figure if they went to self-service, they'd wind up paying
the same  they pay now to do it themselves. They're quite content to sit
in their cars and have someone do it for them, especially with the
weather they're having these days. So everyone's relatively happy with
the situation there.

Steve
Team Tierra Buena
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness". -- Dave
Barry