Ever experience something from the past?

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

I was recently on a two lane highway going through a small midwest town. Stopped at the local gas station to fill up and grab some snacks. I noticed each item had a self-adhesive price tag stuck on it. I put my three items on the counter by the register and that is when I went back in time. The cashier picked up each item, turned it to see the price, and then rang up the price with her index finger. After all three were rung up she hit total, squinted at it, looked at me and told me what I owed.

I stood there not believing. Wow. Just like when I was a kid and that was some time ago.
I didn't ask (cough, cough) if they took Apple Pay.

 

[Whisky]

Hopefully those price stickers weren’t put on the products when they were new.

 

[timetofly]

I was recently on a two lane highway going through a small midwest town. Stopped at the local gas station to fill up and grab some snacks. I noticed each item had a self-adhesive price tag stuck on it. I put my three items on the counter by the register and that is when I went back in time. The cashier picked up each item, turned it to see the price, and then rang up the price with her index finger. After all three were rung up she hit total, squinted at it, looked at me and told me what I owed.

I stood there not believing. Wow. Just like when I was a kid and that was some time ago.
I didn't ask (cough, cough) if they took Apple Pay.

Wow! That is antiquated! Surprised they aren't using an abacus!

 

[Big_T]

I remember going to the hardware store with my dad in the early 60's for six or seven small items and the guy took a pencil, added up the prices on a small brown paper bag, and then put the items in that bag.

 

[ewk]

I'll bet she can make change without the aid of the register too! How many times I have given extra change to receive only bills back, and received blank, vacant stares back, along with the statement "you gave me too much."

edit: to be honest, I haven't done a cash transaction in several years. Boy, time flies.

 

[velocityboy]

When I worked at the local Mercantile when I was a high school kid, the cashier ladies could manually punch in prices faster than the current bunch of youngsters can drag a hot pocket over the scanner.

 

[AshleyC]

When I was in Kuwait, the cans of Coca Cola came with the old style "pop top". I had to demonstrate its use to a younger soldier.

 

[Mojo88]

I remember going to the hardware store with my dad in the early 60's for six or seven small items and the guy took a pencil, added up the prices on a small brown paper bag, and then put the items in that bag.

We had a hardware store in the small town where I live that just closed this past year. No bag, but they did use a small invoice pad. Each item was written down with the part number and price. They added it up with a hand calculator and then punched the total in to a cash register that had to be at least 80 years old. I really miss that place, the owner had a wealth of knowledge and he had one off parts that were hard to come by. The basement had a housewares section that had ads from the 50s. It was like walking into the past.

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

We had a hardware store in the small town where I live that just closed this past year. No bag, but they did use a small invoice pad. Each item was written down with the part number and price. They added it up with a hand calculator and then punched the total in to a cash register that had to be at least 80 years old. I really miss that place, the owner had a wealth of knowledge and he had one off parts that were hard to come by. The basement had a housewares section that had ads from the 50s. It was like walking into the past.

That is amazing and I can only imagine the heritage of a place like that.

Back in the 1960's when I was a kid the "Implement" store closed. It was a hardware store but for whatever reason it was referred to as "Implement." I recall going in there with my dad and how old it was, poorly lit, men in there visiting and smoking. The image above is similar to the layout. You didn't go in and pick up merchandise - most of it was behind the counter or hanging on the wall. There were items all the way to the ceiling and an employee would climb a ladder that was on wheels to get what you wanted.

Only later did I realize this is how general stores were laid out back in the day. It is just that "Implement" never changed from the 1800's! The idea was that to have the merchandise down on shelves where the customer could help themselves meant the customer may just take it. So items were in cases as seen here and up on the wall. Then an employee handed the item to the customer and was right there to be sure it got paid for.

 

[borwish]

The local mom and pop hardware store here still uses the stickers and keys in each item. If you are a frequent customer they'll even open a tab for you to get you in out in a hurry. Several times they've handed me a bunch of parts and sent me on my way with instructions to bring back what I didn't need and pay for the rest tomorrow. Customer service rules.

When I was in the furniture business in the late 90s, early 2000s we still used an old mechanical cash register. There were keys for 1s, 10s, 100s, and you had to pull a big lever to work it.

 

[Rudy Vey]

I was recently on a two lane highway going through a small midwest town. Stopped at the local gas station to fill up and grab some snacks. I noticed each item had a self-adhesive price tag stuck on it. I put my three items on the counter by the register and that is when I went back in time. The cashier picked up each item, turned it to see the price, and then rang up the price with her index finger. After all three were rung up she hit total, squinted at it, looked at me and told me what I owed.

I stood there not believing. Wow. Just like when I was a kid and that was some time ago.
I didn't ask (cough, cough) if they took Apple Pay.

Come to New Jersey, you still cannot pump your gas yourself....I think the last state. We moved to MI in 1999 for seven years, and my wife went of shopping and getting gas. She was sitting for a while and nobody showed up to pump her gas. After several minutes a guy showed up and telling her to pump her own, which she has never done. He then helped her. later she went only to stations that offered service for some extra cents per gallon.....

 

[Mojo88]

I was a tech rep in the manufacturing industry before I retired last year. The majority of my time was spent working with Amish in the furniture segment. The shops are as diverse as you can imagine in types of technology. As you would imagine the more conservative churches have less technology. It’s not uncommon to see a progressive shop have a 250k cnc machine and the neighbor shop down the road operating with line shaft drives. One of the coolest shops was one that made Model T wood wheels. The equipment was completely original from when the first Model T was made. The process takes an incredible amount of skill and precision. Each wheel has to be made and calibrated to the other wheels to make sure they run true. It’s primarily his only business, unless a neighbor needs a buggy or wagon wheel. It’s hard to believe that there are that many Model T and wood wheel cars out there. Last year the owner told me he had a years worth of orders.

 

[Whisky]

Come to New Jersey, you still cannot pump your gas yourself....I think the last state. We moved to MI in 1999 for seven years, and my wife went of shopping and getting gas. She was sitting for a while and nobody showed up to pump her gas. After several minutes a guy showed up and telling her to pump her own, which she has never done. He then helped her. later she went only to stations that offered service for some extra cents per gallon.....

Oregon got rid of their no self service law last year. If you can find them read the public comments about whether the law should be repealed are hilarious. Lots of people posting about how dangerous it is to pump gas and only trained professionals should do it. There were a couple of “if you do it wrong your car will explode” as well.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Oregon got rid of their no self service law last year. If you can find them read the public comments about whether the law should be repealed are hilarious. Lots of people posting about how dangerous it is to pump gas and only trained professionals should do it. There were a couple of “if you do it wrong your car will explode” as well.

I am used to pump my own gas since I drive a car (turning 70 this year), it is so common everywhere in the world, but NJ!!
And most of the attendants here are as dumb as a rock, I would feel safer to do my own filling. Years ago, I had popped the gas door on the car, but the guy took the nozzle and opened the back door.....looking for the tank inside the car....We both yelled *** are you doing. Spoke no English, eventually we found out he was an immigrant from Russia.

 

[ewk]

@Whisky and @Rudy Vey I grew up in NJ but have not lived there in many years. One of the last times I was there and needed gas the station was not busy yet the attendant took a good long while before bothering to come out of his booth and pump the gas. After paying him in cash I waited for him to give me my $5 change. Seeing my out-of-state license plate he figured he could extort a tip. When I didn't leave, he said, "Oh, you want money back?" I said said, "Yes, I want my change. And even if I were inclined to tip, you certainly didn't earn one." So glad to have escaped the "Garden State."

If anyone admits risk of exploding their car by pumping their own gas, they should be required to surrender their license to operate a motor vehicle.

 

[DEgeezer]

Oregon got rid of their no self service law last year.

Only partially true. The new law seems a little strange. Here’s a direct quote from one of their publications:

A new law took effect January 1 allowing some gas stations in the Beaver State's 15 counties with populations under 40,000 to offer self-serve gasoline. Three counties on the Oregon Coast can now offer self-serve fueling from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. under the same bill.

 

[Whisky]

A new law took effect January 1 allowing some gas stations in the Beaver State's 15 counties with populations under 40,000 to offer self-serve gasoline. Three counties on the Oregon Coast can now offer self-serve fueling from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. under the same bill

I was confused for a minute, then realized that quote is from a 2017 article. But now I’m even more confused.

Here’s one from the Oregon Govt last year.

Oregon State Fire Marshal : State of Oregon

www.oregon.gov

In certain counties all stations can now have self serve at all hours. In the other counties self serve is only allowed up to 50% of pumps and only if there is an attendant present. I guess that’s in case someone needs the assistance of one of those highly trained gasoline pump jockeys.

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

With that kind of behavior it seems like there is a union for gas pump workers. My goodness people, do the other 48 states have cars exploding at the gas stations? I didn't think so. Now go find yourself another hobby.

 

[njpaddy]

I am used to pump my own gas since I drive a car (turning 70 this year), it is so common everywhere in the world, but NJ!!
And most of the attendants here are as dumb as a rock, I would feel safer to do my own filling. Years ago, I had popped the gas door on the car, but the guy took the nozzle and opened the back door.....looking for the tank inside the car....We both yelled *** are you doing. Spoke no English, eventually we found out he was an immigrant from Russia.

My part-time job (with full time hours) in the late 80s-thru the 90s was a shift leader nights and weekends at 2nd busiest Hess station in NJ. Back then, we'd have a different group of immigrants coming in every couple of months. Some were good workers, but they usually didn't stay for long. Many were useless, or tied to rip off the customers. When customers complained to me, I'd tell them that "I don't hire these idiots and tell them to complain to the manager or call the main office." I'd even give them the main #. With regular, local customers, I'd go out and pump their gas. I really hate getting gas these days, having to wait for someone who doesn't have enough help. Fortunately, my wife has more patience and fills up her car when I'm not in it. When we go out of NJ with self-service, I fill up the car.

 

[Tirvine]

I am not letting someone else pump my gas unless they are wearing a white uniform, a cap with a black visor and white top, and a black bowtie. They also must check my fluids and tires and clean my windows, whistling cheerfully the whole time.