Originally Posted by 68RT/71GTX
I will be really upset if I have to sit in line again to buy it like L.A. in 1970. It would be even worse if I was told the station had none left. It used to be a big consideration living in California in the 70's if you were driving a muscle car and did not know where your next tank of gas would come from.
That was 1973 to be exact... when I was 17; I worked as a night manager at a high-volume Mobil Station. The owner had higher allocations than most service stations in the area -- needless to say, my parents and I never had to wait in a gas line. During this time I had a '65 442 Olds, and sold it to buy a '69 Camaro SS L78 -- my dad had his 1969 Dodge Charger.
I remember this time very well; gas prices sky rocketed from $.35 to $.75 and eventually went over $1.00 per gallon. There was mass hysteria, gas lines were 1 to 3 hours and up to 1/4 mile long. As a night manager, I had 3 to 4 guys working the pumps, I directed traffic, monitored odd even plates, and if people had 1/2 tank or more, I would kick them out of the line... and to assure we had enough gas for the morning shift, the owner instructed me to shut the pumps off no later than 8:00pm... in essence, faking the tanks went dry. Otherwise, we would be pumping gas all night long.
This wasn't an easy task because we had regular customers mixed with just about anyone that would jump into a line if they saw one... knowing there was gas.
I've seen people at their worst during this time...
One night we had a regular customer that must have been in line for 1.5 hours and when he finally reached the pumps, I flipped the mains. I was in the back when I heard the commotion. This guy hopped out of his car and started beating the pump with his fist... cracked the top plastic housing, his face was bright red and he was yelling to the top of his voice, saying: "I'm a salesman and I need gas to make a living."
Damn, that was my first lesson in managing conflict.. I was only 17. I knew I couldn't go in the back and flip the pumps back on with all the onlookers, and a gas line that went clear down the road.
I finally calmed this guy down and assured him we were getting a new load at 2am, and if he came back first thing in the morning, the morning shift would get him to the front of the line so he could start his day...
Remember, that was a day when there was a gas station on every corner ... I can't imagine what it would be like if the same happened today.
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