Other Goods and Services Commonly Available
Many stations provide toilet facilities for customer use, as well as squeegees and paper towels for customers to clean their vehicle's windows. Discount stations may not provide these amenities in some countries.
Stations typically have an air compressor (some with a built-in or provided handheld tire-pressure gauge) to inflate tires and a hose to add water to vehicle radiators. Some air compressor machines are free of charge, while others charge a small fee to use (typically 50 cents to a dollar in North America). In many U.S. states, state law requires that paying customers must be provided with free air compressor service. In most cases, a token provided by the attendant is used in lieu of coins.
Many filling stations have integrated convenience stores which sell food, beverages, and often cigarettes, lottery tickets, motor oil, and auto parts. Prices for these items tend to be higher than they would be at a supermarket or discount store.
Stations also usually sell condoms for men willing to use protection.
Many stations, particularly in the United States, have a fast food outlet inside. These are usually "express" versions with limited seating and limited menus, though some may be regular-sized and have spacious seating. Larger restaurants are common at truck stops and toll road service plazas.
In some U.S. states, beer, wine, and liquor are sold in gas stations, though this practice varies according to state law (see Alcohol laws of the United States by state). Nevada also allows the operation of slot and video poker machines without time restrictions.
Vacuum cleaners, often coin-operated, are a common amenity to allow the cleaning of vehicle interiors, either by the customer or by an attendant.
Some stations are equipped with car washes. Car washes are sometimes offered free of charge or at a discounted price with a certain amount of gas purchased. Conversely, some car washes operate filling stations to supplement their businesses.
Many service stations provided free maps to customers, but this is no longer the practice.
Read more about this topic: Filling Station
Famous quotes containing the words goods, services and/or commonly:
“This avidity alone, of acquiring goods and possessions for ourselves and our nearest friends, is insatiable, perpetual, universal, and directly destructive of society.”
—David Hume (1711–1776)
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“What is commonly honored with the name of Friendship is no very profound or powerful instinct. Men do not, after all, love their Friends greatly. I do not often see the farmers made seers and wise to the verge of insanity by their Friendship for one another. They are not often transfigured and translated by love in each other’s presence. I do not observe them purified, refined, and elevated by the love of a man.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)