Hacienda Shell

Needed a smog check, had a coupon so I went to Hacienda Shell. This place is shabby… filthy waiting area… and an attendant who could care less if you were there. CASH only and it has to be the exact amount of cash, if not, you will need to walk over to Seven-​11 and purchase something in order to get change.

Since I worked a block or two from here, I used this station for gas quite often. Always, found the people in the minimart/​cash area to be friendly. Got to know a few of them, and one even complimented on one of my hats one morning. On the other hand, there is a real disconnect, between the garage, and the station cashier. I did get my car smog test there once, purely out of convenience. Never really had a problem, and they were good at labeling pumps that were out of order. You can probably get a better deal on gas, but they do except the Lucky gas discount card, if you shop at Lucky supermarket, across the street. I like that the fact that it’s a pretty large area, so it’s not too difficult, to get in an out, even when it’s busy. Happy motoring.

Refused new $ 100 bill. Wtf? This place doesn’t want your money!!! Also, they do not sell beef jerky. Ummm, I have never seen a gas station without it before.

I don’t write a lot of reviews and unfortunately I am writing this one because the experience we had there was so negative. It still bothers me a few weeks later. On a family bike ride my 9 year old son got a flat. We stopped by this gas station to fill it with air in hopes he could at least make it home. The machine that charges for air was broken. We explained that the air machine was broken and asked the guy at the cash window if we could use the air in the repair shop. He shrugged and just said he was sorry, didn’t know what we could do. We asked about the repair shop and he said he didn’t know if they would help, he didn’t work with them. We then asked at the repair shop. The woman in charge told us to use the machine outside. We told her it was broken and asked if she would let us use their air hose. We offered to pay. The air hose was visible and close by. She abruptly said she was too busy and ignored us from then on.
We walked the bike home. But, what would it have taken to be just a little polite and kind? There was no reason to treat a family that way. I will never stop there for gas again and I will particularly never consider going for a repair or smog check. They so blatantly did not care. I assume they do not care about my business.

So nice that you have TV screens at your pumps. This distracts me from thinking about the fact that gas prices are rising again. How considerate of you Shell.

Um, I’m pretty sure I’ve never reviewed a gas station before, probably because I f*@#ing hate getting gas. If it’s possible to be bad at getting gas, I am. I can never get the pump going right. Not to mention the multiple times I have to struggle with two hands to get the gas cap off or there’s some issue using the credit/​debit machine. Etc. Etc.
But I was pleasantly surprised that here today I both didn’t have a horrible time actually pumping the gas (it only shut-​off prematurely on me, like, three or four times … which I realize is a lot for a normal person, but I honest suck at pumping gas). AND the stupid little TV screens that usually annoy me were actually playing Jay Leno’s «Headlines,» which I like (the segment … not so much Leno) and they showed a thing with Phyllis and Stanley from «The Office.» It *almost* made getting gas fun.
I almost gave four stars, but really, it’s still pumping gas. But most stations I would give two or less … so three in this case really means «A-​OK.»