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Looks like the government wants to introduce self service in petrol stations.
What will all those nice wee girls with beautiful smiles do now?
I love getting served at YPF. Will they reduce the price? Unlikely.....
Yes the YPF boys and girls are very good. 
Hopefully they won't all go.
There are plenty of service stations in US that have both full and self service depending on the aisle you drive your car into. 10-20 cents per Liter difference. You decide what type of service you want. The disabled person laws might also require a full service person even if a station does not list separate prices.
I welcome this news because of the delays in waiting to be served, especially when you have people getting their windows cleaned, oil checked, water checked etc etc.
But where will we pay? In the shop?
Expect a union backlash.
It’s time to modernize the country. I am appalled by the lack of automatic services in Argentina.
Automatic gas stations, automatic laundries, automatic cigarette dispensers, automatic food and beverage dispensers are the norm anywhere in Europe, nowadays. Even pharmacies have automatic dispensers of certain items like condoms, masks, gloves, pregnancy tests etc
In Germany, they even have automatic pizza machines that prep a pizza on the spot!
one of the things that surprised me when I arrived, was the amount of workers in any place. Most of the time they move at a sloth speed and chit chat. How is that sustainable?!
We have all seen and complained about it.
It’s time to modernize the country.
Says it all really. This country is years behind the first world. Union power and people's attitudes to blame. Millei will sort it out.
But where will we pay? In the shop?
The different aisles have different prices set at the meter which is displayed at the pump
But where will we pay? In the shop?
In Italy, we have payment machines next to the pump. There is a dedicated column that allows to pay for all the pumps.
You slide in the bills or swipe your card (well, right now it is contactless so you just put your card on the reader), select the pump number and start filling in your tank. If you want a specific amount, you just select it on the pump (you press a button for €5, €10, €20 etc.). The pump will stop automatically. If you do not select any amount, you keep filling in.
If paying by cash, there is no exchange returned by the machine, but you can collect a paper receipt and cash in your change during opening hours, at the counter. If you pay by card, no such issue. However, when you use your card, there is a fixed pre-approved amount that is get "charged" on your card preemptively. Then the actual amount is charged after you are done filling in. This is to make sure that you can pay for whatever amount your final charge will be. I think it is about €100 in Italy, which is the cost to fill in a tank of a large car.
During work hours, some places let you fill in first, and then you go inside and pay at the counter. I don't think that this "credit" will be given in Argentina. They will surely require payment in advance.
We all know Argentina.....will people try and do a runner after filling their tanks?
I was going to say with security cameras capturing images of registration plates there shouldn't be much of a problem. However in Chivilcoy with half the cars and motor bikes allowed to go about with dodgy registration plates or none at all there could be problems. 
I was going to say with security cameras capturing images of registration plates there shouldn't be much of a problem. However in Chivilcoy with half the cars and motor bikes allowed to go about with dodgy registration plates or none at all there could be problems.
All the self pay pumps in USA have credit card payment self swipe. Perhaps NFC now. First pre-authorize your card, sometimes asked to enter your postal code for verification, take card out, then start pumping at that pump. Later say yes if want a receipt, or just drive away. Very easy and no concern for forgetting your card. No cash option unless you go inside first to a cash register attendant, similar to how serafina explained the cash option in Italy.
All the self pay pumps in USA have credit card payment self swipe. Perhaps NFC now. First pre-authorize your card, sometimes asked to enter your postal code for verification, take card out, then start pumping at that pump. Later say yes if want a receipt, or just drive away. Very easy and no concern for forgetting your card. No cash option unless you go inside to an cash register attendant.
That makes sense. I'm pretty sure here at least they'll keep at least one pump manned for motor bikes paying with cash.
Self-service pumps, however, will not be installed across all national territory. In the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, and Jujuy, local laws prohibit the operation of fuel pumps by anyone other than service station staff.
The unions say that it's not an easy job serving petrol. Odd that other countries manage it very easily.
But essentially, this is a cultural change.
I don't think the missus has ever operated a pump as whenever we hired a car in the UK it was me who used to do the filling. Been so long ago I don't even remember how we paid.
Yet it is a big con and distraction from a real solution to putting money in peoples pockets. While wasting consumers time and comfort to pump our own smelly fuel in the hot, cold and rain.
In Argentina, Labor costs are still quite low compared to the cost of supplies and the petrol which are all priced close to international costs. So this saves almost nothing for the consumer. Yes it does weaken the unions. Yes it removes headache and hassel from the service station owners, so maybe they decide to add more locations. Continues the isolation of people from each other even with these minor daily greetings and chat. Weakens the economy by displacing all the low paid workers so the few owners can make more money
This makes me think of the circa 2000 transformation of airport check-in counters, where most of the people were replaced by self check-in kiosks.
Yet it is a big con and distraction from a real solution to putting money in peoples pockets. While wasting consumers time and comfort to pump our own smelly fuel in the hot, cold and rain.
In Argentina, Labor costs are still quite low compared to the cost of supplies and the petrol which are all priced close to international costs. So this saves almost nothing for the consumer. Yes it does weaken the unions. Yes it removes headache and hassel from the service station owners, so maybe they decide to add more locations. Continues the isolation of people from each other even with these minor daily greetings and chat. Weakens the economy by displacing all the low paid workers so the few owners can make more money
Have your ever queued been there's only one attendant, six pumps and a dozen cars waiting?
It's quaint but inefficient and archaic.
There's definitely positives for the consumer with self service. Getting your money out of your bank account being one of them especially here.
It had to happen eventually. As usual like many things here, Argentina is late to the party due to the f'ing unions. They're just frightened they'll be next.
Have your ever queued been there's only one attendant, six pumps and a dozen cars waiting?
It's quaint but inefficient and archaic.
Ha! Yes I have queued many times, though mostly I recall those days 10-15 years ago. It always seemed they were limited on fuel, not workers. I have waited in the 3am hours waiting for the first tanker to arrive since they ran out of fuel 12 hours earlier. I have waited 2 hours in nowhere town in the middle of a forced pause during an all day road trip. I have little faith that drivers pumping their own fuel will speed up the process, plus some worker is still in charge of turning on each pump. Once they have it truely self service, with self service payment at the pump, then yes it might speed up the process.
That article mentions Buenos Aires province is still not allowed to have self service regardless of the new Federal law,
