Full service gas stations still pumping in Greensboro

Ellen Freeze has been going to Steve's Friendly BP since she bought her car 12 years ago.

Within moments of arriving at the full-service station on a recent day, Tommy McKoin came outside to pump her gas, clean her windshield, and check the car's fluids and tire pressure - all while she remained in her car.

When he finished, Tommy went back into the station on Green Valley Road and came back with peanut butter crackers for Freeze's dog.

It's that level of services that keeps Freeze coming back.

And it makes her fear that Steve's, one of the few fuel service gas stations left in the state and one of two in Greensboro, will close for good.

When the station's owner, Steve McKoin, 72, started pumping gas in 1970, full-service stations were still a familiar part of American life.

Over the past 50 years, though, self-service stations have spread across the country, and many operators have abandoned the labor-intensive model in favor of speed, efficiency, and higher profits.

McKoin never fully made the transition.

"Here at Steve's we do it like the old days," he said.

Steve McKoin has spent 56 years working on Green Valley Road. The station is a family business. His wife, Cathy, works behind the front desk; His brother Paul is the main mechanic; his other brother Tommy handles regular service duties; his oldest son Steve Jr. manages the books; his youngest son Andy helps wherever needed; and Peggy Breadlove works as the night clerk.

Breedlove is not related to the McKoins. She was hired after the BP she previously worked at closed.

Even McKoin's grandsons pitch in when they can.

McKoin got his start in the business at age 16 when Mike Ingle, owner of three Greensboro gas stations, hired him.

McKoin credits Ingle with teaching him everything he knows. In 1993, 23 years after hiring him, Ingle sold McKoin the BP station.

The Ingle family has maintained a similar legacy. Mike Ingle sold his Exxon station on Golden Gate Drive to his brother, Jeff Ingle, who later sold it to his son, Wes Ingle. Today, both stations serve as reminders of a time when full-service gas stations were the norm.

"It's a dying breed, it was really cool when it was bustling and busy," Wes Ingle said.

Jeff Ingle said full service once accounted for three-fourths of their business at Jeff's Golden Gate Exxon. Today, nearly all profits come from self-service customers.

Their Exxon still maintains one full-service island where longtime regulars pull in, sometimes honking to let employees know they have arrived.

"We've kept it open because you still have people who are handicapped or don't want to pump their gas because we've always done it," Wes Ingle said.

McKoin's station has five repair bays and three self-service pumps.

Customers who pull up to the full-service island are greeted by an employee who pumps their gas and performs small maintenance tasks for an additional 25 to 30 cents per gallon.

McKoin said BP has encouraged him to convert the full-service island into another self-service lane to increase profits.

He believes doing so would come at the expense of the personal connections he has built with customers. Many, he said, have urged him not to change a thing.

"Now maybe we're behind in some ways, we probably are, but I just like the personal touch, and the people must too, because we've won I don't know how many awards for garage of the year, or something," McKoin said.

The station's reputation has been built as much on relationships as on automotive work.

"Kindness is not a hard thing to do, you know. It should come natural to all of us, and some people are friendlier than others," says McKoin's oldest son, Steve McKoin Jr., 54, "but just treat people the way you want to be treated, and everything will work out, everything else will fall into place."

The younger McKoin said many elderly widows and widowers come to the station simply because they want someone to talk to.

"I may be the only person they speak to that whole day, or Mom may be the only person they speak to that day, so I think that's what's kept us here so long."

These relationships often run deep.

McKoin recalled an incident from 20 to 25 years ago when an ambulance pulled into the station. An EMS worker stepped out and told him a woman inside wanted to see him.

He opened the rear door of the ambulance and found one of his longtime customers. She told him she had a heart condition and was unlikely to survive.

"And I told her, ‘Oh, honey, go on to the hospital, they'll get you straightened out, you'll be all right," he said. "She died that night; I'll never forget it."

Over the years, customers have found ways to return the McKoin's kindness.

One customer brings baked goods about once a month, including homemade cinnamon rolls, Cathy McKoin's favorite.

Steve McKoin Jr. said another customer brings money to the station each month, which the family uses to help cover gas or inspection costs for people facing financial hardship.

After more than five decades at the station, McKoin has no plans to leave.

Instead, he intends to pass the business on to his sons, Steve Jr. and Andy, keeping it in the family.

The two brothers have worked at the station since they were about 13 years old and say it is all they have ever known. Nearly every aspect of their lives ties back to the business. Both say they are eager to take over and remain committed to keeping the full-service station operating.

McKoin believes that while full-service stations may never return to every corner, the concept itself is not gone forever.

"I still think there's a day coming, somebody's going to jump back on full service," he said.

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