Fill em' with kindness - Carson City gas station adds full service at no charge

Gas station operators may not be able to do much about the record price of fuel in Carson City, but one has decided he can give his customers a bit more for their money.

Scott Kelley is adding free full service - checking the oil, cleaning the windshields and pumping the gas - for weekday morning customers at his otherwise self-serve Tesoro station, the Short Stop Market at 1321 North Carson St.

"I'm just trying to give people what they deserve," said Kelly, who bought the business a year ago.

"I'm not changing how I price my gas. You pull into other stations for full service, they charge you for it."

Kelly hired one of his regular customers, Robert Breen, to take care of the duties at the pump. Mondays through Fridays, Breen is the man squeegeeing windows and checking dipsticks from 6 -11 a.m.

"Robert's a good man for full service. He seems to be doing real well with it," Kelly said.

Kelly said he expects eventually to be able offer full service at all hours.

"Right now I'm trying to build up my morning base. By winter we'll be doing full service until noon and I want to do it open to close," he said.

He said he will be distributing flyers in area mobile home parks, trying to attract seniors who would appreciate the full service offering.

"I'm tired of chasing the low-ball market," he said. "I'm looking for a respectful, loyal clientele."

The other Tesoro station in the area, the General Store in Mound House, is owned by Scott's brother Steve, who has not added full service there. "He's too busy out there," Scott Kelly said.

Shell in Carson City charges an additional 50 cents a gallon for full service, Texaco charges an additional 45 cents.