Service Station Attendant

Kaihoko Penehini/Hinu

Service station attendants help customers get petrol, gas or oil for their vehicle, and sell motoring accessories and food items.

Pay

Service station attendants usually earn

$23 per hour

Source: Student Job Search, 2017.

Job opportunities

Chances of getting a job as a service station attendant are average due to a regular vacancies for a reduced number of jobs

Length of training

There are no specific training requirements. Find out more about how to enter the job.

About the job

Pay

Pay for service station attendants varies depending on responsibility, experience and location.

Service station attendants usually earn minimum wage.

Source: Student Job Search, 2017.

(This information is a guide only. Find out more about the sources of our pay information)

What you will do

Service station attendants may do some or all of the following:

take payment for petrol, food and other goods
check petrol tank levels
pump petrol into customers' cars
check car batteries, and oil and water levels
wash windscreens and check car tyres
carry out minor workshop tasks such as fixing tyres
keep the shop and forecourt clean and tidy
order new stock.

Skills and knowledge

Service station attendants need to have knowledge of:

service station products such as petrol, oil and other goods
cash handling and customer services
food handling and cleaning
safety rules and first aid
basic mechanical skills.

Working conditions

Service station attendants:

work full or part-time hours, and may do shift work including nights and weekends
work in service station shops and forecourts
work in all weather conditions, and can be exposed to petrol fumes.

What's the job really like?

Doug Thrush

Service Station Attendant

Early shifts suit Doug

Service station attendant Doug Thrush likes the freedom of a job where he can begin early.

"What I enjoy most about this job is the hours that I'm working – being able to start early and finish early. I open up in the mornings, so I do the tank dips to see how much fuel is in there and I read the pumps. I also get the pies out of the chiller and the milk ready for the milk distributor.”

The freedom of working outside was also an attraction for Doug. “Here you can get in and out. I spend time inside serving customers but I also work out on the forecourt pumping petrol. I also do things like replacing windscreen wipers and changing punctured tyres.”

Good service brings back the customers

Doug acknowledges that good customer service skills are invaluable. "This job is not as easy as it looks – you've got to keep thinking ahead, so when you meet the customers you know what they're doing and what they want. If you can get people to come back to you again, then you've achieved something."

How to enter the job

Entry requirements

There are no specific entry requirements to become a service station attendant, as you gain skills on the job.

A driver's licence is usually required.

Secondary education

A minimum of three years of secondary education is recommended. Useful subjects include English and maths.

Personal requirements

Service station attendants need to be:

good at communicating
friendly and helpful
good at customer service
honest and reliable
able to follow instructions
good at basic maths.

Useful experience

Useful experience for service station attendants includes:

customer service work
money-handling experience
repairing vehicles
retail work.

Physical requirements

Service station attendants need to be reasonably fit as they spend long periods on their feet.

Find out more about training

ServiceIQ: 0800 863 693 - intel@ServiceIq.org.nz - www.serviceiq.org.nz

Check out related courses

Job opportunities

What are the chances of getting a job?

Service station closures and self-service petrol pumps reduce opportunities

The decrease in numbers of service station attendants is due to:

some large oil companies closing down a number of their smaller franchises
some small, independent, rural petrol stations closing due to competition from large companies
more stations offering self-service petrol pumps, reducing the need for service station attendants.

According to the Census, 2,166 service station attendants worked in New Zealand in 2018.

Staff turnover creates regular vacancies

While the overall number of available service station attendant roles has reduced, vacancies still come up fairly regularly. This is because service station attendants usually work on a casual or part-time basis, and tend to stay in the job for a short period only.

Demand is good for attendants in stations that have cafes and sell a lot of food and drink.

Chances best if flexible about hours and location

Your chances of getting a job as a service station attendant are best in cities, and if you are prepared to work weekends and evenings.