For those who grew up an era in which you pay for your gas at the pump, and pump it yourself while cradling a Slurpee, the idea of a full service gas station may seem like an alien idea. Yes, there was time that an attendant would pump your gas, clean your windshield, and even check your oil and tire pressure. But even full-service can't hold a candle to the gas station planned for Greenwich, Connecticut.
Forget pulling over at a truck stop in the dark of the night, risking life and possibly limb. Forget sacrificing your debit card to the would-be card cloners. This gas station, which is being built by the Guess Corporation, is a members-only gas station, with a four-story convenience store, a salon, a clothing boutique and-as if that wasn't enough nonsense-a waterpark.
Yes, a waterpark. The "GP Club", which is set to open next year, will have a valet service that will take the customers' vehicles off to be fueled, hand-washed, and then waxed, while the customers avail themselves of the amenities, which also include a video conferencing center and a steakhouse, just in case the gas station nachos from the last stop didn't quite hit the spot. It will also feature a "sleeping suite" in case you don't want to catch your forty winks in the parking lot.
Yes, you could stop there to fuel up on your next family trip to the Grand Canyon. That is, if your household has a net worth of $50 million or more. That's in addition to the yet-to-be-disclosed membership fee. Tiffany Taylor, a vice president of the Guess Corporation, said in an email to Time Magazine: "Greenwich is considered an ultra-affluent city in America, and we think it is important for GP Club to have a presence in the city."
The site for the first GP Club has yet to be determined, and the new store will be the first of some 250 such gas stations planned for various locations around the world.
There was no mention if there will be "free air" for your tires. But if your net worth is $50 million, who needs air?
Lincoln Brown for Oilprice.com
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Lincoln Brown is the former News and Program Director for KVEL radio in Vernal, Utah. He hosted “The Lincoln Brown Show” and was penned a… More