J & S Oil

This is a local company that has been here many years. My wife and I have both used their car wash, oil change services as well as purchasing Gas and oil. Lastly they have a nice convenience store at the Manchester Location. In Hundreds and hundreds of visits J&S employees have always been courteous. Only on one single occasion was one of their employees Non-​professional. I would call those pretty good odds. Highly recommended to do business with them including home heating oil.

Most fun car wash in town! My six year old loves going with me to get the olé’ Subaru cleaned up, it is like an amusement park ride! We pretend we are going on an underwater adventure, and a great octopus is trying to attack us… I know it must sound ridiculous but you gotta appreciate the little things in life! Complete with rainbow soap if you get the silver package, my personal favorite.

Today, I was at this gas station with my mother, who happens to be an Episcopal minister well into her 60s. She asked for $ 20 of regular gas. A few moments later, she was told her the total, without blinking, to be for a filled tank. We were surprised, as she hadn’t asked for a fill, and she let him know. He was polite, but asked if she could cover the difference anyway. When she said she would not, he said he needed to get his manager.
The situation quickly and bizarrely escalated to us being confronted by not one, but two managers, having my mother’s license plate number written down, and having my mother being interrogated by an extremely aggressive man named George, who actually walked away from the car when I asked him to what purpose my mother’s license plate was being recorded, as he just smirked and continued to say «It’s policy.» They insinuated multiple times that she was being dishonest and failed, to be honest, to behave like normal human beings. Instead, George caused both of us feel very uncomfortable in a way that was so disrespectful I could hardly believe it was happening, let alone have anything to compare it to. To be treated in such an antagonistic manner, especially as women in the climate of small town Maine, was so deeply disheartening and disturbing for both of us. My mother, heartbreakingly, told me some time later that she was still feeling deeply shaken by the way she was treated, as they had truly made her feel like a criminal. What is even more heartbreaking to me is that my mother, whenever she travels in the area, goes far out of her way to visit J&S and has for over twenty years because of the customer service.
These young men, particularly George, lost a loyal customer of over 20 years today for a complete lack of respect and thoughtless attitude. So sad and again, so, so disappointing. I always try to remain a proponent of this area of rural Maine, as it is close to my heart, but seeing young men like George exhibit such behavior makes it difficult to retain faith in the rural culture, especially for young men. Meanwhile, philosophical pondering aside, I can definitively say I will be recommending others go elsewhere, as we will be doing the same.

Most of the time, convenience stores are the bane of travel by car, especially when traveling distances of an hour or more.
In Maine, there are several well-​known stores of this type – most are dreadful at their worst – dirty bathrooms, grimy interiors, overpriced, high-​calorie foods made from ingredients that I don’t ever know what they are, and often, underpaid, disinterested staff.
The stores run by J&S Oil have always been a cut above for me. Friendly staff, clean rest rooms and their car washes here (and Waterville) keep your car looking sharp. They are an employee-​owned company and it shows. While wages probably aren’t at the living wage level, there are definitely benefits that J&S offers their employees, and it’s always reflected any time I’m forced to jump off the interstate for gas, munchies, or to use the rest room at one of their stores.
While their food will never be confused with haute cuisine, there are at least a few pseudo-​healthy snacks, well-​stocked coolers with cold juice and water, and after being made to feel like my business is welcome, I’m refueled and on my way again.