COEUR d'ALENE - They took the "self" out of "self-service" last winter at Hayden Chevron and Fairway Grocery and Gas in Coeur d'Alene, and they say they'll do it again.

For several hours a day, when the weather turned cold, the stations offered full-service refueling, with attendants who pumped gas for customers.

"It was great," said Tom Paschane, general manager of Hayden Chevron. "We heard constant thank-yous."

The decision to go full-service wasn't motivated by money, but rather, it was in response to a Press letter-writer's call last September for help pumping gas when the cold North Idaho winter weather settles in.

Marion Walker, an 89-year-old Hayden resident, made the plea for a live gas station attendant.

"It's no fun when one has reached the 70s and 80s, and still be alert and very capable of driving, to have to be exposed to the winter elements of ice and single-degree weather, walk on ice into the store to pay in advance, then walk back to the car, then pump one's own gas, etc.," Walker wrote, in a letter to the editor.

Paschane got on board the day after the letter was published. Hayden Chevron planned to begin pumping gas for people Nov. 1, but started a few weeks earlier in October, when the weather turned cold.

Fairway Grocery and Gas, 1735 W. Kathleen Ave., soon joined in.

"There was a lot of great feedback for it," said Fairway manager Hannah Symons. "Many people wanted it."

Symons said it gave the station employees more opportunities to interact with and get to know their customers.

"It was friendly," Symons said. "I can't see why we wouldn't do it again."

The full-service customers at Hayden Chevron ranged from seniors to people with disabilities to young mothers, Paschane said. Paschane said his station and the two part-time attendants they hired for the winter received constant thanks from grateful customers.

"The attendants did a great job," he said. "They were happy to provide the service."

Symons and Paschane each said they will still help people at the pump, if they ask for it.

"Should you desire some help, please just call the station ahead," Paschane said.