Another thread got me thinking about this. When I was young, if a store advertised an item for sale and ran out of the item, they would issue you a rain check. Pretty much all grocery stores and department stores would do this. Nowadays, rain checks are all but obsolete. The only store I know of that still offers them is Kroger. For those young folk who don't even know what a rain check it, it was a slip of paper that would allow you to buy X number of the sale item for the sale price once they came back in stock.

Another long gone service is layaway. Again, back then every department store offered it. You could beat the Christmas crowds and do all your shopping for the kids in October or so and put the items on layaway. Then once a week or every other week, you would go and pay on your layaway bill until you paid it off in December. There was an interest rate, but I remember it being small. I guess credit cards did away with this service. I think Walmart might still offer it, but only at Christmas. It used to be year around. You could layaway a gun in January and pay all year on it as you could to have it paid off by hunting season.

But now that I think about it, most of the stores that offered layaway are gone too.....Kmart, Hills, Ames, Sears, Brand Names....

What other services that used to be commonly offered are now a thing of the past?

I didn't know that rain-checks were mostly a thing of the past.

Arby's used to offer real beef.

Jim

Rain checks are still a normal thing around here.
Tom

At what stores? Grocery stores?

They don't offer rain checks around here. They don't know what the replacement cost for the products will be.

Menards

No rain checks around here anymore, no layaway, no service man to pump your gas for you , wash your windshield while you wait and check your oil. All things of the past.

That was before greed was the American way.

Rain checks is still common at Albertsons.
If I remember right, kmart and target offered Layway year round.

Full service has stations were nice. Also missed is pumping before paying.

A handful of Andies mint chocolates at the end of your meal at restaurants is another long gone compliment.

Ahhhhhh, pumping before paying, very few places here still do that . Pulling up to the old pumps with the spinning analog numbers, pulling that big old cast aluminum starting lever over and instantly pumping gas - how wonderful that was.

Shoe shine chairs. Used to be one at most new car lots and the courthouse and some barber shops.

Quite a few stations down here let you pump before you pay still.

Yes,rain checks at grocery stores.Got one at cub a couple of weeks ago. Gas stations are still pump before you pay.
Tom

Maid service in hotels. They only clean up after you've left.

Jim

Restaurants, hotels and bars used to put out bowls of free matches, usually with their logos on them.

Keith

Green stamps are long gone.

1800 collect
Payphones
Long distance rates
Cobblers (boot and shoe repair) very few exist here

I never used lay a way but now that you mention it it has been awhile since I have seen it.

One gas station left here. About 15 miles away. Can get a battery, or a tire fixed or an oil change etc in their shop. Gas is not any higher than a lot of the convenience stores. I make it a point to buy all my gas there.

Stayed in a motel in CO with my wife and grandkids for 3 nights. Would not come in to wash sinks, pick up dirty towels, vacuum and make the beds. Desk clerk said zombie virus. So on Monday I called corporate headquarters. Manager called me back and said you had to ask for that as most people didnt want hotel staff in the room. I told her what the desk clerk said and the manager blamed it on the weekend staff. We wont be staying there again.


Seems to be more and more common to have to deal with service people that act like zombies. Wont look you in the eye, they talk to you looking at their feet. They whisper behind a mask so you cant hear them. Act nervous. Seem to be upset often that you want a little service.

I miss paper grocery sacks instead of plastic and somebody bagging and taking your groceries to your car for you.

It was nice when gas stations were still around as every one outside of a city had ammo. Not a lot usually but you could get a box of 22,30-06, 30-30 or 12 gauge 6 shot at any of them.

Heck Casey's convenience stores carried ammo behind the counter.

I miss drunk driving being .1 instead of .08 Its .04 if you have a CDL. I can no longer stop and have a beer at a tavern I have to drive too, without risking my driver license. Used to have a beer with my lunch at a truckstop. Get back in my semi legal as your backdoor. Those days are long gone too. Cant even do that when I am in my pickup.

Used to get milk ,cream, butter delivered before sunup. Put into a lightly insulated metal milk box by the front door.

Also eggs were delivered to the house and the cartons traded back each week.