There may be many different styles of gas pumps here in the US, but most (Angie?) of us can figure out how to use them and all of them are "put the hose in the tank and pull the trigger". One of the first things you learn when needing gas in Sierra Leone is that it doesn't work that way. I think this is one of the things that fascinated my dad the most.
Of course Salone too has it's range of pump styles- all of which are full service, so maybe it doesn't fully matter to the driver- because anyway you do it someone puts gas in your tank. In Freetown we did see a few modern gas stations (complete with a store with snacks inside) where there is a pump, you flip the switch and use the hose with the "trigger". Then you have the other extreme, (which we did have to use- once by myself) where you pull up to the guys on the side of the road- they use there one gallon measuring can and funnel and pore the gas into your tank. The way I got gas most often though was somewhere in the middle of these two. Almost all the stations around Bo look like these photos.
You pull into the station, chose petrol or diesel, say how many gallons, and they begin winding. The station in the bottom photo is one I went to often. For each gallon they have to push back and forth the handle this man is holding until the glass tank above is filled- this is one gallon. They then flip a switch and it runs through the hose into your tank- shake the hose a little so it all gets in there and then start again. Most people only by a couple gallons at a time- but I can only imagine how long it would take to fill your tank. I guess the one bonus is that all of these places are pay at the pump. :)
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