University Shell

University Shell is a gas station - convenience store and often the first part of Davis that visitors see, as it sits right off Interstate 80 on the corner of Richards Boulevard and Olive Drive on the main route into downtown.

The parking lot exits to the In-N-Out burger. During busy hours for In-N-Out, you may find people from the restaurant parked in the lot, especially along the strip facing the restaurant.

Because it has multiple access points and sits on the very corner by several on and off ramps to the Interstate, it can be said that it is a contributor to the worst intersection in Davis. At the very least, it is witness to the crazy driving that occurs.

There is an Allpoint ATM at this station. The practice of "high pressure salespeople at the pump" has been observed to occur here.

University Shell transferred ownership from Kim Thanh Nguy to Rani Pal, LLC on 2007-09-13. Around 2009 the owner's name was being given as Paul (Same guy? New owner?).

There's also the Davis Shell, and the unimaginatively named Shell out on Mace Boulevard and Chiles Road.

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2009-05-08 19:33:23   I like the New Owner Paul, the store look much cleaner after the ownership change hands. I think we should give Paul a chance because he is such a nice, polite and know how to make good will. You just tell the clerk, that you want a fresh made coffee, and the clerk will dump the former coffee, and make you a new one even the former coffee is more than half filled. Their Restroom are always clean, and I had them never saying me "NO" from using their restoom. I love their service, and I drop newspaper, and their new clerks now even help you with putting oil in the car. I love this place.

—david1919

2010-06-08 19:25:03   This just happened a few hours ago. A high-pressure salesman came up and accosted me while I was pumping gas. He had a booth just outside the store. He was rather rude to me, since I wouldn't give in to his sales pitch, and couldn't take "no" for an answer. Needless to say, I stopped pumping gas and left. I would be hesitant to return, if this practice continues. —alkonost

2011-04-29 21:00:25   I buy shell only shell gas, but after some truly horrible customer service I may never go back to HERE or the same owner's Anderson location. After pumping more than $60 into my tank I requested some air, as I noticed some of my tires seemed low on pressure. After the attendant evaluated that I HAD INDEED purchased gas he proceeded to tell me that he would turn it on. After waiting for a couple minutes I went back inside to find out that they had no "button" to turn on the Air/Water (which costs $1.00, but is REQUIRED to be provided FREE to any customer). After calling his manager/owner, 'Florence,' it turns out that they don't have a button installed inside the store. Whatever. I then requested that he call Florence and have her approve giving me quarters so that I could use the air. At this point another man is waiting to put water into his overheated Chrysler but cannot get the machine turned on. After waiting for fifteen minutes for the attendant to get directions to find the button/onscreen command to turn on the water Florence decided that she WOULD NOT approve the attendant to give quarters and so I would have to go somewhere else.

It may seem trivial, but it's not. I was not satisfied and I was wronged as a customer. The correct thing to do would have been to turn on the machine for me AT NO CHARGE AS IS REQUIRED BY LAW.

To add insult to injury, because of the delay I was unable to get a replacement headlight that I needed at Kragen (they closed at 8) and I forgot those little black caps to cover the valves as I drove away, fed up with the whole ordeal.

It just goes to show there is no such thing as customer service anymore. —moroccan

Things definitely went awry for you. The other day I requested the attendant to turn on the water. He immediately did so, even though he wasn't obligated, because I didn't purchase anything. The Davis Shell always has air and water at the ready at no charge. It seems incredible to me that you would wait fifteen minutes or more; you must have really been bummed about it. The wiki page for Davis Shell currently doesn't name the owner. —BruceHansen

2011-05-10 20:28:15   @BruceHansen I appreciate the comment. I'm just going to have to give them the benefit of the doubt for this one... I think that particular clerk was simply untrained... I actually don't hold anything against him, as he tried as hard as he could. I am nevertheless outraged at the owner/manager/whoever for not taking care of my needs! In my mind, the only solution for such a simple problem would have been to approve the clerk taking some quarters out and turning the machine on—it's just that simple! Alas, the incident was reported to <http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/egov/dms/aw/> and I have to leave the rest to the state agencies that be to deal with it. —moroccan