Self service is the practice of serving oneself, usually when purchasing items. Common examples include many
gas stations, where the customer pumps their own
gas rather than have an attendant do it (full service is required by law in
New Jersey,
Oregon, and
Richmond, British Columbia, but is the exception rather than the rule elsewhere).
Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) in the banking world have also revolutionized how people withdraw and deposit funds; most stores in the
Western world, where the customer uses a
shopping cart in the store, placing the items they want to buy into the cart and then proceeding to the
checkout counter/aisles; or at
buffet-style restaurants, where the customer serves their own plate of food from a large, central selection.