As Andrew Thompson points out in “How to Fuel Your Rewards at the Pump” (June 20-26) the promises made in the fuel business are seldom achievable.
In my 35 years in the industry I learnt early on that a happy, well-paid, efficient petrol attendant working from a quick and slick well-staffed operation built customer loyalty far more effectively than a complicated rewards system that needs to be managed and monitored.
And, of course, it’s pretty much like the property business — location, location, location.
Raymond Ackerman’s attempt to discount fuel in the 1980s was stopped because it would have resulted in huge numbers of petrol jockeys being unemployed, and I challenged the local Hypermarket manager to prove that selling discounted fuel was sustainable — needless to say, he did not rise to the challenge.
Tony Ball
Gillitts
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