Our mystery motorist on a mission visits Park Forfar
Time of visit: 10.30am
Kerb appeal: This is a very impressive looking forecourt just off the A90, with Shell branding and lots of signage promoting Shell V-Power and Shell Fuel Save. All was clean and tidy.
Pump action: As well as the 10 petrol and diesel pumps, there is an AdBlue pump. Key fuels customers are catered for with a four-lane HGV section located at the rear of the forecourt; this was very busy at the time of my visit.
The two jet wash bays had screens which were used to promote Park & Shop and the Park & Vape concession as well as Greggs and Rollover.
There was a Cashzone ATM which charged people £1.99 to withdraw their cash.
Between the forecourt and shop was a Revolution launderette.
Store style: The store has a ‘Park & Shop… for life’s essentials’ fascia with a large Greggs sign to the right of the entrance. More signage says ‘Welcome to Forfar Services’.
The shop looked very good from the outside but was let down a bit inside.
First the good bits: The Park & Vape concession looked good especially with the digital screen advertising the brands.
There was an extensive chilled wine and ready-to-drink premixed alcohol range.
The Starbucks coffee machine was very clean and tidy.
There was a good mobile phone accessory section and also car accessories such as a car seat organiser and LED floodlight – the sort of things you don’t know you need until you see them!
The store gets lots of HGV customers and has a good range for them including a trucking section within the carcare display.
I think the store had every instant noodle brand and product known to man. Pot Noodles, Super Noodles, Naked Noodles, Kabuto Noodles – you name it and they had it. All positioned conveniently next to a microwave. But where did they get the water? I suppose they buy a bottle.
The not-so-good bits included one gondola end that was only half full of products and it looked like someone had given up on cleaning it as there was a trigger spray abandoned on one of the shelves.
There was a big display of the Monster Energy Drink, and a Red Bull fridge but to the left of it there was a hole in the wall with what looked like a pipe poking out of it.
Near the front of the shop there was some shelving with wooden pallets on it. It could have made quite a nice display but all the pallets were empty. A sign above the shelving said ‘Clearance sale’ and obviously whatever had been in the pallets had sold.
A good range of soft drinks but some big gaps in the chiller.
There was a display of Yummy flapjacks and Tray Bakes but it was very untidy and there were big gaps on the shelf.
On a mission: I was after a drink and snacks for my journey and I was well catered for!
At your convenience: The toilet smelt horrible. I know it’s a toilet but they don’t have to smell this bad. There was also a hole in the toilet wall with loads of toilet tissue stuffed inside. Not sure what that was all about.
Anything else? The staff were very friendly, so much so that I did manage to get to the bottom of some of the problems in store.
The area at the front where the empty shelving was, was going to be used for food to go – think Rollover and Tango Ice Blast. Perhaps it would have been better to have a ‘Coming soon’ sign than empty pallets?
Apparently the toilets had been subject to heavy usage as well as some vandalism.
SCORING
Thumbs up for:
• Tidy forecourt
• Good HGV amenities
• Spacious store
Thumbs down for:
• Empty shelves
• Smelly toilet
• Paying to withdraw cash
