My alarm goes off at 6.10am but I’m not a great morning person so I will have another sneaky 10 minutes in bed.

First job of the day is to take our black Labrador out for a walk.

After the walk I am in need of a cup of tea. I sit down and catch up on some news, I’m always interested in what’s happening and what’s going on in the sports world.

Before I leave home at around 7.30am, I have to make my wife a cup of coffee and say goodbye to our 10-year-old daughter Chloe.

I have around a 30-minute commute to work but it’s a lovely drive across Somerset so gives me time to think about the day ahead and what I’m going to do.

Just before I arrive at work, I will drive past our competitor to see what their fuel price is. We need to react quickly to any changes, so it’s important to get up-to-date information.

I arrive at work for 8am but the site has been open since 7am, so as soon as I drive onto the forecourt I’m looking around to make sure everything is looking good and we are fit for the trading day.

I have a quick chat with the staff to ensure they are alright and everything in the shop is okay.

I then walk around the shop to ensure we are in a good position and see if there is anything specific that the staff need to focus on that day. Once that is done, I go to my office and see my assistant manager for a catch up. As she has already done the previous day’s reconciliation, we sit down and go through sales, waste and any issues that have come up. If I’m lucky, one of the staff will be making tea so it’s a "yes please" from me.

Our Budgens delivery is usually here for 9am so that’s the time to give the staff a hand and help put some stock away.

During the morning I will get a phone call from my managing director; we generally discuss how the week is going and what plans we have for the rest of the week.

Once I’ve helped with the delivery, it’s time to get back to the office. I discuss waste and reductions with our baker and chilled leader. This is really important to make sure we pick up on any issues and deal with them straight away. We need to be on top of the waste or it will bite you in the backside at the end of the week.

We also discuss opportunities and how we are going to push sales. For example, we recently came up with a plan to have a ’deal of the day’ on the bakery section.

We always go onto the shop floor and discuss the bakery and chilled sections in more detail. This gives me the chance to develop some of the staff’s knowledge and help them understand what we need to focus on. Once waste is dealt with it’s onto sales and margin. I always give lots of time to review these areas as I can change things today and see the results tomorrow.

Lunchtime approaches but I don’t really stop just a small snack and another cup of tea!

In the early afternoon I always spend time on the shop floor. I focus on gondola-end displays and bulk stacks as these are key to gaining extra sales, so it’s worth spending the time to get them right. At 3pm the next shift starts, so it’s time to have a quick catch-up with them.

I always enjoy the last couple of hours in the afternoon as it gives me time to sit quietly in the office and work on some new projects. I’m currently working on our new voucher leaflet, which has been a great success so far.

Between 5-5.30pm, I’ll walk around the shop to see how it’s looking and what needs doing during the evening.

Then it’s time to text the wife to see if I need to bring anything home. I normally have to get a few things, but it really annoys me when she says cigarettes as I don’t smoke and hate paying for them.

Come six o’clock I’m on my way home. I will go past the competition to see if there have been any changes on the fuel prices.

Usually, I get home at around 6.30pm and it’s always a race between my daughter and our dog to see who can welcome me first. With my daughter hanging herself around my neck and the dog jumping up on my side, it’s a welcome I always enjoy.

I’m off to bed at about 10pm and while my wife is on her iPad, I get a sneaky half hour doing some emails or updating our Budgens of Wells Facebook page.

Name: Jason Tamplin

Company: Symonds Forecourts
Job title: Manager
Career history: Left school and went to live in Switzerland. Ran my own catering business for five years before getting into forecourts. Worked for the Simon Smith Group for three years before joining Jeremy at Symonds Forecourts.
Greatest achievement: Winning Forecourt Trader of the Year and also the Manager of the Year award in the same year; a great result for me and for the company.
Tips for business success: deal with it today and see the results tomorrow.
Most likely to say: I will have a cup of tea please
Least likely to say: I can’t do that.
Other interests: Big sports fan, especially F1

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