With just over three weeks to the closing date for entries for this year’s prestigious Forecourt Trader Awards, previous winners say a major boon of winning is that it rewards the year-round efforts of staff.
Tout’s Group, current Forecourt Trader of the Year, which swept the table clean at the 2023 awards with five accolades, rewarded its retail and support centre staff with goody bags and an increased employee discount.
Chief executive officer Jonathan Tout, and his wife and brand director, Zena, put together 220 bags of locally-sourced products for them by hand.
The company displays its trophies in the head office of its multi-award-winning Cleeve site, as a reminder to its team of its achievement.
Rob Exelby, managing director of Exelby Services, said he is normally modest about talking up the achievements of his long-established family business, but is glad he did after winning Forecourt Trader of the Year in 2021 for the company’s site on the A19 in Northallerton, which is notable for having an F1 Ferrari suspended from its ceiling.
“I suppose the biggest impact was the recognition our team members felt in winning it,” said Rob. ”We put such a large emphasis on customer service and to win the award made our staff feel truly special.
“We celebrated with our teams in the way of a £100 bonus for each of our 90-plus team members, as the award was as much theirs, if not more so, than the company as a whole.
“Whilst the development of our A19 North Services that won the award can perhaps be measured in nice pumps, bricks and mortar, and also the odd F1 on the ceiling, it’s our staff that really deliver the final experience the customer takes away with them,” he added.
David Charman, who won Forecourt Trader of the Year at the inaugural event in 1996 and has notched up a string of accolades since, is planning on entering again this year, with the ambition of rewarding his employees.
“My staff really like to be part of an award winning team,” said David, managing director of Parkfoot Garage on the A20 at West Malling, Kent.
“Winning that first Forecourt Trader award was a very long time ago, but it is something which we are very proud of and has been in the DNA of the company ever since.”
The Forecourt Trader Awards, sponsored by Booker Retail Partners and recognising the best in petrol site retailing, is open for entries until Tuesday 7 May.
Your site does not have to be the biggest, the busiest, or even the newest; it just has to be the best at giving customers what they need, day in, day out.
Entering gives your business the chance to be crowned Forecourt Trader of the Year, the top award. But there are many other categories up for grabs, including the best operator in one of six regions, and also 12 specialist categories from best site manager to best sustainability strategy.
The awards are open to all types of forecourt operations, from rural to motorway sites. They reward the best in the business for their dedication, hard work and resilience. What better way to give your business a boost, than to focus on all the positive elements of your operation and be recognised for all that you and your team have achieved?
Regardless of ownership or operational status, the main retailer categories are grouped by two main criteria – region and fuel volume.
Retailers can compete for the high-status title of Best Forecourt Retailer in one of six regions: Scotland, Northern Ireland, Northern England, Midlands, West Country and Wales, and London and the South East.
For each of the regions there will be a winner for fuel volumes up to 4mpla and over 4mpla.
There is also a category for Best Motorway Services Outlet, a Special Recognition Award and Best Oil Company Initiative.
The overall Forecourt Trader of the Year will be chosen from the winners of the regional and motorway categories.
Specialist categories
In addition to the regional awards, all retailers can submit entries for these specialist categories:
Best Alternative Fuel Outlet – sponsored by GadJet
Best Car Care & Lubricants Outlet – sponsored by CDG
Best Community Engagement – sponsored by Essar
Best Customer Service – sponsored by JTI
Best Drinks Outlet – sponsored by CCEP
Best Forecourt Innovation – sponsored by Spar
Best Food-To-Go Outlet – sponsored by Rollover
Best Forecourt Team
Best Forecourt Loo – sponsored by The Jordon Group
Best Site Manager
Best Sustainability Strategy
Best Valeting Services
All finalists are invited to the exciting Awards presentation and dinner on Thursday October 10, 2024, at the Westminster Park Plaza, Westminster Bridge, London. The individual ticket price to the black tie event is £330, and to book a table for 10 guests the price is £3,300.
How to enter
Go to the awards website forecourttraderawards.co.uk
For further information and assistance call Rebecca George on 01293 610422.
Make sure you get your entries in by the deadline: Tuesday May 7 2024.
