Peter and Joseph Hockenhull’s flagship forecourt in Leicester, known for its iconic tear-drop shaped canopy, may be resplendent in different colours. But the father and son are relieved that fuel volume remains the same since switching to BP, and say customers are more engaged with the site than ever.
The duo, who own six forecourts and operate four, had been concerned that brand-loyal customers might go elsewhere to seek out the popular Shell V-Power high octane premium fuel, which the award-winning site had sold since opening as a new to industry forecourt five years ago.
Since switching to BP on October 20 their staff have been educating customers on the merits of the brand’s Ultimate premium fuel and the BPme loyalty app which has the advantage of giving customers money off their fuel, valeting and shop. Also points earned can be converted to purchase flights with Avios, or digital gift cards with Amazon.
As a result fuel sales remain consistent with the split between premium and standard petrol and disel remaining at a ratio of 20:80 or 25:75, depending on the day, says Joseph Hockenhull, known as Joe.
The transition has been easier than they thought, he says, and the Hockenhulls are confident that with the BPme loyalty scheme behind them they will be able to build on the site’s annual fuel volume of 4.5 million litres.
“The site looks amazing, like a brand new petrol station. It’s really busy and fuel volume has not dropped at all,” says Joe Hockenhull. ”At the same time, BPme is proving very appealing, and in the first 10 days when BP was giving customers an introductory £7.50 to spend, instead of the usual initial £5, we signed up nearly 1,000 customers to the loyalty scheme. We’ve never seen anywhere near that level of interest before. It has all been a massive relief.”
At an open day last Friday (October 31) the site – a former Forecourt Trader of the Year winner – raised over £500 for local Archie Armsden, who has Muscular Dystrophy. There was a spin the wheel, a raffle, and giveaways with donations from BP, Red Bull, Monster Energy, Coca-Cola, Gadget, Opal Products, Newco and HGS. And the site offered lots of deals on the day on the like of burritos, Stone Willy pizza, coffee and milkshakes.
“It was a great day for the site team and the local community, and we’ll be looking to do another bigger and better event at BP Croft which opens on November 7, with a provisional launch date of November 21,” says Joe Hockenhull.
