Back in the early 2000s I was working at my forecourt and took a phone call from someone in an apparent panic asking what Valentine’s Day gifts they might be able to pick up from our shop.
We didn’t have an alcohol licence at the time so I couldn’t steer him towards a bottle of fizz, but I told the caller we had flowers, cards and chocolates. Then, thinking on my feet, suggested that perhaps one of the more expensive glossy fashion magazines we stocked might pass muster at a push. Hey, it was a better idea than a bottle of screenwash or a can of shaving foam.
The next day a regular customer came in and told me they had heard me on the local radio station the previous day – it transpired the person on the other end of the line had in fact been a DJ conducting a prank call, and I was his unwitting mark.
Leaving aside the humour that may or may not be present in prank calling retail staff, I was reminded of this episode when writing up some stats BP compiled ahead of Valentine’s Day 2026, which revealed that sales of filling-station flowers shot up 550% ahead of the big day last year, with cards, champagne and chocolates experiencing similar bumps in business.
This got me thinking about how far the forecourt landscape has moved on since 2005. Because while my site was a perfectly respectable and pleasant filling station with a healthy turnover, our convenience offerings were fairly rudimentary, as was the norm at forecourts around the turn of the millennium: sandwiches, soft drinks, crisps, chocolates, basic grocery, newspapers, a coffee machine and a small car-care section – you get the idea.
We certainly didn’t have the premium ready-meals, fresh local produce, a butcher’s counter, a bakery concession or a greeting-card machine that today’s garages often boast – all things that, with a bit of thought and selection, could create a fairly decent romantic night in. Nor did ‘high-end’ feature much on our shelves – if you wanted chocolates it was Milk Tray all the way, while our flowers topped out at around £10 a bunch.
Today, things are very different, and if a local radio DJ tried a similar trick again, more likely than not they would find themselves offered a choice of Valentine’s Day options that all but the most demanding love interest would be happy with. And if that’s not a testament to the innovation and rise in quality the sector has experienced over the last two decades, I don’t know what is.
