All Service Centre articles
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OtherSERVICE CENTRE: A rubbish situation leads to forecourt operator giving up on council
For this month’s instalment of Service Centre, I have looked into a complaint to my helpline from Jagdish Radia regarding the lack of bin collection at his Leaway Service Station in Birmingham which was putting off customers and attracting rats.
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NewsSERVICE CENTRE: Ban the baddies and log all incidents
A forecourt operator in Scotland rang up about abusive customers throwing their weight around – especially when they had to queue.
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Promotional FeatureHow can forecourts thrive within a new era for mobility?
With travellers embracing a wider array of transport, from electric vehicles (EVs) to public options, forecourt operators need to tap into demands for more flexibility. So, how can they position themselves to prosper in a less fuel-centric era for mobility?
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Promotional FeatureImproving the consumer experience in forecourts
In the competitive forecourt market, site operators need to be agile in order to manage rapidly evolving consumer expectations – and using smarter technology can keep them one step ahead.
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Promotional FeatureHow to maximise your chilled yogurts and potted desserts category
The chilled yogurts and potted desserts category is now worth £2.9bn, yet it’s under-serviced in forecourts. Here, Müller Yogurt & Desserts, reveal how retailers can maximise the category opportunity, delight shoppers and get their fair share of sales.
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Promotional FeatureCould a laundromat be the right service to introduce to your forecourt?
Choosing the right service for your forecourt can increase footfall, encourage customer loyalty and also generate extra income. Find out how a laundromat service could boost your business.
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AnalysisService Centre: Jac Roper relates readers’ Coronavirus lockdown experiences
Turned upside down by Covid-19 Tom Dant, managing director of Lincolnshire-based Gill Marsh Forecourts, sent in the observation that everybody is finding that times are strange. He says: "For us our best- performing site is now our worst- performing site, and our worst site is now the best!" Fuel sales ...
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NewsService Centre: Jac Roper on Co-op and Nisa price problems; and an epos dispute ends
Unrest on an uneven playing field A forecourt operator sent me an anonymous update on the Nisa/Co-op situation re price differences (last raised in this column in October). He began by posting some copy from another retailer that had appeared on the Nisa retail online forum. It went like this: ...
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NewsService Centre: Jac Roper on a car wash crisis plus a warning about slick salesmen
Not measuring up Last summer Khalid Mohammad agreed to purchase a Christ Aquatus Prime C168 car wash with Codax system, including till interface and under-chassis wash for £89,000 plus VAT from Wilcomatic for his Lenton Boulevard Service Station in Nottingham. He also bought year-two and year-three service contracts for £1,800+VAT ...
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NewsService Centre: Jac Roper on a jamming ATM; chasing money; and a bad start
One jam too far for Shahid’s forecourts Shahid Hussain, who runs Petro Express in Glanamman, South Wales, has just come out of his contract with NoteMachine for both of his forecourts. He says he has had them for 10-15 years under their various owners and it was never a problem ...
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News
Service Centre: Jac Roper starts the year with a couple of feel-good stories and a not-so-good one
This sales drive took a wrong turn Happy New Year and I thought it would be nice to start 2020 with a couple of feel-good stories which although didn’t start happily ended in a satisfactory way. Mohammed Nabi contacted the helpline to say that he took part in the Philip ...
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News
Service Centre: Jac Roper on protocol, pumps and putting 2019 behind us
An issue with protocol In the April issue I aired some of Deen Yacub’s problems with TLM’s evoPOS system at his Station Road Service Station in Ashby-de-la-Zouch. It was all resolved nicely. But by mid-October he emailed again: "Again we are facing the same issues. The amounts showing different pump ...
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News
Service Centre: Jac Roper on ATM fees, an epos solution and phone cost conundrum
It’s not a level playing field Changing ATMs from free-to-use to charging models has been a bone of contention for many. Ismail Bhattay rang to complain that he had previously switched to NoteMachine because Cardtronics was going to switch his cash machine to a fee-charging one. In September NoteMachine threatened ...
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News
Service Centres: Jac Roper reports on a rebates row, more system problems and Co-op/Nisa row
Is this the power of the press? Hassan Mohammed copied me in on one of many emails he had been exchanging with Costcutter over the fact that they owed him £2k in rebates for his two sites in Greater Manchester (Limes Service Station in Walkden, Salford and Howich Service Station, ...
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News
Service Centre: Jac Roper on even more problems with technology systems
Losing faith in the system Some of you may remember coverage of complaints about TLM’s evoPOS system earlier this year. Unfortunately for Andrew Wallace the situation remains unsatisfactory. He had the system installed last year at his Newton Gardens Service Station in Dumfries, but found he was making daily calls ...
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News
Service Centre: Jac Roper on PayPoint mix up; more on ATMs; and a request for help
A really big misunderstanding Thair Majid, who runs several stations in London, got in touch on an issue he had with PayPoint. He says: "Currently at two of my sites, we make approximately £15-20 a month in profit from our PayPoint unit, as commissions have reduced significantly." His monthly charge ...
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News
Service Centre: Jac Roper on technical misery for one retailer and no cash for another
Where is the back up for the back office? It’s been technical misery for quite some time at Huw Griffiths’ Llantwit site, where he has five Htec tills which previously had a Flow back office. Huw says: "Flow was replaced with an ITS back office in January 2018. It’s okay ...
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News
Service Centre: Jac Roper on more complaints about epos and the ATM minefield
Even more epos teething troubles A new whizz-bang bit of kit really won’t do it for you if you are unlucky enough to get the apparently duff one... the one where the teething troubles are such that they add up to a new set of dentures. So unhappily I have ...
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News
Service Centre: Jac Roper on irksome ATM deal; and flower shortage for Nisa stores
CashZone’s one-sided contract As many of you are finding to your cost, CashZone has been switching indies from free-to-use ATMs to fee-paying ones. Joe Brough rang from Offerton Green Service Station near Stockport to, as he put it, "vent his spleen re CashZone’s behaviour towards its customers". The name may ...
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News
Service Centre: Jac Roper on more epos woes, late newspapers and court update
They took it very seriously I was quite surprised to receive a second complaint about TLM’s evoPOS system within a fortnight. I would have been less surprised if it had happened after Deen Yacub read last month’s issue where we featured Andrew Wallace’s account of the problems he had had ...