All Pitstop articles – Page 9
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NewsIn the surgery this month
I had to be in France for a few days and thought it would be interesting to make a ’stealthcheck’ on a French forecourt site. And, in order to be able to directly compare and contrast with the UK, I decided to visit a Bonjour/Total site as I’d reported on ...
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NewsShop Doctor: Bonjour/Total site at Watling Street, Towcester
On an extremely busy roundabout where the Daventry/Milton Keynes A5 crosses the Oxford/Northampton A34 - on the Watling Street, Towcester side is a large Total/Bonjour site.Forecourt: The site is signalled by an informative, bright pole and poster site inviting drivers to ’fill up your tank... and your coffee cup... and ...
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NewsShop Doctor: ’Your Store’ Esso site, Sompting, Sussex
Travelling from Worthing to Brighton, on the A27 just past Sompting, I made a stealthcheck on a Your Store Esso site. The forecourt is only some 50 metres off the A27 but it is very much a neighbourhood site.Forecourt: I needed to refuel and having rejected the many corporate-owned sites ...
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NewsShop Doctor: The Co-op, BP forecourt, Romsey, Hampshire
Just outside Romsey, on the Dorchester to Guildford A31, is a forecourt with a Co-op c-store and BP fuels. The Co-op is part of the Southern Co-operatives, a regional society that operates some 90 convenience stores of which only two have a forecourt.Forecourt: The total site is fairly long but ...
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NewsShop Doctor: Local Service Station/Mace, The Mount, Shrewsbury
After a great visit to the fine medieval town of Shrewsbury, while heading west towards Welshpool on the A458 I was able to make a stealthcheck on a service station. My target was the Local Service Station and Mace Express at The Mount, which is about a mile from the ...
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NewsShop Doctor: Bellini’s BP Ilkeston, Derbyshire
The multi prize-winning Bellini’s supermarket and BP forecourt is situated on the busy main road between Ilkeston and Heanor and opposite the Ilkeston Community Hospital.Forecourt: The Bellini’s reputation goes before it and I was looking forward to visiting the supermarket. But first – the forecourt. The overall site is not ...
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NewsShop Doctor: BP M&S Simply Food, Hammersmith
Can 1 + 1 = 3? Yes, I am certain it can. For example, when two enterprises come together the result may well be greater than the some of the original two parts.Would this be the case at the pilot BP/M&S Simply Food site at Hammersmith? Well, I went to ...
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Shop Doctor: BP Georgetown, Didcot, Oxon
Over the years I’ve heard much about the prize-winning Fraser Group, and its role in the Lakeside Group, and thought it high time I visited one of its sites. So I travelled to Georgetown, Didcot, south of Oxford. This Spar store/BP forecourt site has recently been revamped and seems ideally ...
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NewsFairmoor Jet filling station and convenience store, Morpeth, Northumberland
It is often reported that what shoppers want from a convenience store is:- friendly staff- fair prices- quick service- availability of products- clean stores- fresh produceWhat a pleasure to come across a shop and filling station by and large fulfilling all these requirements.Driving south after a fascinating visit to the ...
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NewsEsso Gate Services Faversham, Kent
Judged by any standard the Esso Gate Services filling station and shop near Faversham, Kent is a busy site. But judged by my standards – and the look of shock-horror on the faces of many motorists and shoppers I saw during my visit – it is a dump. Esso should ...
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NewsThe Green Welly Stop at Tyndrum, Perthshire
The Green Welly Stop is situated on the A82 at Tyndrum, Perthshire – the gateway to the Highlands. It is some two hour’s drive north west of Edinburgh and an hour south of Fort William. It is at about the mid-point of the popular West Highland Way, the long distance ...
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NewsCo-op/Shell, Pavilion Square, Westhoughton, near Bolton
Last month’s issue of Forecourt Trader featured the Petrol Division of United Co-operatives and reported some very impressive shop developments and results. I resolved to visit a site as soon as possible then remembered that the report mentioned one at Westhoughton near Bolton – I was up that way so ...
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NewsCo-op/Shell site, Pavilion Square, Westhoughton, Nr Bolton
Last month’s issue of Forecourt Trader featured the Petrol Division of United Co-operatives and reported some very impressive shop developments and results. I resolved to visit a site as soon as possible then remembered that the report mentioned one at Westhoughton near Bolton – I was up that way so ...
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News
Shop doctor
The site in Oxford is large and bright.But on closer inspection it’s not well kept.
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NewsCostcutter Express/Murco, Eve Hill service station, Dudley, Midlands
Eve Hill Service Station, a joint-branded Costcutter Express/Murco site, is at the edge of Dudley in the West Midlands, on busy Wolverhampton Street (B4176).FORECOURT: The site is huge, with a large canopy covering four easily accessed pump points, a car wash, a jet wash and a shop, and still there ...
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Shop Doctor revisited
It’s the first anniversary of my stealthcheck reports so my editor suggested I re-visit one of the worst and one of the best sites of the past year to review any changes.STAR RATING: 1.5One of the worst and certainly the most disappointing visits was to the Alldays-branded but Co-op supplied/Total ...
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NewsSomerfield Essentials/Texaco, Sheaf Motors, Coal Aston, Derby
Following the news that Somerfield had purchased 140 sites from Texaco I thought I would visit an existing Somerfield/Texaco site to refresh my knowledge of their offer. Located in the village of Coal Aston on the B6056 and just off the A61 between Sheffield and Chesterfield is a Somerfield Essentials ...
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NewsTriple Eight Group - Spar/BP, Wilton Road, Salisbury
I have long wanted to visit a Triple Eight Group site, so finding myself close to Salisbury I soon located the joint-branded Spar/BP forecourt on Wilton Road, part of the busy A36 Southampton/ Bath road. It is on the Wilton side of Salisbury, a mile from the city centre, ...
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Sainsbury Local, Muswell Hill & Tesco Express, Camden
I was due to be in North London and knew there was a fairly new Sainsbury Local/Shell site in Muswell Hill on Colney Hatch Lane and thought it would make an interesting visit. So I logged on to the Sainsbury website and used the store locator facility to identify its ...
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NewsHopcrofts Holt service station on the A4260 Oxford to Banbury road
Just north of Oxford at Kidlington on the A4260 is a Sainsbury supermarket service station and just as you enter Banbury is an Esso On the Run site. Both are bright, well focused, busy ‘premier division’ service stations and c-stores. Smack bang in the middle of these two on the ...