South Africa’s petrol stations are one of our bastions of customer-service excellence.
Who hasn’t been blown away by a super-friendly attendant who welcomes you sincerely, offers to check your oil, water and tyres, cleans your windscreen and fills your car up quickly, efficiently and professionally?
But how well do you know the owner of your local petrol station? Generally it’s the attendants who deliver that amazing service, while the boss sits in his office fretting over bills and income statements.
In Paarl there’s a petrol station boss who turns this idea on its head. At the local petrol station, he’s on the forecourt himself from 6.30am every morning. He’s there again at afternoon rush hour from 4pm to 6pm, greeting customers, checking how the service is, offering them coffee if it’s cold and basically going out of his way to look after his clients.
He doesn’t leave it up to the petrol-pump attendants as many owners do. It has a positive effect on the staff too, to see their boss out there with them rain or shine. The vibe is great.
That garage in Paarl must surely be one of the best in the country – and that’s saying something because it’s a pretty good franchise.
Service Tip: go the extra mile. Your customers will notice and your staff will appreciate it.