Isn’t it funny how we all have our favorite brands—for everything? Some we are completely and 100% loyal to and some we will stray from maybe once or twice or even permanently, given a certain set of circumstances. What is it that makes us stay loyal to or leave a brand? And, if we do leave a brand, what does it take for us to come back to it?
For me, ultimately, my loyalty comes down to overall customer experiences and I recently had an interesting one while I was on vacation out of state and fueling up my car. I guess my disclaimer here would be that I am loyal to my brand of fuel in the Denver area. I purchase fuel only from the two brands which Suncor is licensed to market and sell. Unfortunately, when I travel out of state, I may not be able to find those two brands nor would it matter, since Suncor doesn’t supply those brands in other states. Still, I would go there if I could. Remember, too, in the U.S., we don’t have a Petro-Canada site on every street corner!
On with the story…I pulled in to what I considered a reputable brand of fuel, mostly because it was convenient and had a retail store, as well (the kids undoubtedly must go inside for something!). I did not even concern myself with price per gallon at this point. As I began the fueling process, I did notice that many of the other pumps were bagged and not in service. Still, I continued to go through the motions. Then, I began to hear the customer next to me trying to use the pump nozzle. She seemed very frustrated and left her car momentarily to go inside the store. She returned to her car, mumbling something and looking perturbed, just as I am pressing the pump nozzle. Nothing happens.
The customer next to me now gets into her car and away she drives. I go through the entire process again at the pump, two more times, from paying first, selecting the grade of fuel to inserting and pressing the nozzle. Nothing.
Slightly perturbed myself, I walk inside the store. I am waiting in line to speak to someone at the customer service desk when someone looks at me but says nothing. She looked‘official’ so I said, “I’m having an issue on pump number four. Can you help me or ensure the pump is on?” Nothing. I thought to myself, maybe she could not hear me? I informed the employee of my problem again. Nothing. I repeated myself once more just to be sure she heard me over the noise in the store. Nothing. I walked out.
I find myself back at my car, completely frustrated and annoyed. Now I begin telling myself that I will never purchase fuel from this company ever again, ever, no matter what state I’m in or how convenient it may be. I am ensuring my fuel cap is on, when a nice man comes over to me with what looks like garbage bags in his hand. He is starting to bag the fuel pumps.
Amazed, I said to him, “Is there no fuel?” He replied, “No, these pumps are not in service. I am sorry that you wasted your time. I’m very sorry we did not help you inside or have signs out here.” Finally, something. Despite the fact that I was about to commit that I would never, ever buy fuel from this brand again, someone that cared about me as a customer decided to do something versus nothing. And, all it took was an apology and the recognition of the inconvenience to me. That’s really all I needed.
This is where I can look at my customer experience and make some decisions about my future fuel purchases. I understand very well that things like this can happen in any business. But here is the kicker: If this type of poor service were to be my experience several more times with this same brand, there would come a point that I would never go back. Fortunately, someone did something. However small, that something mattered, and it saved one of their customers from hitting that point of no return.
So, my plea to our customers of Petro-Canada as well as Shell and Phillips 66 in Colorado., let us hear from you, whether you have a good experience or bad. We want to hear from you so that we can know how it’s going for you as you fuel your cars, wash your cars and visit our retail sites. Know that we will do something if we can to ensure your experience is a positive one. In the U.S., you can call the number listed on the doors of our retail stores. In Canada, you can phone us at 1-800-668-0220 or email us.
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