[drpudhi]

Originally Posted by freedom

Any authentic way to confirm if V power has higer RON that the regular fuel ?

I was at the Shell Pump near Wakad, Pune (On NH4) today. As usual I asked for normal Petrol.
There were 2 attendant who requested me to try V Power. They specifically said "this car" (Polo GT TSI) can make full use of higher octane fuel.

I still went ahead with Shell Regular since adding higher octane fuel and driving at snails pace on city streets is plain stupid. Shell regular was retailing at 66.x and Vpower was 74.x

I was actually impressed that they were trained to "upsell" based on the car. Thumbs up to Shell training.

V power is 91 octane. Here is a screenshot of the mail i recieved from their CC long back when i inquired regarding v power when it was launched.

[arch_hornet]

For the last 6 months or so - ever since I shifted to a new company in Whitefield (Bengaluru) - I have been fueling my Xcent only at the Shell petrol bunks. One is in Mahadevapura, opposite the HP office, and the other is in Whitefield I guess (the one near Graphite Signal). Mine is a petrol Xcent, btw. What I have always found surprising is that the attendants never seem to have the "regular" petrol available, they only have the "premium" (V-Power) variant. The premium is a bit more expensive, obviously, @ Rs. 70.60 per liter (as of 11-Jan-2016). I'm not sure if this non-availability of the regular petrol variant is genuine, or is it a scam? I have had terrible experiences at IOCL, BPCL and HPCL petroleum outlets over the last 9 years of my driving in Bangalore and have always heard/believed Shell to be "honest and efficient", but this seems fishy to me. Anyone else has had any similar experiences?

Note: I'm not sure if this is the right thread to post this - I tried a search and this was the only related thread which I could see for posting my query. Mods, please move to the correct thread if needed.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by arch_hornet

For the last 6 months or so - ever since I shifted to a new company in Whitefield (Bengaluru) - I have been fueling my Xcent only at the Shell petrol bunks. One is in Mahadevapura, opposite the HP office, and the other is in Whitefield I guess (the one near Graphite Signal). Mine is a petrol Xcent, btw. What I have always found surprising is that the attendants never seem to have the "regular" petrol available, they only have the "premium" (V-Power) variant. The premium is a bit more expensive, obviously, @ Rs. 70.60 per liter (as of 11-Jan-2016). I'm not sure if this non-availability of the regular petrol variant is genuine, or is it a scam? I have had terrible experiences at IOCL, BPCL and HPCL petroleum outlets over the last 9 years of my driving in Bangalore and have always heard/believed Shell to be "honest and efficient", but this seems fishy to me. Anyone else has had any similar experiences?

Note: I'm not sure if this is the right thread to post this - I tried a search and this was the only related thread which I could see for posting my query. Mods, please move to the correct thread if needed.

The Sadashivnagar outlet too was trying this trick. My colleague wrote to Shell and post that they have addressed it. The last two visits, they did not tell only V-Power was available. Try writing to Shell and see how it transpires.

[motor_breathing]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

The Sadashivnagar outlet too was trying this trick. My colleague wrote to Shell and post that they have addressed it. The last two visits, they did not tell only V-Power was available. Try writing to Shell and see how it transpires.

Last Friday I went to Shell near Graphite India and 3 attendants together were "hararassing" me to put super instead of regular and I left the place with out filling. One year back I wrote to shell about aggressive promotion of shell super petrol by mahadevapura pump. Shell and the pump owner called me and apologized and assured me that it will not happen again. After that I went there some more time and no change whatsoever. Twice I left with out filling. Even the BP pump where I went (Mathushree Banaswadi) this week were saying only speed is in stock. When I went to fill my bike same place after 2 hours, magically normal petrol is available. This looks like a scam to con car owners. And I think these attendants get good incentive for the super they sell.

[arch_hornet]

Originally Posted by motor_breathing

Last Friday I went to Shell near Graphite India and 3 attendants together were "hararassing" me to put super instead of regular and I left the place with out filling. One year back I wrote to shell about aggressive promotion of shell super petrol by mahadevapura pump. Shell and the pump owner called me and apologized and assured me that it will not happen again. After that I went there some more time and no change whatsoever. Twice I left with out filling. Even the BP pump where I went (Mathushree Banaswadi) this week were saying only speed is in stock. When I went to fill my bike same place after 2 hours, magically normal petrol is available. This looks like a scam to con car owners. And I think these attendants get good incentive for the super they sell.

Exactly my situation at exactly this petrol pump. I have written to Shell and have got a response from them - will see if they do the same thing. Can we complain to the store manager or something in the bunk itself? I think they should also have the area manager numbers available, if I'm not wrong. Will try and complain from the bunk itself next time this happens.

[arch_hornet]

Received a call from Mr. Somanna, the retail manager for Shell Whitefield outlets. It was encouraging to hear from him that if the same trick is pulled by the pump attendants next time then he should be called immediately. He has shared his number, and even spoke of maybe firing the attendants!
Will be going for a fuel refill this week, let's see what happens.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by arch_hornet

Received a call from Mr. Somanna, the retail manager for Shell Whitefield outlets. It was encouraging to hear from him that if the same trick is pulled by the pump attendants next time then he should be called immediately. He has shared his number, and even spoke of maybe firing the attendants!
Will be going for a fuel refill this week, let's see what happens.

Next time they do this trick with you, please escalate and do not give a hint to the people around you. Opting for V-Power should be voluntary and not by compulsion. I dont care even if Shell is putting gold into this V-Power and pushes, I will buy it only when I want to. As simple as that.

[KK_HakunaMatata]

Originally Posted by motor_breathing

Last Friday I went to Shell near Graphite India and 3 attendants together were "hararassing" me to put super instead of regular and I left the place with out filling. One year back I wrote to shell about aggressive promotion of shell super petrol by mahadevapura pump. Shell and the pump owner called me and apologized and assured me that it will not happen again. After that I went there some more time and no change whatsoever. Twice I left with out filling. Even the BP pump where I went (Mathushree Banaswadi) this week were saying only speed is in stock. When I went to fill my bike same place after 2 hours, magically normal petrol is available. This looks like a scam to con car owners. And I think these attendants get good incentive for the super they sell.

In the last 2 months, I have filled full tank petrol in Shell Kanakapura road 3 to 4 times (since I wanted to check the actual FE and also stick to one bunk) and every time I face this issue over there. The guy filling the petrol invariably force me to go for super petrol and I always ask them repeatedly to fill regular petrol. Last time when the guy mentioned to me 3 to 4 times to put super petrol, I was a bit furious at him and asked him not to force customers on this.

May be next time, I will escalate it to the manager or somebody at the bunk.

[arch_hornet]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Next time they do this trick with you, please escalate and do not give a hint to the people around you. Opting for V-Power should be voluntary and not by compulsion. I dont care even if Shell is putting gold into this V-Power and pushes, I will buy it only when I want to. As simple as that.

Exactly - I really don't need V-Power when I'm driving in bumper-to-bumper Whitefield traffic, and really should have a say as to what commodity I want, be it petrol or anything else for that matter. Eagerly waiting for my next visit to Shell Whitefield to see how the next stage ensues!

Originally Posted by KK_HakunaMatata

In the last 2 months, I have filled full tank petrol in Shell Kanakapura road 3 to 4 times (since I wanted to check the actual FE and also stick to one bunk) and every time I face this issue over there. The guy filling the petrol invariably force me to go for super petrol and I always ask them repeatedly to fill regular petrol. Last time when the guy mentioned to me 3 to 4 times to put super petrol, I was a bit furious at him and asked him not to force customers on this.

May be next time, I will escalate it to the manager or somebody at the bunk.

You should. You could also escalate to Shell (like I did) via their website/email (link here). The response I have got so far has been good and extremely quick. It looks like this practice of forcing the V-Power fuel on to the customers is being practiced rampantly across all/most Shell outlets in Bengaluru.

[JD1]

I use a simple trick - tell them they can fill Super but charge me regular price. And instead of me getting annoyed, I try to annoy them further by negotiating on this
Fill Super @ Regular price discussion shoos them very quickly.

[gpa]

Drove into Shell at Vittal Mallya Road at around 08:50 this morning, the bunk was relatively empty. Asked the attendant to fill-up regular unleaded. He suggested that I use V-Power but I politely (and firmly) declined his offer and told him to fill-up regular unleaded instead at INR 63.15 per litre. Guess, once they know you are assertive, they don't trouble you any more.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by gpa

Drove into Shell at Vittal Mallya Road at around 08:50 this morning, the bunk was relatively empty. Asked the attendant to fill-up regular unleaded. He suggested that I use V-Power but I politely (and firmly) declined his offer and told him to fill-up regular unleaded instead at INR 63.15 per litre. Guess, once they know you are assertive, they don't trouble you any more.

The problem is not pushing you to go for the V-Power, but denying that the regular fuel is out of stock. In turn only option left for you is the V-Power at that bunk

I simply move on without refueling. They tend to lose more without stocking regular fuel or even pretending that regular fuel is out of stock.

[Soumyajit9]

I was the latest victim of the "Normal Out of Stock" trick at Shell Siddapura. Sent a strong email to Shell and also posted a complaint on their website. (Link)

I have been regular customer of Shell Petrol since 2011. Ever since the launch of Shell V Power, there has been numerous complaint against dealers practicing dubious and unprofessional approach to sell V Power. I am not very sure if this a directive from the Shell Management to push / force customers to buy Shell V Power, against Shell Unleaded Regular fuel. Off late, many Shell petrol dealers are refusing to sell Shell Unleaded regular petrol stating Out of Stock. I have faced this numerous times at the Shell Bellandur and Shell Graphite India. The latest happened today (04/02/2016) morning at 7:00 AM, when I was turned away saying Shell Unleaded regular fuel was out of stock and I have to fill only V Power. I am highly confident and can say with almost confirmation that Shell provides Incentives / Bonus to dealers / to the filling agents if they manage to sell V Power. This is highly unprofessional approach and I would advise my colleagues, family and friends to stop visiting Shell outlets to get conned into buying Shell V Power. I am hereby attaching two pictures that I clicked at the Shell Siddapura outlet today (04/02/2016) morning at 7:00 AM. Not sure if this is a nexus between Shell and Dealers, but I would like to see some concrete action taken (cancellation of license / shutdown / change of dealer) in this matter. This is widely discussed in Automotive forum Team-BHP and there are numerous complaints there. Please read it for yourself and try to save Shell. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...hread-171.html

[Gansan]

Is this a Bangalore specific problem? I have never faced this in Chennai; of course I always fill sulp, but I see them ask other customers if they can fill super. If they decline, normal petrol is filled without fuss. And I am yet to see normal petrol out of stock. Super was out of stock once or twice though.

[Soumyajit9]

Have a quick update to share on the "ULP Out of Stock" scene.

I got an email, followed by a call from Shell Customer care last evening confirming that my complaint was acknowledged, with a ticket number.

A short while later, around 6 pm, I received a call from one Mr. Srinivas (or Mr. Shanmugan, I forgot the name) from Shell Varthur (Siddapura) outlet. I assume that he is the manager of the outlet. He apologized for the inconvenience and explained me the problem that they had.

So there are two tanks for ULP - Master and Slave. When fuel level reaches at a certain low level, a pump automatically starts pumping from the slave to the master tank. Unfortunately the previous night, they had some electrical problem because of which the entire system got shorted out. To resolve the problem they had to remove the ULP Dispensing Unit from active status. After removing that they continued to operate the other Dispensing Units with other variants of fuel (V Power, Diesel). As a result of this, although they had stock of ULP in the slave tank, they could not pump it to the master tank and continue ULP dispensing. Because of all these problems, the tanker carrying ULP could not unload the stock that night. Only after working till late night, they fixed the problem and started unloading the ULP from the tanker to the master tank, the next morning. As seen in my image below, I do see that a tanker was unloading something. Mr. Srinivas confirmed that it was ULP being unloaded.
He confirmed that normal delivery of ULP resumed from 7:40 AM. I was there around 7:00 AM.

He also proactively said that there is no such incentives or bonus for employees or retailer if they sell V Power. It is just a matter of pride (and probably a recognition I think) that they have if they are the highest selling V Power retailer.
He acknowledged that his staff does enquire whether the customer would like to try V Power, but said that his staff does not force or pester customers.

We spoke for about 18 minutes and he was very polite and informative. I don't recall many of the terminology that he used, but he seemed reasonably knowledgeable to me.

He said that I could meet him whenever I visited his outlet - Shell Varthur (Siddapura), and if there are any concerns I could speak to him directly.
Overall I am pleased with the response from Shell. I have no doubt about their quality of fuels or integrity of employees. Just that I faced the situation 5th time and was angry.

I would urge BHPians to please keep escalating these matters to Shell via their website and email - generalpublicenquiries-in@shell.com, so that Shell can perform some audit or checks to ascertain if these are genuine cases of tricks by retailers.