The Official Fuel Prices Thread

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by Rodie09

When fuel prices were headed south, govt had at least twice raised the excise and not passed the benefit. Mr. Jaitley's argument was that this will serve as a cushion when the prices start to go up and will save junta from price shock. Going by this logic it should have worked as per LIFO - Last In First Out.

However, that excise hike has been sitting pretty there for some time while mango people are getting the jolts. Now, this was a predictable behaviour from government, what baffles me is :

1) No political uproar against this, even when opposition is looking for issues day & night. Highly suspicious.
2) No noise in the media too against this blatant lie. Is this some kind of Nexus.

At the end I wonder, why do the OMCs even bother to explain why they did something...is anyone questioning them or even qualified to do so?

Just two words. Oil mafia. And the loot is shared by oil companies and Govt. Always quick to raise prices and drag their feet when it is time to lower. And rise is always substantial but fall is paltry. We are sick of their hoodwinking ways. The whole thing is s big scam.

[sgiitk]

I hear that Essar is planning on 5000 more pumps this year. Also, all of RIL pumps should be back into operation this year. We look forward to more pumps from these or new players. Shell is an IOC client so do not expect much from them.

[sumzup]

ONGC will be out there, so would Total. There was some talk that British Petroleum would start outlets alongside RIL as they both are partners in oil exploration. Wow! very soon petrol pumps would become like cigarette selling counters.

[hyper-VTEC]

Today, being 15th hoping for prices going south? Even by a minute margin.

[atlantis0965]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Shell is an IOC client so do not expect much from them.

Hello Sir
In that case is there no difference between the fuel sold in the shell pumps and the IOC pumps ?
I guess many of us frequent the shell pumps in the hope that the fuel is cleaner and with lesser impurities and also the matter of correct quantity.

[sumzup]

Originally Posted by atlantis0965

Hello Sir
In that case is there no difference between the fuel sold in the shell pumps and the IOC pumps ?
I guess many of us frequent the shell pumps in the hope that the fuel is cleaner and with lesser impurities and also the matter of correct quantity.

You are right Atlantis. Shell is just the marketing company here in India as they do not refine. They pick it up from our Indian refineries and bring it their outlets. In fact, their premium product is not even premixed as they do not have any tankage or depot for doing it. It is poured into the regular products after filling them at the refineries, and they allow it get mixed en-route to their outlets. At least, this is what I have heard from my friends in Mangalore where Shell tankers go to tank-up from MRL.

IMHO, it is more of our affinity that makes it feel better. I don't discount the fact that their staff are well-mannered and presentable but again, this is more due to their late entry and their need to differentiate.

[MODS: My apologies in advance if this topic needs to be somewhere else]

[khoj]

This is a first, idle chit chat being stated as a fact on the forum.

Did it occur for a moment to stop and think that when Shell placed the order for the refined product, they would ask for the same to be delivered not only refined but also blended to their specifications.

Refining and blending is a serious business involving thorough research and development and precise manufacturing processes. It is definitely not run on a whim where you throw in a sachet or two into the product and hope that it will be all shaken and stirred by the time it reaches the petrol vend.

Originally Posted by sumzup

.....In fact, their premium product is not even premixed as they do not have any tankage or depot for doing it. It is poured into the regular products after filling them at the refineries, and they allow it get mixed en-route to their outlets. At least, this is what I have heard from my friends in Mangalore where Shell tankers go to tank-up from MRL.

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by sumzup

You are right Atlantis. Shell is just the marketing company here in India as they do not refine. They pick it up from our Indian refineries and bring it their outlets. In fact, their premium product is not even premixed as they do not have any tankage or depot for doing it. It is poured into the regular products after filling them at the refineries, and they allow it get mixed en-route to their outlets. At least, this is what I have heard from my friends in Mangalore where Shell tankers go to tank-up from MRL.

IMHO, it is more of our affinity that makes it feel better. I don't discount the fact that their staff are well-mannered and presentable but again, this is more due to their late entry and their need to differentiate.

[MODS: My apologies in advance if this topic needs to be somewhere else]

Wowza - this is quite big! And I have so many of my friends who will only tank-up at Shell! You're saying there is no difference? Wow, I need to show this page to some friends.

[RSR]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

And I have so many of my friends who will only tank-up at Shell! You're saying there is no difference? Wow, I need to show this page to some friends.

I'm sorry, but there is a difference, and a huge one at that!

Shell may source their fuel from the PSU refineries, but that doesn't mean the fuel you get at a Shell pump is the same rotten stuff that's dished out at many of the PSU ones.

For one, Shell have a separate supply chain that they carefully monitor. They don't make use of the oil tanker cartel of the PSU cabal at all. The adulteration mafia is deeply involved with the tanker cartel. The adulteration mafia is diabolically evil, and they can stoop to any lows. Ever heard of heroes like Manjunath Shanmugam and Yashwant Sonawane, both of whom were martyred because they dared to take on the filthy criminals of the oil adulteration mafia?

Another big source of fuel adulteration and shortchanging customers occurs at the dealer (fuel outlet) level. It's very common to come across either or both forms of malpractice at pumps of the PSU oil cabal.

Shell gives their dealers a higher margin, and also makes the quality and quantity verifiable by customers. There is a measuring can that you can always fill at Shell pumps to check the quantity pumped out. I'm quite sure there's a way to check the quality too. Apart from a handful of COCO PSU pumps, such things are unheard of at most pumps of the PSU cabal.

The pump attendants are another difference. The ones at the PSU cabal's pumps are very poorly paid, poorly trained, very often quite rude, have no loyalty to their employer, and are looking to cheat the customer at every available opportunity.

The ones at Shell are better paid, loyal to the company and their employer (i.e. the Shell franchisee), well trained, polite and don't even attempt to rip the customers off.

Shell cannot survive as a pure fuel marketing company were it not for these H-U-G-E differences. Neither can the Shell franchisees remain in business (considering the higher cost per litre they charge), were it not for these H-U-G-E differences.

The source of fuel may be the same (PSU refineries), but to suggest there is no difference is a joke!

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by atlantis0965

Hello Sir
In that case is there no difference between the fuel sold in the shell pumps and the IOC pumps ?
I guess many of us frequent the shell pumps in the hope that the fuel is cleaner and with lesser impurities and also the matter of correct quantity.

Only two points

1. No adulteration.
2. Correct measurement

[hellmet]

Originally Posted by RSR

The pump attendants are another difference. The ones at the PSU cabal's pumps are very poorly paid, poorly trained, very often quite rude, have no loyalty to their employer, and are looking to cheat the customer at every available opportunity.

The ones at Shell are better paid, loyal to the company and their employer (i.e. the Shell franchisee), well trained, polite and don't even attempt to rip the customers off.

Uh, no. All pumps are the same.

I have faced crappy service by Shell attendants who were adamant that I turn my vehicle around at the pump, just because that was "the direction" that the management had set. They refused to fill in petrol until I did that. This was early morning right after service had opened and there was not a fly around. I'd have even filled up and left if not for the stupidity of placing my bike in that specific "direction".

I went and then spoke to the manager who more or less shooed me away and said that they wouldn't fill fuel unless I followed their rules.

I had filled hundreds of liters at this pump into my car and bike, but I never went back to ANY shell pump after this incident. I am treated better at my local BP PSU pump.

I don't care about Shell attendant's namastes and fake smiles if they cannot have some sensitivity towards the customer. Training doesn't make human beings better at being human.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by hellmet

I have faced crappy service by Shell attendants.......

Your bad experience shouldn't be overlooked, but aren't you generalizing the whole lot? I've experienced the pushy Shell 'try premium Saar' nonsense myself for months together, so I know what they can be like.

There are bad Shell pumps and there are good PSU pumps (and vice versa), but by-the-by, most Shell pumps are better serviced than most PSU pumps, all things considered.

YMMV and you of course retain the right to patronize whichever establishment treats you best.

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by RSR

They don't make use of the oil tanker cartel of the PSU cabal at all.

Not sure how they manage to escape that. Any pointers to articles talking about this?

Originally Posted by RSR

Shell cannot survive as a pure fuel marketing company were it not for these H-U-G-E differences.

Pure fuel marketing company? Are you saying that for only India?

[RSR]

Originally Posted by hellmet

I have faced crappy service by Shell attendants who were adamant that I turn my vehicle around at the pump, just because that was "the direction" that the management had set. They refused to fill in petrol until I did that. This was early morning right after service had opened and there was not a fly around. I'd have even filled up and left if not for the stupidity of placing my bike in that specific "direction".

I understand your frustration, but did you even consider why the attendant asked you to place your bike in the right direction?

You were there when there were hardly any (or no) customers around. Imagine what would happen if two bikes entered the place simultaneously, just as your bike was being filled by the attendant. One comes in the correct direction of the queue, and the other joins in the incorrect direction of your bike.

There may be a disagreement between the two bikers on who gets to fill up next, which may turn into a verbal argument. A good company has policies to avoid such unpleasant situations and trains its employees on the same, whether you like it or not.

It was only to avoid such an unpleasant situation that the attendant asked you to join in the direction of the queue. I find nothing wrong in it. Any potential disagreement or argument between the next customers may not matter to you, but it does matter to the company and the attendant, because they're the ones who have to deal with it (& not you).

He could have been more polite and explained the reason to you, but he was absolutely correctly trained to ask you to place the bike in the correct direction.

I don't care about Shell attendant's namastes and fake smiles if they cannot have some sensitivity towards the customer. Training doesn't make human beings better at being human.

In customer service, the smiles are always fake, even at star hotels, first class airline compartments, luxury cruise ships etc. That's how it is the world over! Do not even imagine for an instance that any person in the customer service field has a genuine smile on his/her face when he/she greets you! It's a fact of life.

A fake smile on the face of a Shell attendant who says the traditional greeting is far better than the nasty, ugly scowl that the rude, crude, poorly-trained PSU pump attendants have on their faces when they "greet" customers.

Maybe you had one bad experience. I have also had one bad experience at a Shell pump, but it was because they refused to accept an earlier series 500 rupee note I gave them, saying their bank was rejecting the same. This was when RBI announced the plan to phase out those old notes, but before the cut-off date.

Despite that one bad experience that I've had, every other experience of mine with Shell has been positive to highly positive. I would still choose Shell's polite, well-trained, honest pump attendants any day over the ones found at pumps of the PSU cabal, who turn out to be lowly cheats in many cases, always looking for an opportunity to try their dirty tricks on unaware customers. Such rogues don't deserve my patronage, and neither do their crooked adulterating and shortchanging employers!

It's not without reason that we have quite a few threads like this on Team-BHP:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...-stations.html

[batterylow]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Pure fuel marketing company? Are you saying that for only India?

Has to be, Shell operates upstream facilities like oil rigs in other countries.