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Old 29th June 2010, 18:51   #31
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Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi View Post

Helix hai. Ultra nahi.
Oh dear. We park and get out. It's a quiet pump. The oil counter has an assortment of oils in 5L and 1L and 500mL bottles. Sure enough I see Helix, but no Ultra.

Nahi sirf Ultra chahiye.
Nahi hai, sorry.


I reach for my mobile to call Shrivz.
Nahi Sir not allowed. Aap andar baat kijiye.

He open the door of the shop/office/cash counter and I walk inside and look around.

This pump is built EXACTLY like pumps look in Europe.

------------------------

In Europe one would park his car at the pump, fill up fuel himself and walk into the shop to pay. There's no attendants or anything.
Usually you stick the nozzle in and when the tank fills up, the fuel stops filling.
While it's filling you usually go to the shop.
The shop has all kinds of fun stuff. Food, magazines, drinks etc.

You pick up what you need and state your pump number at the shop cashier. He tells you how much fuel and how much for the stuff you bought.

One person runs both the entire pump as well as the shop.

Not like India, where four people fill fuel into one car. One person to yell and point to which pump to go to, one person to fill the fuel, one person to clean the windshield and another to swipe your credit card.

Indian fuel filling is like a pitstop for Ferrari or something.

------------------------------------------------------------

This pump has one smiley attendant in uniform. Namaste, welcome to Shell is all the English he seems to know. No wait, he also knows not allowed.
The shop is small and air conditioned. Well built and clean, however all the shelves and fridges are empty. Looks like the shop has closed.

There's a man inside at the counter in a smart Shell teeshirt. He speaks English well.

The attendant comes and explains the situation to him.

I'm so sorry, we don't have stock of this product.
Can you help me please? I'm travelling to Mumbai and I'm in desperate need to 2L of this oil.
You could try the Shell pump in Pimpri..

My face falls. Actually the oil warning light is on and I'm not supposed to drive far like this.
Let me call them, says he.

He starts calling them. While he is doing that, another man steps out from another door behind. Ah, there's an office here. He too is wearing a smart Shell teeshirt.

Welcome to Shell sir, I am sorry about your situation. He turns to the guy at the counter.
Mangalo yahaan. Sir ko kahan bhejte ho yahan-wahan.
OK sir.
Sir, the oil will come here. We will call for it from another pump pr from another office. Please don't worry. We will arrange it.

The guy at the counter hands him the phone. Sir aap boldo.

Haanji, 2 litre ultra bhejo yahan. Haan haan bill bana do. Cash.
He covers the mouthpiece.
Sir you have cash right?
How much?
I ask pulling out my wallet.
Around two thousand something.
No sorry.
Credit card?
Of course!

He goes back to the phone. Bill bana do, customer yahan swipe karlenge, we will do accounts later.

He disconnects. It will take 30 minutes or so Sir. Sorry to make you wait.
I smile. No problem, I'll hang around, go eat something.

This is excellent service.

Last edited by Sam Kapasi : 29th June 2010 at 18:58.
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Old 29th June 2010, 19:04   #32
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GRRR...

Sam, what's your favourite marketing campaign? I am sure its teaser campaign.
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Old 29th June 2010, 19:07   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam
This is excellent service.
This is Service, in my book.
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Old 29th June 2010, 19:09   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi View Post

Indian fuel filling is like a pitstop for Ferrari or something.
Ha ha ha....

And one more peculiar thing - you can never make any petrol pump attendant happy about the position of your car relative to the pump.
No matter where I stop and how accurately I judge the best location of the filling cap wrt to the pump, they will always say "sir, thodaa, thodaa aage...". Then I move an inch and then they are happy. I think it's their right to direct you that you can not deny...



BTW, if all this was happening near Hinjewadi, why did you not go straight to Europa Auto (Skoda dealer and service center) across the road?

Last edited by anandpadhye : 29th June 2010 at 19:10.
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Old 29th June 2010, 19:09   #35
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This is Service, in my book.
Excellent service considering Indian standards book

Last edited by prateek99 : 29th June 2010 at 19:13.
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Old 29th June 2010, 19:20   #36
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Excellent service by Shell !

I too had ordered shell Helix at the bunk close to my house, they did not have it in stock, they ordered it from another bunk, and they called me & informed to come & pick it up, all for no extra charge Neither did they demand an advance from me !

Cant imagine a PSU bunk ever being so helpful !

Please continue Sam sir, was about to leave office when i saw this thread & stayed back to read it, was worth every second Btw, maybe you should buy some 1 ltr bottles of Ultra & keep them in the car for such emergencies !
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Old 29th June 2010, 19:47   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anandpadhye View Post
BTW, if all this was happening near Hinjewadi, why did you not go straight to Europa Auto (Skoda dealer and service center) across the road?
When it is decision of to freeze or not to freeze a 10 L + car engine, then one might play very very safe. Atleast I would. No one knows the threashold right ? When the engine will sieze right and what if the engine would attain that threshold on the way to the Skoda dealership/shop. No offence but just an interpretation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nitrous View Post
This is Service, in my book.
Quote:
Originally Posted by prateek99 View Post
Excellent service considering Indian standards book
Once when I pulled over to a Shell bunk in Bangalore the 'manager' noticed a flat had occured just about when I was parking in the lane to tank up. He asked me to pull over near the office/shop and changed the tyre w/o any egos or extra cost. He even apologised for not having a facility to mend the puncture. Right from the wheel removal to the bad wheel fitment in the boot was done by him in 10-12 minutes. For me that is good service. I'm not sure if someone can do that around here as well.

Thats the reason I fill up at Shell and given up on anything else (with exception to a Reliance) be it Pune Mumbai or Bangalore.

EDIT: I mentioned this on the Petrol cheating bunk something thread as well.

Last edited by prince_pervez : 29th June 2010 at 19:51.
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Old 29th June 2010, 19:58   #38
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Its quite natural these days for high end cars to consume oil till the 3rd service, post that things become normal, and yes its mentioned in the manual.

Pramod
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Old 29th June 2010, 20:31   #39
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No doubt - Excellent service from Shell.
Let me try the same trick in one of the Shell pumps in Chennai & update this thread one day. Lets me see if they provide the service only for Superb or even for WagonR & RX.

About 3 weeks ago, I visited one of the Shell outlets to buy Shell Advance Ultra for my RX. The guy over there sounded knowledgable on the oil & suggested buying Helix Ultra & there were about 7 customers using Helix Ultra & they were satisfied. Since I was little skeptical about 5W-40 against the recommended 20W-40, I thought it was better to consult & buy. However I left that day with 20W-40 Shell Advance.

Last week, when we were discussing about engine oils, we'd a point coming up - clutch plates & engine oil (which I haven't understood completely). But the crux was, the oil density, additives & weight could damage the clutch plates on using different one other than manufacturer recommended one. But I must admit that the guy in Shell was not pushing for Helix Ultra. Any day, I prefer Shell over any fuel station in India.
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Old 29th June 2010, 21:50   #40
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Dear Yeti,
Brilliant narration as always.

Couple of things that came to my mind:
1. If the oil-guzzling habit is well known, Skoda should have documented it in BOLD RED in the owner's manual, possibly as part of "10 things that you must know about car" section (right at the beginning of the manual).
2. The car that comes with an umbrella, should have given a 2 litre bottle of HelixUltra also (especially since it is not easily available by roadside).

Anyways, I hope the story does not end here and there is more entertaining stuff that follows

- SDP

Last edited by SDP : 29th June 2010 at 21:52.
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Old 30th June 2010, 00:26   #41
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Shell pumps usually have very good service. Once i was coming back from Bangalore with 2-3 friends, just after entering chennai i went to a shell pump for tankful, due to rainy season car was all dirty. I just parked the car asked them to do tankful and went to the toilet with friends to get fresh. When we came back the manager of the pump was cleaning the car :O , i was like ***. He said it was very dirty so we are cleaning. I told him that i don't prefer cleaning it that way coz the paint gets scratched. The guy apologized then asked me to park my car on the side of the pump, got a pipe and got the whole car cleaned. We all were really amazed lol . at last we were leaving he said 'thanks you come again" hehe. those days shell pumps were usually empty because of the price difference.
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Old 30th June 2010, 00:42   #42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rahulkool View Post
those days shell pumps were usually empty because of the price difference.
Well those days have come back again, but thats for another thread. For me it is between getting ripped for fuel I don't get or pay a higher price and get all the fuel worth it. And I know I am not alone.
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Old 30th June 2010, 00:47   #43
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi View Post
Not like India, where four people fill fuel into one car. One person to yell and point to which pump to go to, one person to fill the fuel, one person to clean the windshield and another to swipe your credit card.

Indian fuel filling is like a pitstop for Ferrari or something.
Sam boss, we live in a service economy. In Europe, in addition to filling in fuel, you'd also be cleaning the windshield and also filling the air in the tyres.
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Old 30th June 2010, 01:19   #44
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi View Post
It will take 30 minutes or so Sir. Sorry to make you wait.
Aadhe ghante mein aana tha.. kahan gaya ?
(It was supposed to take a half hour.. where is it now?)
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Old 30th June 2010, 01:40   #45
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Wow, impressive service, I must say from Shell.
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