Last week I happened to refuel at Shell Petrol pump, opposite Vadapalani Bus stand. I have heard from my friends that it was very professional and good. The moment I entered, the guy asked me to turn off the engine and mobile phone. Someone filled the petrol, and someone else cleaned the windshield. Right next to me there was an Idiot* in Swift It was good until then. Things changed when I gave my credit card for billing. Since I had to check the tyre pressure as well, the attendant asked me to proceed and he said he would bring my credit card there. After checking the tyre pressure, I was wondering why I hadn’t received my credit card. By this time, the idiot in swift rushed out of the petrol pump. He seemed to be in a hurry.
I was worried, and went inside their office to find out what was happening. They gave me a credit card, which was of someone else. To my surprise, the attendant interchanged the credit cards. The idiot in swift took away my credit card, while I was given his credit card. Well, everyone commits a mistake. I asked the manager to call the credit card company and asked them to find out the phone no of the idiot in swift, so that we can settle things. Unfortunately the bugger had changed his phone no and hadn’t updated the credit card company about the same. I thought I will call the credit card companies and report it as a loss and ask for a new card. That’s when I realized that it is not a simple phone call to report the card as stolen. It seems the moment you call, the card is blocked for all electronic transactions and only at the outlets where they have these electronic swiping machines. But I am liable, if at all my card was used at some outlets where they were using manual swipe. To avoid this, I need to walk into a police station and file a complaint. And within 24 hours drop that complaint no in a drop box of the bank.
I had no other option but to visit a police station and file a complaint. The inspector was quite friendly (not because am a politician) and told me that this was the 3rd such incident(I was Shell Shocked) that happened with Shell, Vadapalani. In one particular instance one of the attendants misused the credit card to the extent of 70,000 Rs. I was shocked hearing that. The Inspector called Shell and asked the manager to come to the police station. The manager was visibly upset and told me ‘Sir. You have already blocked the card. Then why are you complaining? No way can someone use your credit card, sir. Please withdraw the complaint’. I just told him ‘I listen to what the bank says’. After this I got a letter from Shell citing that if any expense is incurred on the credit card after the time of loss, they should bear the cost and am in no way responsible.
All this stylish way of filling petrol is nice, but I was disappointed with the behavior of Shell guys. I don’t think I would visit that place again.
Good Experience. I guess it is safe to pay by cash in petrol pumps, or ask the attendant to bring the swipe machine (I think in Bharat Petroleum they have this wireless swipe machine) next to the car, or better park the car and visit the billing section.
*Why is the Swift guy, an idiot?
1. He was honking inside the petrol pump
2. His bill amount was 1000 Rs, and mine 1500 Rs. Just like that he signed the bill and left. Interestingly the Shell guys didn’t print a duplicate receipt. They say no one checks the signatures on the receipt. Weird!
3. Before collecting their credit card, won’t one check if it is theirs irrespective of the urgency?
I feel it is not just the One SHELL outlet in Vadapalani. I had problems with my own credit card at SHELL here in Bangalore @ Old Madras Rd. They misplaced my CC inside the store where the attendant took it for swiping and it took them 20 mins after filling my tank to find it. It did not end here. Apparently the guy who filled the tank had to take a slip from the fuel dispenser to the guy who swipes the CC. That slip guy was nowhere to be found and another 15 mins lost. It was pathetic!!!
Its just crazy because, all these companies try to imitate stuff in the western countries but you see people are not trained sufficiently to handle situations like this, and they lack mannerisms.
My question is, why don’t they have provision in the fuel dispenser for accepting credit cards so that we can fill the tanks ourselves. It is not that tough.
Good pun-intended title
.And its so pathetic the way things work at some places.
A really Shell Shocking Experience !
Lessons learnt: Dont use Credit cards in petrol bunks / other placess where they dont swipe the card in your presence..
yes the lesson is use credit cards only in the places where they swipe it in front of u. it applies not only to shell but everywhere.also have enuf amt of cash with u always
but i dont know why my bike is giving 5kms/pl more when i fuel it in shell compared to the other bunks.
also i had worst exp in 4th T block HP petrol bunk (next to ragiguda if u go from btm towards bsk). i was cheated by that guy filling the petrol. the cash collecting guy had suddenly asked me do i want a bill. i was lookign at him and this guy filled it. after moving from the pump, i noticed he had filled me 1 only 1 litre though i had asked him for 2 litre. by the time i involved in the conv with the second guy,it seems this guy had started from 1 litre. i went and asked but bad response i got
is there any way to complain about this?
i realised it is a common of cheating people when i searched in the net later… check it out here http://silkboard.wordpress.com/2006/08/22/mileage-and-petrol-bungling-shell-shocked/
i thought shell had decent code of conduct that other bunks but from ur exp and from the other comment,i got to know they are also doing these kind of major mistakes
but atleast they didtn cheat.
I feel you have learnt a valuable lesson – Never leave your credit card in another person’s hand. But even then, things can go wrong. I would like to share my experience.
I went to a decent petrol bunk (BP, BTM Layout, Bangalore), bill amount came to 1330. I decided to pay using credit card. I went with the attendant to the office, and handed over my card. In front of me, the attendant swiped the card, but absent-mindedly swipes for 13330 (note the extra 3). I immediately alerted him and he disconnected the wire. Then he realized he made a mistake and apologized for the same. Just imagine if I wasn’t there. Or even worse, if I was like that Swift guy!
Even after this incident, I still use my credit card but I make sure that I’m always with the attendant. I also carry cash in case there is rush and people behind can’t wait.
ivanga salute adikkara gavanatha credit card-a correct-a kudukkardhula selithirukkalAm.
The inspector was quite friendly (not because am a politician) and told me that this was the 3rd such incident(I was Shell Shocked) that happened with Shell, Vadapalani
Shocking!
All form and no “content” = VPD Shell
I am a regular at the Shell BUnk in the thoraipakam-pallavaram by pass road and i agree that they take hajaar time in returning with the card unless u go in person.
Nowadays i pay only in cash in shell bunks because of the delay.
Now I have one more reason to avoid paying by Credit Card in Shell!
What happened to Sami happened to us in Hyd as well.These petrol bunk fellas give some small talk and try to distract us and cheat.Pathetic losers.
Yeah had few instances where the credit card was mixed and alerted by the guy who took mine before i got back his !! Luckily !
and all these happened in the same Shell _ Vadapalani Petrol Bunk and that Thorappakam Velachery Bypass –
If you are using Cash – guess Shell petrol bunk is good !
More than the security of the credit card … i never use it because i always forget to get it back from the petrol bunk !!
Semma experience pola!
Guess everyone has a tale to tell. It would be good if we can compile a list of bad petrol pumps. On second thoughts it would be easy to count the list of good ones, since they are very few
I’m a regular at the Shell Bunk in the Vadapalani… I agree that they take hell a lot of time in returning the CC. I would be left wondering as what happened to my CC. Good lesson for everyone…..
dei baadu, ithu un carelessness. nee car-a bittu irangi neeye poitu card swipe pannitu vandurukanum .
itha panaama ,peria punda maadiri car kulla utkaarnthu ange velai paakara pasangala thitare .
Dont blame others for your lousiness.
There are many petrol pumps (HP, BPCL etc…at Adyar, TTK Road) that have credit card processing right inside the vending machine. All that they have to do is use them, by entering the credit card number and it prints out the bill.
But I guess these guys want to save up on telephone lines or God know what…they have the terminal machine in some obscure corner.
I had a similar fate in one of Shell outlets, though not with the credit card. I parked my car, someone cleaned the front glass and someone else filled the petrol. I paid the money and the guy who filled the tank said sir please move in the front and I did. After filling air in the tyres I left. Everyone on the road were starring at me and waiwing at me . I was wondering what the hell was going on and stopped the car to check if anything is wrong. I found the tank lid wide open and the petrol evaporating. The petrol lid was on top of the car. I donno whether these guys are paid to act like total screw ups? i would appreciate if they did the main job perfectly as the risk involved is greater than other chuthia things like sallam saab (vanakkam) and cleaning the front glass. Maybe Shell India should realise people get more influenced and become appreciate if the pay attention to the bigger things and not the crappy lil things like wearing a white coat like a doctor in a petrol bunk and saying vannakam and cleaning front glasses. Shell pricks if u are reading this pls do something abt it Indians are not fools.
Read this post a couple of times… and get a feeling that a nifty operation is going on, with cards being deliberately interchanged – no other reason for the reaction on your going to the cops. And best of luck with getting your card accounts straightened out.
I will tell you a good experience in a petrol bunk…
I regularly refill at one petrol bunk close to my house. On morning, I was also in a hurry like the swift idiot and so, I gave my card and drove out… Later in the day, when I had to take my wallet out, I realised I lot the credit card – still not sure if I had left it in the bunk. I went there the next morning and they all smiled at me. I had togo the manager, sign the receipt and collect my card – simple. I was a li’l worried about the info in the card being misused, but, I knew the employees for years.. Just decided to trust. Sometimes, personalization pays over professionalism in customer service.
I second the thought expressed by Ferrari. Let us compile a list of petrol bunks that are honest and give good service in chennai.
I understand The TVS bunk near Anna salai and HP bunk next to gemini fly over in chennai are good.
raj
I believe the shell petrol bunks should compensate the guy for the inconveniece caused by their negligence in switching the card besides the letter to undertake the future loss.
Ferrari should send this to the Shell corporate office.
raj
Recently I filled my tank at the HP bunk on TTK road. The attendant put the dispenser in the Auto mode but the machine failed to cut after the tank was full. As a result petrol over flowed. Now How do I resolve such a sticky situation…how do I measure how much of petrol had over-flowed? I fought, argued and made them reduce price of 1 litre from the total bill..The attendants were very reluctant to give me a refund and thought I was asking for something unreasonable when I asked them for a refund !!
HP pumps in Adyar (near MGR Janaki college) and Anna Salai (opp US Embassy) have their Swipe machines near the dispensers….so there is little chance of any mis use.
And this tactic of engaing the driver in conversation while the attendant starts dispensing from a previous transaction is quite old…practiced in all major bunks !! Shell doesnt have co branding with any credit cards ..so no petrol surcharge refunds…so I use only cash in Shell…
As mentioned by Shantaram, the first impression I had after reading the reaction of the Police Inspector as well as the Petrol Pump Manager was that it is too much of a coincidence that 3 such incidents to be happening with the same petrol bunk and that too in a fairly short period of time.
Having siad this, I think it is because of your not getting distracted with any other thing (Vanakkam, glass cleaning, etc) that saved (?) the day for you.
Some people here have blamed Shell for distracting their attention by saying Vanakkam & cleaning the glass etc. But is Shell alone to be blamed for this or should we also share the blame partly by not concentrating on the job at hand which is to see if the pump meter starts at zero and remember to collect our credit card?
I am also a regular Shell customer & I go to their outlet in Vittal Mallya Road in Bangalore for the last 6 months or so. I have been getting very good service & they are using the card swiper placed just next to the pump. Here they place a road blocker just in front of the car & also request the driver to switch off the ignition. They remove the blocker only after the signed charge slip is handed back to them. The only irritation I felt there is sometimes they run out of normal fuel & you are forced to go in for the premium variety, which is not giving any extra mileage.
I do hope you are taking up the matter with Shell higher-ups and bringing their attention to the Police Inspectors comments so that they do look into the aspect of the involvement, if any, of their own staff & try to put a stop to it.
Can you pl let us know whether you could successfully block your card from ALL transactions finally?
Prabhu,
Eppadi, indha maadhri incident ellam unakku nu pathu nadakkudhu. Unlucky you.
I don’t fill gas anywhere else other than Shell (after hearing about Shell’s quality from one of my friend who took part in national level rallies), but I never give my debit card to the attendants. Not sure if that is acceptabole in Chennai, but most of them in B’lore don’t complain till you park your vehicle and go to the counter in person.
I really feel sorry for you. The frustration for hrs (till the bank blocks the card) whether somebody would flick the hard earned money is painful.
I’ve not seen Manual card Swipes in a loooong time. Which bank credit card are you using?
I once lost my purse too, had no problems or liability whatsoever and my Citi and Sbi cards wer blocked in 2-3 minutes over phone itself.
BPCL is good that they have those wireless machines.
Quality of fuel in Shell (In India or elsewhere) is cut above the rest. Sorry that this happened to you but just wanted to mention that they have the quality.
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jus now that i wanted to frequently visit ur blog u swift off.. cha switch off ur comment. how do i let u know then?
Good Lesson.. I never thought this could happen!!!:(
Prabhu ,
Same thing happened to me. Wish I had read your blog earlier , I’d have been more careful. I have used your blog as a link while posting about my experience on my blog , hope you do not mind
Rds ,
Vidya
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Hi,
Can you suggest a good bunk which doesnt adulterate diesel in Chennai. I have an Indica DLS V2. After 2.5 years I had a problem with my fuel pum. I had to service the pump spending 13500 bucks. The mechanic told the pump had worn out because of adulteration. He also advised me to fill diesel only from Shell or Reliance. In Chennai there is hardly any Reliance. Shel charges Diesel to the extent of Petrol. It costs me Rs.50.80/-. Can anyone suggest a good PSU petrol bunk which doesnt adulterate. The other day, I filled in Hispeed from BPCL pump in Nesapakkam. After 2 days my Indica was dragging. No pick up. Then the next refil was at Shell. Now the Car was smooth like a petrol car. Please….suggest a good PSU pump in Chennai
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