My company has both Shell and BP franchises. The store where I work is a BP location, but most of our other stores in town are Shell stations. There are other BP stations owned by other franchisees, though. That's just how it is for all I care, so I never bothered to contemplate such questions.
One of our regular morning coffee customers asks me this morning why some of our stores are BPs while others are Shell. Personally, I find this guy rather annoying, so I'd prefer that he not be so "conversational." This sort of griping is an example of a typical conversation with him while he's doing his morning coffee run. It's usually a veiled complaint or rant about something stupid over which I have no control. The point is that I barely acknowledge him most mornings because I really don't care. Plus, he's one of those customers who will get a couple of items, bring them to my counter rather than set them at the empty register, go gather a couple more items and bring them to the counter, and keep making similar hunter gatherer trips back and forth across the store while cluttering my counter while I'm trying to ring up other customers. I just hate people who do that. It's a common occurrence that I move it to the empty register anyway. WAIT UNTIL YOU GET IT ALL BEFORE YOU COME TO MY REGISTER, OR AT LEAST PUT IT OFF TO THE SIDE WHERE I DON'T HAVE TO SHUFFLE IT OUT OF MY WAY TO HELP OTHER CUSTOMERS!!!!
So, I give some generic answer about how it probably had to do with finding the most lucrative franchise package for each store as it was built or purchased. I really don't know, nor do I care. "If you want a better answer than that, you'll have to ask someone higher up than me. I have no clue why the company makes the decisions it makes."
I hope he lets it go at that, but here comes the part I would have preferred not to hear. "Well, I got a BP card which is fine to use here, but I can't use it at all the other (name of c-store chain) locations because some of them are Shells. It's really inconvenient." I tuned out the rest of what he said, but he had more commentary on the subject. He finally stops talking.
"Yep, life throws us lemons, sometimes." I point at the stuff he'd brought to the counter as I proceed to ring it up, "Is this all for you today?"
I just find this guy annoying, but I've definitely dealt with worse customers.
One of our regular morning coffee customers asks me this morning why some of our stores are BPs while others are Shell. Personally, I find this guy rather annoying, so I'd prefer that he not be so "conversational." This sort of griping is an example of a typical conversation with him while he's doing his morning coffee run. It's usually a veiled complaint or rant about something stupid over which I have no control. The point is that I barely acknowledge him most mornings because I really don't care. Plus, he's one of those customers who will get a couple of items, bring them to my counter rather than set them at the empty register, go gather a couple more items and bring them to the counter, and keep making similar hunter gatherer trips back and forth across the store while cluttering my counter while I'm trying to ring up other customers. I just hate people who do that. It's a common occurrence that I move it to the empty register anyway. WAIT UNTIL YOU GET IT ALL BEFORE YOU COME TO MY REGISTER, OR AT LEAST PUT IT OFF TO THE SIDE WHERE I DON'T HAVE TO SHUFFLE IT OUT OF MY WAY TO HELP OTHER CUSTOMERS!!!!
So, I give some generic answer about how it probably had to do with finding the most lucrative franchise package for each store as it was built or purchased. I really don't know, nor do I care. "If you want a better answer than that, you'll have to ask someone higher up than me. I have no clue why the company makes the decisions it makes."
I hope he lets it go at that, but here comes the part I would have preferred not to hear. "Well, I got a BP card which is fine to use here, but I can't use it at all the other (name of c-store chain) locations because some of them are Shells. It's really inconvenient." I tuned out the rest of what he said, but he had more commentary on the subject. He finally stops talking.
"Yep, life throws us lemons, sometimes." I point at the stuff he'd brought to the counter as I proceed to ring it up, "Is this all for you today?"
I just find this guy annoying, but I've definitely dealt with worse customers.
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