11 Things to do to avoid short selling at Petrol Pumps

1. Select your petrol pump with care.. Wherever possible patronise company-owned and company-operated petrol pumps (COCO) that are manned by the oil company officials themselves.



2. Go to those stations that are patronised by three-wheelers. The auto rickshaw drivers check mileage after every refill and use their own methods like dipping a foot-ruler into the tank to know if the pump has delivered the correct quantity or not. And they are always right in their assessment!







3. Patronise stations, which have the newest pumps like the multi-product dispensers (MPDs) installed to service customers. MPDs are believed to be quite tamper-proof and hence they will deliver correct quantity of petrol.





4.Often check your car's mileage







5. Top up the tank to get the fill-up from a pump that has an auto-cut-off nozzle.















6. Be alert when you enter a petrol pump







7. Always ensure that before the fuelling process is started the pump board display reading is set at ZERO.









8.. Come out of your car while the salesman fills up your tank and stand near the point of sale.





9. Instruct the salesman to deliver the fuel slowly.







10.Lodge a complaint on the Web site of the oil majors or send a written complaint to their office if you feel you have been short-changed













11. Know your rights. It is your right to know if the quantity being dispensed to you is correct .











The author is a management consultant in the field of fuel marketing with over 20 years of experience. Currently, he is based in Nigeria, helping a former Shell company set up best retail and customer services practices.







Sudhir Bisht

http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/oct/04petrol.htm