'PURE FOR SURE' PROGRAM FROM BPCL

Keeping in mind the de-regulation that is soon going to come into force, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is executing a series of moves to retain and increase customer loyalty and market share.  BPCL recently launched the 'Pure for Sure' program, and it has to be applauded for its sincere efforts to satisfy its customers.  BPCL takes full marks for adhering to that 'Golden Rule' in marketing - 'in business, the customer is God'.

The 'Pure for Sure' program is aimed at making sure that the customer gets the right 'Quantity and Quality' of both service and petrol.  As K P Chandy, Territory Manager - Retail, Chennai said, "Pure for Sure is all about customer's getting their value for money.  In the past, customers have always seen a visit to the petrol bunk as something they could well avoid, thanks to the kind of treatment that they get and their frustration on being cheated on both quality and quantity.  This program is aimed at making sure that the Retail Outlets that have been certified to guarantee the amount of fuel being dispensed is accurate, and also that the people rendering this service are courteous".

In this program, dealers have voluntarily enrolled themselves for certification in a phased manner.  To ensure that there is impartial evaluation TUV Suddeutschland India, a German quality certification agency has been roped in to evaluate the dealers.  The key aspects of the program are security checks placed in the whole logistics process; right from tamper proof Abloy locks with three-dimensional keys.  These locks, each of which costs Rs 2,500/- have been sourced from a company in England and are fitted on the modified tank lorries that supply the product to the Retail Outlets.  The tanker lorries themselves have been made tamper proof by welding all joints and hinges.  The dispensing unit at the outlets are sealed with plastic seals by BPCL, after the Weights and Measures Department has certified and sealed them.  Once the product has reached the outlets, there are periodic as well as regular checks and samples are regularly tested.  A mobile laboratory will also be introduced soon, so that tests can be done at the spot.  The dealers cannot sit back and take it easy after they have been certified, but have to undergo periodic audits and get re-certified by TUV Suddeutschland India.

J S Sokhi, General Manager (Retail), said that the market research results from its research agency, McKinsey corroborated their own findings from customer research that Quality and Quantity were the major criteria on which customer's expressed dissatisfaction.  In Chennai, of the 60 BPCL dealers, 20 come under the 'Pure for Sure' program, including BPCL's company owned and company operated outlets.  A majority of the remaining dealers should be covered before the end of the year, if 20 dealers are taken in each phase, as it takes around 3 - 4 months to set up the system in each phase, added Sokhi. When queried about the action taken against erring dealers, Sokhi mentioned that they had been very strict and had terminated one dealership in the last six months, while they had closed 30 - 40 retail outlets.

With a present market share of 36% in Chennai, BPCL is looking forward to increase its share with its latest customer-oriented initiatives.  Incidentally, BPCL has around 40,000 Petro Card members in Chennai alone, out of 1,00,000 members in the Southern Region.  The all-India numbers for this scheme stands at 4,00,000 members.

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