Serving Up Excellent Customer Service in Savanne
By Angela Altass
Excellent customer service will get your store noticed. Word of mouth, or these days social media, can attract new customers to your location.
A business in Savanne, Ontario, which offers convenience, gas, LCBO and a restaurant, impressed a writer for CBC so much that he wrote an article about his experience there. With the headline My Tank and Spirits Were Filled at a Gas Station on a Lonely Stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway, the article by Stephen Douglas shares a story of how a challenge using the gas pump turned into a story of trust, kindness and mutual respect that made his journey from Toronto to Vancouver more pleasant.
Douglas noticed the gas pump at the Savanne location was putting gas into his vehicle without a readout of the amount being pumped. He went inside to tell the staff of the problem. To his surprise, he was told to “pay whatever you feel is the correct total.” He was also offered a coffee and decided to have breakfast at the restaurant. When he went to pay for his meal, he was informed by the business owner that “we could not see the readout but we can tell from the difference in volume pumped that you purchased $5 less fuel than you believed. So, please, if you are ok with this, there is no charge for your breakfast.” Douglas notes that he knew that what he ordered was worth more than $10.
“We were happy,” says business co-owner Deepak Marwaha, when asked how he felt about the article. “He truly wrote whatever thoughts he had for us.”
Marwaha, who owns the business with his friend Rajeev Kumar, was working at the location on the day that Douglas visited the Esso gas station.
“We are running this business into its’ third year,” says Marwaha. “My friend owned it and when I visited him, I started helping him to source things and finally circumstances got me involved as a partner. We branded it as Pitstop Retreat but have not started any advertising with that name. People know us as the Esso gas station and Fill n Chill restaurant, serving Indian and Canadian food. The most promising thing is that we get business as well as thanks and blessings from people for quality service.”
Getting supplies and hiring staff are challenges that the business owners face but they are enthusiastic about the future and are making improvements to the existing facilities.
“We are working on improvements to the outside and have also done renovations to the interior as well,” notes Marwaha. “For service and quality, we are always ready with willingness, honesty and dedication. I hope more people who will travel on this route will spare some time to check in and we are confident to serve them to satisfaction.”
If you find yourself travelling along Highway 17 near Thunder Bay, Ontario and come across an Esso gas station with a Fill n Chill restaurant and a convenience store in Savanne, stop by and say hello to the owners and be ready to be greeted with a smile and experience some warm hospitality and outstanding customer service.
