There's no such thing as free oil [ column of vernon b. sarne of topgear.com.ph ]

[renzo_d10]

Over some dimsum and radish cake the other night, my friend Jeff told me about an unusual marketing gimmick by Total (the French oil company that's apparently the fifth-largest in the world), which he'd encountered at the firm's gasoline station near Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City. He was having his car filled up when he spotted a very big banner that read: "Free! 1 liter motor oil if we fail to offer to check your oil."
By the time a forecourt attendant was done with his car, nobody had offered to check his oil. After paying, he slowly rolled off half-expecting somebody to block his way and make that last-minute oil-check proposition. But not a soul did. Believing he had put one over Total, he stopped and asked for the manager. When the latter came, he pointed at the promo banner and asked: "Is that promo for real?"
"Yes, sir, it is," came the quick reply.
"Well, then," Jeff said, "I believe you owe me a liter of oil because nobody bothered asking me about an oil check."
"Is that so?" asked the manager. "May I know who attended to you?"
The manager then called Jeff's forecourt attendant and asked him if indeed he had failed to offer Jeff an oil check. The attendant suddenly registered a worried look on his face, realizing in that split second the blunder he'd just made. To the attendant's credit, he admitted his shortcoming even if it was clear he'd be in trouble if he did.
After verifying his attendant's service gaffe, the manager agreed to give Jeff his free liter of oil. But Jeff knew better than to take it. He asked the manager: "If I take this oil, would this be deducted from the salary of the attendant?"
"Yes, sir," answered the manager.
"Then I'm not taking it," declared Jeff. "I don't really need it."
So Jeff wondered aloud to me: What kind of a marketing promo is that? Total doesn't stand to lose a single peso in this campaign. Every drop of oil that they'd be giving away would practically be shouldered by the "erring" attendants. Talk about corporate shrewdness. Is this even legal?
After Jeff and I parted, I went straight to the same Total Newport station to see the promo banner for myself. This was well past midnight already. I parked my car right below the banner in question and went inside the Bonjour convenience store to buy a beverage. I must have stayed about 15 minutes in the area, and yes, nobody offered to check my oil. Not that I needed an oil check--I just wanted to see if the promo was for real. Unlike Jeff, however, I didn't make a fuss of it. I left quietly, convinced that I'd already proven a point.
The following morning, on my way to work, I passed by a Total station on the northbound half of EDSA, also in Pasay City. I saw the same promo banner, a photograph of which you can see here. This time, I was in the mood for some conversation. I rolled down my window and inquired about the price of a liter of the Total Quartz 7000 15W-50 semi-synthetic oil, which was pictured on the promo banner. According to the attendant, said oil costs P254 per liter. That's the amount to be deducted from the already meager salary of attendants every time they absentmindedly fail to offer a customer an oil check. The free oil Total is offering isn't free after all.
To be absolutely certain, I asked if this was indeed so--if the free liter of fuel would indeed be charged to forgetful attendants. The attendant confirmed it, his facial expression giving away a hint of protest. At that very instant, I thought of my friend who worked in Total's marketing department and sincerely hoped she had nothing to do with this ill-conceived promo.
It's bad enough that we, as customers, get stupid offers from establishments all the time. Oil check? I only need gas. I think I know when it's time to have my oil changed, thank you very much. My car's service record tells me that. This whole episode reminds me of going to McDonald's and ordering my meal: After I'm done giving my order, the server then asks if I want an apple pie or sundae to go with that. It never fails to irritate me. If I wanted dessert with my meal, I think I'm old enough to make that decision for myself. The reason I didn't order dessert is because I didn't want any. And no amount of sales talk would make me change my mind.
Now, I have the highest regard for waiters and attendants. I used to be one in college. I'm sure that if they had their way, they wouldn't be mouthing off all those useless offers to customers. They do this because they're required by management to do so, obviously to try and boost the sales.
But what Total has done now is even worse. Not only is the oil company making its attendants offer a mostly unnecessary service, it's also making them literally pay for failing to follow the directive. All in the name of promoting its oil and presumably giving customers the impression that its fuel stations are so service-oriented that you'd get freebies if this promise of excellent service wasn't fulfilled.
This brings to mind a popular promo of pizza restaurants, in which they'll give you the pizza free of charge if their delivery man doesn't get you your order within 30 minutes. I'm almost sure this free pizza also gets deducted from the salary of "tardy" delivery guys. Which explains why delivery boys on scooters dart through traffic--often at the risk of life and limb--just to beat the half-hour time limit.
It's nauseating what some companies make their employees do just to meet their sales quota.



http://www.topgear.com.ph/features/c...e-oil#comments

In each and every vehicle that gasses up at Total there's a very big chance that the Gas Boy fails to offer you an oil check. Total should now this, their gas boys ain't no robot for them to program each and every thing they should do.

Yes, those gas boys are being paid. But heck, they should have mercy for them too. That's the least thing they could do. No gas boy wants to forget this stupid rule. It's just because of the tiring day of work, that's why most of the gas boys forget this.

Let the Total officials do this. And, i`ll bet my allowance if they do not forget to offer each and every vehicle that gasses up to them to do their oil check. Stupid rules is commonly done by stupid people.