The Tribune

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Sol Petroleum Bahamas as the fuel provider for Shell Bahamas. The Tribune has been informed by Sol Petroleum Bahamas that the company provides fuel exclusively to Esso branded service stations, not Shell. The Tribune apologises for this error.

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

CUSTOMERS of Shell in Montagu have raised concerns over the quality of fuel being provided by the service station after several of their vehicles allegedly had severe mechanical issues following fuel purchases from the station over the weekend. However, despite the difficulties, customers had high praise for the way in which the station’s staff handled the problem.

According to reports received by The Tribune up to press time Tuesday, at least eight vehicles were damaged, allegedly as a result of a batch of fuel delivered to the service station Sunday morning.

When contacted for comment on the problem Tuesday, operators of the service station referred this newspaper to its fuel provider.

Attempts to get clarification from the company were unsuccessful, with The Tribune being informed that any public statement on the incident would have to come from the office’s media relations department.

However, those inquiries were also unsuccessful.

Of the eight customers interviewed, all claimed to have purchased gasoline from the station between 8.30am and 9am Sunday.

Each of the eight customers reported issues shortly after leaving the station; either engine sputters followed by a complete shutdown or a reduction of speed culminating with the car shutting down.

While reports of resulting damage varied, the customers who spoke to The Tribune had high praise for the service station and its staff for how they handled the problem. One longtime customer affected by Sunday’s incident told The Tribune that she could not “bad-mouth” the establishment because the operators and staff there did everything possible to “make good of a bad situation.”

Asking not to be identified by name, the “undeterred” customer stated: “It would be easy to cast blame in a situation like this, and while I am not happy with what happened with my car, the station stepped up and assisted once it was recognised that the issue was on its end.”

Noting that repairs had already started on her car, she added: “I was reimbursed for both my gas and my tow expenses almost immediately and my repair bill was due into their representatives today. Now while I have not received payment as of yet for those repairs, the station’s handling of the situation was commendable in the moment.”

These sentiments were echoed in several interviews carried out by The Tribune on Tuesday.

Another customer who said she purchased gas after the station received its fuel shipment Sunday morning, said after her initial anger subsided, she came to a level of understanding with the reasoning provided by the station.

“Once I calmed down it all started to make sense. I saw the tanker make the delivery and once I got back to the station with my complaint, many of the cars that got served after me were there,” she said.

“ . . . They told us their initial findings, assisted us and ensured that we received the level of help that anyone would want in a situation like that.

“There was a lot of anger early on, but like I said, once cooler heads prevailed I think everyone recognised that the issue existed with that one particular fuel delivery and not the station itself.”

No customer contacted by The Tribune said they had plans to boycott the service station as a result of the incident.

In the coming days, all eight of the customers contacted by this newspaper said they have plans to deliver their respective mechanic bills to the service station to be reimbursed.