Lanka IOC organises mega workshop on ‘Customer Service Training’, launches ‘Life Insurance Cover’ sc

Lanka IOC PLC transformed the petroleum landscape in Sri Lanka by providing a new experience to customers through value added services at the LIOC retail outlets, and is committed for continuous improvement in petroleum retailing in the country and ensuring regular up gradation in customer services to match best international standards. However branding is incomplete unless customer experience is same across the network. 

Realising this Lanka IOC has been continuously working on standardisation of customer service experience across its network. Thus apart from regularly improving look of the petrol pumps, Lanka IOC has been regularly working on the improvement in the soft skills of its manpower. Both dealers and staff at a petrol station are critical in providing good customer experience. Lanka IOC conducts regular training programs for dealers as well as for pump attendants with the help of the best universities in the country. Experts in the field of sales and marketing impart trainings to dealers and their staff on regular basis. Considering the nature of business and flammable products being handled at the petrol stations, safety is of paramount importance at a petrol station. Considering this dealers and pump attendants are also being trained for ‘Fire & Safety Precautions’ through ‘Fire & Rescue Training Academy, Colombo’. They have identified ‘Pump Attendants’ working at their petrol stations as their most important link in customer services as they being the first touch point for customers. Focus is on bringing improvement in their life. To help them upgrade their education levels, Lanka IOC has registered select few with NAITA to help them acquire higher education. Slowly this benefit will extend to all pump attendants working with Lanka IOC petrol stations.

In line with their agenda of regular and continuous improvement towards further enhancing the customer service experience in the forecourt, Lanka IOC PLC organised a mega workshop on ‘Customer Service Training’ for Pump Attendants at BMICH.

Lanka IOC PLC Managing Director Shyam Bohra, commenting on this event stated, “Recognising the importance of our Customer Attendants to our business, we foresee a timely need for a clinical session to increase customer services, adopting best practices, improvements on service quality, Cleanliness, Safety and Health Precautions of both the Customer Attendant and the Retail Outlet, and to adequately empower them to handle difficult situations and strengthening team work.” Further he stressed on the following core areas on which Lanka IOC will be focusing for the benefits of the Pump Attendants and for the customers; Mobile application for the Pump Attendants as a learning tool for the improvement of the customer service quality of pump attendants; Developing soft skills of the pump attendants to enhance customer service; regular training for improving the awareness of the fire and safety precautions at the ROs, etc.

Approximately 450 Pump Attendants attended the ‘Training Program’, representing the entire retail network of Lanka IOC across the island. Seeing a disciplined work force all well groomed and flashing dark blue Lanka IOC uniform was a visual delight. This initiative was to generate a positive impact and a close relationship with Pump Attendants motivating them to deliver a service par excellence. 

Despite suffering huge losses in Auto Fuel sales due to absence of any Pricing Formula in the country, Lanka IOC is not stopping on its agenda of modernising its retail network and enhancing customer experience. Once again, in a first of its kind of initiative in the petroleum industry in the country, Lanka IOC launched the scheme of Life Insurance Cover for the pump attendants working at LIOC retail outlets across island in association with Allianz Lanka, a global leader in insurance. LIOC offered a Life Insurance Cover of Rs. 500,000 which goes up to Rs. 1million in case of Accidental Death Benefit Cover. It also includes Permanent Disability Cover and Partial Disability Cover. This will certainly create the peace of mind and improve the quality of life of the pump attendants.

Lanka IOC PLC, the overseas venture of Indian Oil Corporation is a Fortune 500 company, with the vision of becoming a transnational energy major, set foot into Sri Lanka in June 2002 revolutionising the petroleum landscape in the island by providing Sri Lankan motorists a new refuelling experience offering a range of world class lubricants and branded fuels that include Servo, Xtra Premium Petrol and Xtra Mile Diesel and providing high quality Marine Fuels catering to bunker fuel requirements in ports across Sri Lanka.