An Overview of the Shell SELECT Karachi Launch Event

In Pakistan, women have malls; children have parks; elderly well have their grandchildren, but what do men in general, and motorists, in particular, have for hanging out? Here, petrol pumps still act as the places, where we either just get our car’s tank filled again or have our car’s oil changed by a mechanic, who makes use of decade-old methods. As Shell Pakistan’s Managing Director said during the Shell SELECT launch event;

“Oil change despite being an essential and periodic part of a car’s maintenance is plagued by conventional methods making the whole experience tiring for the customer.”

To alleviate this situation, last year, Shell Pakistan took a pioneering role to turn their fuel filling stations into community spots first by partnering with McDonald’s to start its non-fuel retail network in Pakistan. As a part of this partnership, several McDonald’s drive-thrus will be made at some of the busiest Shell fuel stations across Pakistan. To kick-off, Shell built the first McDonald’s at its Askari Filling Station in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Karachi, which for years, has acted as one of the most active fuel stations of the city; thanks to the densely populated colonies it is surrounded by.

Now to further add to the appeal of Shell Askari Filling Station and to showcase the prototype of what the Shell Fuel Stations of the future would look like in Pakistan, Shell inaugurated the first of many revamped Select Convenient Stores in Pakistan by holding a press event to mark the occasion and as with every other “wheels” related launch in Pakistan. PakWheels was there to cover it for their audience. The gathering was hosted by VJ, writer and director Faizan Haqqee, who also led the press and PakWheels for a tour of the facility. He was also accompanied by Shell’s board of directors who further elaborated on the vision behind Shell’s non-fuel retail system. According to the executives of Shell Pakistan, who graced the event, new Select store at Askari Filling Station brings it on par with Shell’s global non-fuel retail network’s ideology. The updated store offers all sorts of products, which may be required by either you or your car. Shell Pakistan also revealed its partnerships with multiple desserts, juice and meat vendors to have in-store setups, all of which are now operating at their Askari Station’s SELECT Store along with unveiling Shell’s partnership with PakWheels CarSure.

Moving on to other outlets at Shell Askari, in addition to a drive-thru, Shell Askari’s McDonald’s offers decent indoor and outdoor eating space coupled with a compact car parking. When we consider fuel offerings, the filling station offers, HOBC (or simply Hi-Octane), Petrol, CNG and Diesel.

Talking about car-related amenities, Askari Filling Station has Pakistan’s first Shell 1, Helix Lane. If you don’t already know what Shell 1 Helix Lane is, let me give you a little heads-up. 1 Helix Lane is a world class oil changing facility, which not only changes your car’s motor oil but also makes a range of safety checks all within brief 900 seconds. Which, by the way during yesterday’s media demo at the launch event, took less than 500 seconds to complete. And as a cherry on top throughout these fifteen minutes, customers will enjoy a cup of tea and will be granted access to free Wi-Fi. In addition to Shell 1 Helix Lane, Askari Filling Station also has a car wash bay to give your ride a foamy bath.

In a nutshell, it’s good to see that companies like Shell are taking consumer satisfaction seriously as the fuel stations like Shell Askari Filling Stations will inspire competitors, to come up with competing ideas like the ones implemented by Shell Pakistan.