Retail Customer Service

The Retail Division, operating a filling station network across 10 countries, aims to bring its customers high quality products and a wide variety of services that exceeds their expectations and satisfies their daily needs.

The main communication channels are the stations themselves where we focus strongly on (Point on Sales) materials. Customer loyalty is encouraged in the form of two loyalty card systems that we use to enhance customer retention. Regular consumer promotions are organised and advertised in conventional and non-conventional forms of media.

Customer relations

Retail Customer Service has its origins in the 1980’s. In those days, its primary task was to provide service station location and pricing information over the telephone (the Service was technologically supported by one telephone and a mechanical typewriter). Its functions also included the integrated and local handling of customer complaints.

Refurbishing of service stations started in the late 80’s to early 90’s, leading to the reconstruction of our shops which increased the number of services provided by the retail network. Centralised complaint handling was a common practice in the 90's, at the time when MOL Plc. was founded. The number of complaints was 100 per year, mainly related to fuel quantity and quality, and the related services at the filling stations.

The growth in customer complaints led to an increase in our Customer Service staff. Special methods were developed to investigate different types of complaint. These played a major part in providing experience and suggestions on complaint reduction to Retail Division management.

A Call Centre was established to answer queries related to loyalty cards. The Centre today ensures the on-going secure use of cards 24 hours a day, and has taken over the previous role of Customer Service in providing information to customers.

The growth of MOL Group across CEE countries has called for the regionally integrated handling of customer complaints. Increases in the volume of road vehicles and Retail turnover, the development and spread of information technology, the ever-widening array of services available and growing consumer consciousness require continuous enhancements to Customer Service functions.

MOL Group's Retail Division measures customer engagement and satisfaction levels, every year. Having used a standard research methodology since 2001, based on personal interviews with drivers in three countries - Hungary, Slovakia and Romania - the sample size exceeds 1000 persons and is therefore fully representative.

Naturally, with the same methodology, MOL performance may be compared year-on-year. Main research topics include perceived brand presence and usage, customer engagement, image and satisfaction with fuels, shops, services and staff behaviour. Research results are then used to evaluate performance and define areas requiring future improvement.

In the 2010  year we had  886 pieces of legitimate complaints from nearly  66  million transactions. That means that only for every  75.111  sale a legitimate complaint arose.

The reason behind the increasing number of legitimate complaints derives from the below reasons:

• Growing number of counscious customers
• Increasing fuel prices
• Owing to the financial crisis customers became more sensitive and less tolerant

It is important to pay attention to the slightly increasing trend in the number of legitimate complaints, but costumer reactions are also a proven feedback tool to improve processes, practices.

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