B.

Improvements from operational point of view:

1. Problem: There is no definite queue during peak hours at the petrol filling
stations and thus, a havoc is created.

Possible solution: During prime time when there is a lot of rush at the
petrol pump, an employee can be given the task to assist the customers to
maintain a defined queue so no havoc is created. This employee can be hired
such that he can do some other task during the non-peak hours.
Results: As havoc is not created, an order will be maintained at the petrol
pump and thereby customer satisfaction will be increased.

2. Problem: Absence of any supervisor

Possible Solution: Ensuring that there is a supervisor always present at the
petrol pump station.
Benefits: Due to the presence of a supervisor, the customer complaints will
always go noticed and heard leading to higher customer satisfaction.

3. Problem: Increased road-side traffic due to large queues during peak time
Possible solution: Keep barricades and structured lane system, to
accommodate maximum number of vehicles in queue while avoiding
unnecessary lock downs between vehicles coming and going.
Benefits: Reduced road-side traffic
 4. Problem: Undefined job roles of many employees resulting in an
unstructured work load with no responsibility
Possible solution: Defining each employees’ roles and responsibilities
properly and thereby giving it a structure.
Benefits: With proper defined responsibilities, the customers will be met
properly and timely, leading to higher satisfaction.

5. Problem: There was an unequal distribution of work among employees.

The employees at 4-wheeler category were many a times idle, when the 2-
wheeler petrol-filing station employee was constantly working. This reduces
the employee utilization.
Possible solution: Two parallel lanes can be asked to form under certain
conditions so that the idle employee can help the 2-wheeler station
employee.
Benefits: The employee utilization will be increased and the customers will
be served faster.

C. Technological advancements
There are many technological advancements over the years at a petrol pump:
1. Payment method – Card payment, UPI payment and Mobile wallets
The way customers make the payment have evolved over the years.
Although the card-swiping machines were present since many years, due to
demonetization in 2016, the usage of online payment methods, especially
Paytm, has surged dramatically.
This has led to increased processing time and hence, the queue formed at
the petrol-filling station becomes longer.

2. Database management
The database management at the petrol pump has become better and more
reliable through SAP software and enterprise support.

3. Incorporating shortcuts in the petrol-filling stations

Shortcuts, such as P1, P2 and so on, have been incorporated in petrol filling
stations to speed-up the process of filling the petrol, thereby reducing the
processing time at a station and hence, decreasing the queue length. These
shortcuts - P1, P2 and so on – are used to fill up the petrol amounting to a
round-off amount that customers ask for, normally, viz. 100,200 and so on.
4. Fuel receipts
Owing to increased demand for customers for receipts, some petrol pumps
have incorporated the technology to generate receipts for customers if
he/she demands.

5. Price of petrol
Recently, owing to changes in the regulations by the Government, the fuel
prices are subjected to change daily. This has called for greater integration of
the petrol-filing stations with the petrol price prevailing in a particular city.

6. Number of petrol-filing stations

Due to increased population and data availability & analyzing capabilities,
most new petrol pump addition are optimized using demographic data as a
surrogate for potential demand.