Coles Express

I never thought I’d write a five-​star review for a servo, but I guess it goes to show how highly I value customer service.
I started off getting my fuel from Coles Express (Shell) like most people «choose» their servos — because it was on my regular route and the fuel prices were competitive. As a Coles customer, I’d lean toward Shell for the use of discount vouchers (though they are a bit of a crock — 4c a litre isn’t going to save you THAT much). There are a couple of independent servos around Brisbane that will accept ANY discount fuel voucher, which is clever of them, and for a while my route took me past one of those.
Here are the great things about Coles Express Balmoral: it’s open 24/​7, there are around a dozen pump stations (most of them with three bowsers — though I only pay attention to the cheapest unleaded, E10), the air & water station is in a separate (well-​lit) area with plenty of parking around it, the grocery shelves and fridges are well-​stocked (as well as having fresh sandwiches and wraps that don’t look awful), and Chris is the nicest service station dude I’ve ever encountered. I’ve never once seen him in a bad mood, he is friendly without crossing any awkward line or giving off any uncomfortable vibe, and getting asked «where’ve you been?» when I haven’t refuelled at Balmoral for a month or so makes me grin. He’s also very understanding if your voucher expired yesterday or you’d been carrying it around for a fortnight and then lost it.
I never thought I’d call myself a «regular» of a service station, but there you go.