My local Ampol servo is being converted into U-Go. Which appears to be Ampol’s automated self serve brand.
I thought it was interesting that on the website, they don’t talk about the fuel being Ampol fuels - and talk about it meeting Australian standards.
This Ampol (and the Reddy Express across the road) were often 20c or so more than other servos in the area… so it will be interesting to see the price point.
The UGO stores I’ve seen the price is the same as every other service station in the area. Seems that there would be less incentive to use them vs a normal station if they aren’t cheaper. It was my understanding that most service stations make more money from the attached convenience store then they do from fuel purchases and the UGO stores do not have an attached store. Plus apparently given they have people watching remotely so apparently it isn’t that much cheaper. Not sure if I completely believe that.
The U-GO expansions seems to be based on converting ‘marginal’ Ampol Foodary sites (e.g those with not much ‘shop’ sales) into the self serve unattended brand.
The pending EG acquisition into the Ampol Foodary/U-GO network will also see at least 125 EG sites, mostly those small ex-Woolworths Petrol sites in the car park of the local Woolworths with the tiny shop converted to U-GO, with the remaining 350- EG sites rebranded and integrated into the Ampol Foodary network.
last time i tried to use a U-go it failed as the pumps would mnot read my card off my iphone. i just haven’t bothered as if i’m in australia i never take my physical card with me (when im in the USA its a different story)
For some reason I’ve never paid for fuel at the pump. I still go inside to pay.
for me, it feels like your doing something wrong, even if you have not.
My advice is not to make your name easy for dickheads like me to take the piss out of.
Case in points:
KIIS - PIIS
Hit Network - sHit Network
Anko - wAnko
U-Go - U-Go-Get-F**ked, U-Smell, U-Suck, U-Shit-Me, U-Are-Expensive, and so on…
when i did my marketing degree we were told to run any slogans and name changes though a group of teenage boys to see what they come up with
Now that’s smart. If there is one thing teenage boys, your Rodney Rudes of the world and idiots like me will do is take the piss out of the big brands. 
U-Blow seems a lot more obvious to me.
Fair play to you sir/ma’am/whatever you identify as.
First time I tried was my last time as well. Doesn’t accept AmpolCard which I thought was a dumb idea. As someone else pointed out if the cost of the fuel isn’t any different why take away choice of payment?
Virgin Australia has announced Velocity members can now use their frequent flyer points to pay for purchases in-store at Myer. The airline is continuing to battle with rival Qantas for shoppers’ loyalty, after it announced a similar partnership with David Jones earlier this year.
(From September 22) Velocity members will be able to use points to pay for purchases across Myer’s more than 50 department stores nationally, as well as online. Customers can generate a QR code within the Velocity App and choose their preferred dollar value, which can then be presented in-store when paying at Myer.
Extremely poor use of points if ask me.
Myer out today with some average, as expected results. Theft being called out again, seems like the only option to prevent that is investing in security guards which cost them significantly also.
I was in Melbourne last week and was walking down one lane way while a group of youths had a whole bunch of Myer clothing and were smashing them against the poles trying to get the tags off.
I agree but doesn’t Qantas have a similar thing with flybys and have had it for a very long time?
Qantas have a new partnership with David Jones. The difference is you can earn points at David Jones while the Virgin/Myer one only allows you to redeem points for things at Myer.
Myer’s shares closed today at 48c, down 25c, following this morning’s annual results.
For one example - at Coles you can convert 2000 flybuys points into $10 off your shop, or 1000 Velocity points. For 21,653 Velocity points you can buy a $100 Coles giftcard. Which means you can turn $210 worth of flybuys points into $100.
On the other hand, using a fairly mediocre flight reward - I can fly Melbourne to Sydney on Virgin next month for $145 cash or either 9900 points +$43 or 17300 points. Which is basically equivalent to the points value of converting flybuys points directly into cash off your shop, and that’s one of the worse value flight redemptions.