A customer is guided how to pump petrol at an automated petrol station in Hanoi. (Photo: doanhnghiep.vn)Hanoi (VNA) - All 2,400 gas stations owned by theVietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) are designed to accommodate cashfree purchases and can switch to an automated pay model to help reduce labourcosts, especially late at night, said Bui Ngoc Bao, Petrolimex’s Chairman.
Although automated payment functions are readilyavailable, Petrolimex’s three year test run has yet to be implemented on alarger scale.
In Hanoi, the company has seven petrol stationswith automated pumps for customers paying via credit cards, but they must allbe accompanied by normal pumps with workers to supply the demand of themajority who pay by cash.
Bao stated the main reason behind the automatedmodel failure is price difference; banks charge an additional fee forcard-based purchases that is not borne by the customers but the company itselfand is not included in the circulation and management fee that Petrolimex paysthe Government.
Said transaction fee ranges from 0.5 to 1 percentof total amount paid for domestic cards and 2.5 percent for internationalcards.
The circulation and management fee imposed bythe Government is about 5 percent of total price, including importing costs,storage costs, distribution costs or losses, of which labour costs account for30 percent in total.
Furthermore, as petrol prices are regulated bythe Government, petrol companies cannot change the price to respond to themarket’s elasticity.
In reality, the price recorded at Petrolimex’sautomatic stations is only 100 VND (0.009 USD) per litre cheaper than thosewith human workers.
This makes customers hesitant to pump petrolthemselves, seeing how they will only save a miniscule amount of money evenwhen the drop in price is solely created by Petrolimex to encourage them and isnot included in the Government’s regulated price list.
In addition, since motorbikes, the most commonvehicles in Vietnam, do not have a safety switch to stop petrol from beingpumped into the tank like cars, spilling is bound to occur and cause danger tothe drivers. This is amplified by the lack of etiquette and regard for publicsafety in people who use mobile phones and smoke within the vicinity of apetrol station, regardless of prohibiting signs.
To counter this, the company has proposed to theMinistry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to adjust theoperation costs for petrol from 5 percent to 10 percent, a common rate inadvanced countries, to push for cash-free purchases and the automated pumpingmodel.
If said transaction fee can be included inregulated petrol price, in the next three years, Petrolimex expects to convert70 percent of all petrol stations to automatic model, keeping only 30 percentwith workers, said Bao.
The company aims to make automatic technologymore popular to help save time and cut cost for customers and to improveservice.-VNA
Although automated payment functions are readilyavailable, Petrolimex’s three year test run has yet to be implemented on alarger scale.
In Hanoi, the company has seven petrol stationswith automated pumps for customers paying via credit cards, but they must allbe accompanied by normal pumps with workers to supply the demand of themajority who pay by cash.
Bao stated the main reason behind the automatedmodel failure is price difference; banks charge an additional fee forcard-based purchases that is not borne by the customers but the company itselfand is not included in the circulation and management fee that Petrolimex paysthe Government.
Said transaction fee ranges from 0.5 to 1 percentof total amount paid for domestic cards and 2.5 percent for internationalcards.
The circulation and management fee imposed bythe Government is about 5 percent of total price, including importing costs,storage costs, distribution costs or losses, of which labour costs account for30 percent in total.
Furthermore, as petrol prices are regulated bythe Government, petrol companies cannot change the price to respond to themarket’s elasticity.
In reality, the price recorded at Petrolimex’sautomatic stations is only 100 VND (0.009 USD) per litre cheaper than thosewith human workers.
This makes customers hesitant to pump petrolthemselves, seeing how they will only save a miniscule amount of money evenwhen the drop in price is solely created by Petrolimex to encourage them and isnot included in the Government’s regulated price list.
In addition, since motorbikes, the most commonvehicles in Vietnam, do not have a safety switch to stop petrol from beingpumped into the tank like cars, spilling is bound to occur and cause danger tothe drivers. This is amplified by the lack of etiquette and regard for publicsafety in people who use mobile phones and smoke within the vicinity of apetrol station, regardless of prohibiting signs.
To counter this, the company has proposed to theMinistry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to adjust theoperation costs for petrol from 5 percent to 10 percent, a common rate inadvanced countries, to push for cash-free purchases and the automated pumpingmodel.
If said transaction fee can be included inregulated petrol price, in the next three years, Petrolimex expects to convert70 percent of all petrol stations to automatic model, keeping only 30 percentwith workers, said Bao.
The company aims to make automatic technologymore popular to help save time and cut cost for customers and to improveservice.-VNA
VNA
