A petrol service sales assistant, or forecourt assistant, sells fuel and other items to customers at garages, service stations and supermarket forecourts.

Most customers now fill their own vehicles with fuel at the pumps, so the sales assistant deals mainly with taking payments and serving customers in the shop. As well as selling fuel, sales assistants sell a range of other goods, including food and drinks, newspapers and magazines. Some garages also sell motor spares like oil, batteries and headlamp bulbs. 

A petrol service station assistant's main duties include:

• checking how much fuel a customer has bought, using a computerised display screen
• operating a till and taking cash, cheque and credit card payments
• keeping track of fuel levels in the fuel storage tanks
• restocking shelves and arranging window displays
• ordering new stock and taking deliveries
• keeping service and shop areas clean and tidy.

A petrol service assistant may have to carry out some basic vehicle checks for customers, for example, tyre and oil checks. 

Hours and Environment

A petrol service station assistant normally works 37 to 40 hours a week on a shift rota. Many service stations are open 24 hours a day, so evening, night and weekend work may be required. Part-time work is common.

As a petrol service assistant you spend the majority of your time inside the shop, serving customers, although you may occasionally help customers at the pump. You often work alone, depending on the size of the outlet.

Skills and Interests

To be a petrol sales assistant you need:

• good customer care skills
• the ability to work without supervision
• good numeracy and cash handling skills
• an honest attitude
• an awareness of security issues
• an understanding of health and safety regulations.

Entry

You do not need any set academic qualifications for this job but you should be able to show good communication skills and an ability to deal with payments. Some companies will only employ people over the age of 18 for legal reasons, for example if the job involves working on your own in a garage.

You may be able to get into this job through an apprenticeship scheme. Funding for apprenticeships is available for 16-24 year olds and some over-25s. To find out more, visit ww.apprenticeships.org.uk. For information about apprenticeships in other parts of the UK, see Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Previous customer service, retail or cash handling experience will be helpful.

Training

Your employer will give you on-the-job training after taking you on. You are likely to have an induction course, followed by short courses on specific aspects of the job, such as security, health and safety, customer care and retail skills.

Once you are working, you will be able to work towards NVQ Level 2 in Forecourt Operations. NVQs/SVQs are also available at Level 2 in Retail Operations and Customer Service.

If you work for an oil company, they may put you on one of their own training programmes, particularly for management jobs.

You may be required to attend a two-day Forecourt Contractor Safety Passport course to improve your health and safety awareness. For more details and a list of training providers, see the Cogent website in Further Information.

Opportunities

There are around 10,000 forecourt sites across the UK, with about 9,000 of these operating a small shop or convenience store on site. Operations range from large supermarket-owned sites to small independently-run garages. Many site owners are expanding their forecourt retail outlets and this is where the majority of opportunities lie. 

You will find vacancies advertised in the Jobcentre Plus, the local press and at the forecourts themselves. 

With experience, you may be able to progress to supervisory or management positions.

Annual Income

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

A petrol sales assistant earns between £10,000 and £13,000 a year.
This can increase to about £16,000 if working nights.

Further information

Unit 5, Mandarin Court
Centre Park
Warrington
Cheshire
WA1 1GG
Tel: 01925 515200