Agnes Robertson celebrates 40 years working at bp
Published:
10 June 2024
- Agnes Robertson joined bp in June 1984 and has worked at The Moss and Gretna services.
- Agnes and her colleagues play a vital role serving their local community.
- This career milestone reinforces bp’s investment in its people and culture of care.
This week marks a milestone at bp The Moss services on the M6, as customer service assistant Agnes Robertson celebrates 40 years of service. From brightening a customer’s day with brilliant service to handling emergencies on the forecourt and tackling charity challenges, Agnes has been an instrumental part of life in Todhills, just north of Carlisle, and Gretna over the last four decades, making a real difference to customers and colleagues.
And in 40 years, it’s fair to say Agnes has witnessed many changes on the forecourt. Shopper behaviour has certainly evolved. Drivers used to quickly stop for fuel, crisps and maybe a Marathon bar, but they now take more time to browse the aisles with Agnes often finding herself brewing barista-quality lattes for customers, paired with a fresh pastry from the in-store bakery.
Agnes also recalls the manual processes associated with stock taking, including using a torch and peering into the pumps on the forecourt to try and take the daily fuel readings. The uniforms have certainly changed too, with female colleagues donning full-length skirts and neckties when Agnes first started at bp!
Agnes commented: “When I started at bp, Wham were top of the charts and my old favourite Bryan Robson was captain of Manchester United. It’s been an incredible 40 years working with such amazing colleagues at bp and serving our lovely customers. They genuinely put a smile on my face every day. I even got along ok with Steven Gerrard when he used to pop in on his way down from Glasgow – he wasn’t bad for a Liverpool player! I love working for bp, they’ve been a brilliantly supportive employer and a great place to work all these years. I’m looking forward to many more to come!”
Throughout her years of service, Agnes and the team have built a loyal customer base at The Moss services, despite its location on a major motorway. Many long-distance lorry drivers choose to fill up there because they know they’ll see a friendly face and that the colleagues will take the time to chat with them. There are also the local customers who really value the team’s customer-first approach, like the nurse for whom Agnes and her colleagues prep a mocha as soon as she drives onto the forecourt. And there’s one of Agnes’s regular customers, who buys a lottery ticket every time he fills up as he’s saving for his daughter’s wedding and hopes to hit the jackpot. It was fitting that when bp organised a surprise celebration for Agnes’ 40th Anniversary year, they gave a hamper to the 40th customer she served on her shift, who happened to be a regular customer well known to Agnes.
But Agnes isn’t just a hero on the forecourt. Her connection with the local community means that she and her team regularly participate in charity challenges to raise money for good causes. This year’s challenge is ‘Pretty Muddy’ which involves Agnes completing a 5k muddy obstacle course raising money for life-saving cancer research. She is already planning next year’s fundraisers too, including a zip wire challenge.
bp’s UK retail operations director, Jo Hall, said “Agnes’ milestone is an amazing achievement, and we are so excited to celebrate this moment with her. We’re delighted to have colleagues like Agnes work with us for such a length of time. We believe her decades of service are testament to the positive working environment and culture of care at bp. It’s no surprise that team members such as Agnes continue to thrive with us!”
Agnes’s career reflects bp’s investment in its people and its culture. Store colleagues can build a career at bp with flexible working arrangements and a wide range of opportunities to learn and grow, for example as part of its commitment to inclusion bp has recently offered all store colleagues an online British Sign Language training course.
bp is a real living wage employer and benefits include paid breaks, which is unusual in the retail industry, enhanced family leave, life assurance, a share save scheme, a pension scheme and, through bp’s partnership with the Retail Trust, access to an online GP plus other health and wellbeing resources. And with discounts across a range of products, both in bp’s stores and at other leading companies, colleagues feel supported, while supporting their communities.
bp is always looking to recruit dedicated and ambitious colleagues to work in its retail business. There are currently vacancies at a number of stores in the Carlisle and wider Cumbria area. For a full list of vacancies, and to apply for a role at bp, please visit: www.bpretailjobs.co.uk
And in 40 years, it’s fair to say Agnes has witnessed many changes on the forecourt. Shopper behaviour has certainly evolved. Drivers used to quickly stop for fuel, crisps and maybe a Marathon bar, but they now take more time to browse the aisles with Agnes often finding herself brewing barista-quality lattes for customers, paired with a fresh pastry from the in-store bakery.
Agnes also recalls the manual processes associated with stock taking, including using a torch and peering into the pumps on the forecourt to try and take the daily fuel readings. The uniforms have certainly changed too, with female colleagues donning full-length skirts and neckties when Agnes first started at bp!
Agnes commented: “When I started at bp, Wham were top of the charts and my old favourite Bryan Robson was captain of Manchester United. It’s been an incredible 40 years working with such amazing colleagues at bp and serving our lovely customers. They genuinely put a smile on my face every day. I even got along ok with Steven Gerrard when he used to pop in on his way down from Glasgow – he wasn’t bad for a Liverpool player! I love working for bp, they’ve been a brilliantly supportive employer and a great place to work all these years. I’m looking forward to many more to come!”
Throughout her years of service, Agnes and the team have built a loyal customer base at The Moss services, despite its location on a major motorway. Many long-distance lorry drivers choose to fill up there because they know they’ll see a friendly face and that the colleagues will take the time to chat with them. There are also the local customers who really value the team’s customer-first approach, like the nurse for whom Agnes and her colleagues prep a mocha as soon as she drives onto the forecourt. And there’s one of Agnes’s regular customers, who buys a lottery ticket every time he fills up as he’s saving for his daughter’s wedding and hopes to hit the jackpot. It was fitting that when bp organised a surprise celebration for Agnes’ 40th Anniversary year, they gave a hamper to the 40th customer she served on her shift, who happened to be a regular customer well known to Agnes.
But Agnes isn’t just a hero on the forecourt. Her connection with the local community means that she and her team regularly participate in charity challenges to raise money for good causes. This year’s challenge is ‘Pretty Muddy’ which involves Agnes completing a 5k muddy obstacle course raising money for life-saving cancer research. She is already planning next year’s fundraisers too, including a zip wire challenge.
bp’s UK retail operations director, Jo Hall, said “Agnes’ milestone is an amazing achievement, and we are so excited to celebrate this moment with her. We’re delighted to have colleagues like Agnes work with us for such a length of time. We believe her decades of service are testament to the positive working environment and culture of care at bp. It’s no surprise that team members such as Agnes continue to thrive with us!”
Agnes’s career reflects bp’s investment in its people and its culture. Store colleagues can build a career at bp with flexible working arrangements and a wide range of opportunities to learn and grow, for example as part of its commitment to inclusion bp has recently offered all store colleagues an online British Sign Language training course.
bp is a real living wage employer and benefits include paid breaks, which is unusual in the retail industry, enhanced family leave, life assurance, a share save scheme, a pension scheme and, through bp’s partnership with the Retail Trust, access to an online GP plus other health and wellbeing resources. And with discounts across a range of products, both in bp’s stores and at other leading companies, colleagues feel supported, while supporting their communities.
bp is always looking to recruit dedicated and ambitious colleagues to work in its retail business. There are currently vacancies at a number of stores in the Carlisle and wider Cumbria area. For a full list of vacancies, and to apply for a role at bp, please visit: www.bpretailjobs.co.uk
Further information:
bp press office London, bppress@bp.com, +44 7831 095541, +44 7919 217511
About bp
bp’s purpose is to reimagine energy for people and our planet. It has set out an ambition to be a net zero company by 2050, or sooner, and help the world get to net zero, and a strategy for delivering on that ambition.
bp’s wider transformation is under way. While we’re mostly in oil & gas today, we’ve increased global investment into our lower carbon businesses, convenience stores and power trading from around 3% in 2019 to around 30% last year.
For more information visit bp.com.