Five-star stopover

MANILA, Philippines - Heeding the call of nature is not always easy, especially if you’re on the road, out of town and the nearest available restroom in a busy gasoline station is hardly a restroom, with its dirty floors, long queues and overflowing toilet bowls.

In Tagbilaran City in Bohol, however, there’s a story going around about a toilet that is better than one’s bedroom.

The toilet of a newly opened Shell station in the city has created a storm of praise with its facilities that are comparable to a toilet in a five-star hotel. No kidding.

The Shell restroom made such an impression that Filipino-Canadian Jason Godfrey, host of TEN, a travel show on AXN sponsored by Shell V-Power Nitro+premium performance fuels, made a video on it.

The video went viral, drawing praises and positive reviews from netizens and eventually landing stories on the radio as well as global online channels. Examples of these online channels include aol.com , dailymail.co.uk  and People.com.

“It’s better than my room, better than my entire apartment, even,” Godfrey said, noting the super menthol fragrance of the toilet.

Businessman and Shell dealer Rex Carampatana owns the Tagbilaran station as well as three other stations in Bohol and Cebu.

Carampatana takes pride in the designs of all of the toilets and the stations, saying that he wants customers to feel at home in his facilities.

“I want our guests to enjoy a different experience and to experience the difference of highly personal and highly memorable engagements,” he says.

The goal is to win customers’ trust in the stations’ fuels and shop products.

“Our toilets create a place where people can trust our sites. People will easily conclude that if the toilets are excellent, the fuels and shop products and everything else must be excellent too,” he says.

Carampatana also represented the Philippines in Shell Global Excellence Awards for Retailer of the Year and has always targeted to become the best retailer of the company that he could be.

This, he believes, is possible by offering what would become unique differentiators for the brand.

“It’s a lofty dream to become number one worldwide yearly, but as I told my people, even if dreams often remain sweet dreams, what is important is we know where we are going,” says Carampatana.

A successful retailer, he believes, means being responsible for his people and his site, which will naturally bring in growth and goodwill.

“Our vision sets direction and it is a mindset. In our sites, we create a culture of excellence,” he says.

The now famous toilet in Tagbilaran, as well in the other sites managed by Carampatana, is equipped with a telephone, which motorists can use for emergency purposes.

It also has a bidet for guests to use, as well as a mint ionizer for a spa-like feel.

Oh, and while one is heeding the call of nature, a speaker plays jazz and classical selections all the time, except during Christmas season, when carols fill the air.

The toilet’s temperature is regulated by cool air suctioned in from the convenience shop or the lounge. And guess what? About the best thing of all is that the toilet has a steady supply of liquid soap.

On top of the comfortable ambience, customers can further relax with the books and magazines available inside.

Adding to the hotel-like feel, Carampatana put in some artistic touches with paintings of two famous Cebuano painters: Antonio Ylanan who won the 2008 GSIS grand award and Raul Agas who uses ATM cards instead of a paint brush.

The designs of Carampatana’s stations are not standard designs for Shell toilets, but it shows the lengths that Shell retailers and dealers in the Philippines would go to provide a superior experience for their customers.

Shell is proud that Carampatana pushed his toilets beyond comfort.

“Our toilet is our way of sharing with people and our customers, especially commercial and PUV drivers, to experience the good things in life anyway we can,” he says.

Now with a toilet like that, who wouldn’t want to stop for a break?