Ross Hallett started working at Kingston Garage in Heatherton when he was 12 years old. Now 62, he owns both the business and the property and still runs the site five and a half days a week. Over that time he has seen almost every type of forecourt technology come and go, and tested most of it himself. So when he says his Wayne® dispensers from Dover Fueling Solutions® (DFS) have changed his business, it is worth listening.
The results support his view. Since the upgrade, Kingston Garage has achieved a substantial increase in annual fuel volume, even recording strong sales during a year when the road outside the site was closed for part of the period.
A relationship built over many years
Ross has known Paula Correa, ANZ Director at DFS, since well before she joined the company. Their first project together involved automatic tank gauging (ATG). Characteristically, Ross took a different approach from many operators, implementing full reconciliation functionality so the site could check its losses hourly rather than wait for a monthly third party report.
“You need to be more proactive,” he says. “Being told two months down the track that you’ve got a problem is too late.”
That approach has made Kingston Garage something of a reference site. During a trial, the EPA visited and asked why more operators were not using the same approach. Another large Australian fuel operator visited the site and subsequently replaced its own wetstock system with a similar solution. Ross jokes that he has been a supplier’s best salesperson without ever being on the payroll.
The decision: every fuel grade at every filling point
When COVID-19 reduced traffic through the site, Ross saw an opportunity to upgrade the forecourt. He replaced the dispensers with four eight hose Wayne dispensers from DFS, with each offering unleaded 91, 95 and 98, as well as diesel.
While the forecourt was being upgraded, Ross also installed new poly lines and sumps beneath the pumps, something the site had not previously had.
“The last thing I want is contamination of the soil,” he says. “I wanted to make it as good as possible.”
From a business perspective, he calls it a “no brainer”. “Customers want to drive in, choose their fuel without having to move their car, and know the equipment will work,” he says. “It made a huge difference. Once we installed those pumps, our fuel volume continued to grow.”
For a compact site with four dispensers, it captures the benefit of multiproduct equipment: customers do not have to queue behind the wrong fuel grade, manoeuvre around the forecourt or leave without purchasing.
Reliability measured in repairs that never happened
In addition to being a qualified motor mechanic, Ross is also an electrician by trade, so he is harder to impress with equipment than most. Six years after installation, his maintenance record for the Wayne dispensers remains remarkably light.
“I can’t believe how reliable they are,” he says. “I haven’t changed one nozzle. I haven’t had any electronics fail. The amount of repair work has been virtually zero.”
Ross also highlights the dispensers’ exceptional metering accuracy, providing confidence that fuel is measured precisely with every transaction.
He is honest that this is not because he babies them. “I probably should replace the fuel filters more often. That’s my only guilt. But they never play up.”
He explains what that can mean for operators outside metropolitan areas, where a technician callout may include significant travel costs even before any repair work begins. “It’s pretty expensive to get someone out to regional areas. I’m lucky, I’m in the city and can get someone here quickly. But ongoing callout costs are exactly what you want to avoid.”
Six years on, and customers still think they are new
Presentation is another important consideration. Ross cleans the dispensers every day, but he also credits their design for how well they have aged.
“Even now, six years on, customers come in and ask whether the pumps are new,” he says. “They look modern. They’re angled rather than being square boxes, so they appear to have a smaller footprint, even though they don’t really.”
For a long established business such as Kingston Garage, maintaining a modern, well presented forecourt is important. A tired forecourt can shape a driver’s perception of the broader business, including the quality of the fuel and the infrastructure below ground.
Support when it matters
Ross values the strong relationship he has developed with DFS and the knowledgeable support the team provides. When he needed assistance after modifying the dispensers to add media players, the DFS technician quickly identified and resolved the issue.
“Dover has a really good team,” Ross says. “They’re switched on. The technician came out and fixed it, no problem.”
That experience reflects the broader relationship: an operator who expects a great deal from his equipment and a supplier that can keep pace. Ross does not simply buy technology, he tests it, provides feedback to manufacturers and expects continuous improvement. Suppliers that engage with that approach can earn a customer’s trust for decades.
Looking ahead
Ross is not standing still. He recently added an outdoor payment terminal that allows the site to trade after hours without additional labour. The terminal operates alongside the Wayne dispensers, and Ross is watching other major fuel retailers roll out unmanned sites across metropolitan Melbourne.
“Their operating costs will be lower, so they can be more competitive, and we risk losing our edge as an independent,” he says. “The way I look at it, I’m joining their space. I want to stay in this business, and I don’t want someone else to have the edge over me.”
Beneath all the technology, Ross’s logic is simple and relevant to operators across the country: control costs, remove the reasons a customer might drive past, and invest in equipment that minimises downtime and ongoing repair expenses.
The final word
After fifty years on the same forecourt, Ross has a long memory for equipment that has let him down. His assessment of the Wayne dispensers is straightforward: “They’re just so reliable. That’s what you want.”