Rowel J. Ellevera credits Pilipinas Shell with giving him a chance at the lowest point of his life. When his father passed away, he had to quit school to support his widowed mother and nine siblings. However, he earned a juvenile delinquency record for brawling, and combined with his lack of education, couldn’t find any decent work – until he was hired as a forecourt service champion by April Twinkle Almirante-Corral, retailer at Shell Baloy.

Through hard work and determination, Ellevera was promoted to forecourt supervisor and on-site coach. "Every time I wear this uniform, it reminds me of my responsibility not just to refuel cars, but also to bring a smile to every customer," he said.

Ellevera’s resilient spirit and customer service acumen propelled him to become the Global Shop Service Champion for 2016 at the Smiling Stars Awards of Shell Retail Global, which was held in New York in July 2017. He bested over 500,000 frontline service champions from over 43,000 Shell stations worldwide.

Together with Ellevera, other winners from Shell Retail Philippines were also recognised during the three-day event. Erwin Dueñas, a Shell retailer since 2012, received the Global Multi-Site Retailer of the Year award. For Asia, Franz Karunungan won Regional Territory Manager of the Year, while Tisha Sugui won Regional District Manager of the Year.

The annual Smiling Stars underscores Shell’s commitment to empower our frontline employees so that they can provide a comprehensive customer service experience.

Ellevera’s story is a testament to the transformative power of believing in our frontline service champions. Since his win, he has also co-authored a standard training module. Due to his efforts, the sales of the Select Shop in Shell Baloy also increased by 50%.

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