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Now that we’ve semi launched the ‘Discounts’ section, we’ll be looking to get the Petrol station and services search pages up next.

Members will be able to do a search for stations based on:

• Location
• Services (e.g. ATM, car wash, supermarket, etc)

Members will also be able to post comments on the individual stations, as well as rate them on:

• Service
• Waiting time
• Cleanliness
• Toilets

Similarly to ‘Discounts’, members will be able to ‘add’ individual stations to their personal list. By doing so, they will receive any alerts should there be any updates on these stations.

Here are some preview screenshots:

Petrol Station Search Page

Petrol Station Details Page

1: How do I register for a free PW account?

A: Logon to www.petrolwatch.com.sg. In the top navigation bar, click on the ‘Sign Up’ link. Alternatively, you can go straight to http://www.petrolwatch.com.sg/registration.  Fill up the required details, and you will be registered for a PW account within minutes!

2: How do I register for free SMSes?

A: Go to the following link on our ‘News’ page http://www.petrolwatch.com.sg/news/archives/85/index.html and follow the online video to register for a Twitter account. Once you have registered, you will be able to receive SMS updates for free! Alternatively, login to your PetrolWatch account and edit your profile. You will be able to sync your Twitter account details there. By adding your Twitter details, you will automatically “follow” us.

3: How can I view pump price history?

A: In the home page, click on ‘Price History’ on the Price Board. This link will help you toggle between the current prices and the history of price movement graph.

4: How can I calculate pump prices after station discount?

A: On the Price Board in the homepage, there is a link at the bottom right of the board that enables you to toggle between prices before & after discount. The station discount is currently 5% across all fuel brands.

5: How do I read the latest news postings?

A: Click on a news posting found in the Latest News section preview on the homepage. Or you can click on the ‘News’ link in the top navigation to access all news articles posted.

6: How do I reply/make comments to the postings on PetrolWatch?

A: There are a couple of ways you can post comments to News articles. Click on a news posting found in the Latest News section preview on the homepage. You will then be taken to a dedicated page for that particular posting. Scroll right to the bottom of the posting, where you can fill in your name and email and leave a reply or comment. Alternatively, you can also click on the ‘News’ link in the top navigation. This will take you to an overview of all news postings and eventually follow the steps explained earlier to make a comment or reply to a post.

7: How do I view all members on PetrolWatch?

A: Click on the ‘Members’ link in the top navigation. Once you get to the members landing page, you will be able to view all members on PetrolWatch. There are options on this page to filter the members you require or even search for a particular member by username.

8: Will I be able to receive email updates?

A: Most definitely! Once you have registered for a free PetrolWatch account, your email address will be stored into our database. You will automatically be part of our mailing list.

9: How do I view the profile of the other members on PetrolWatch?

A: Once you are in the Members section, just click on the username of the profile picture of the member you want to view.

10: How do I edit my profile?

A: Once you login to PetrolWatch, your username will appear in the right hand corner of the top navigation bar. Click on your username and you will be taken to a page where you can view or edit your profile.

11: How do I edit my profile photo?

A: When you are in the ‘Edit Profile’ page, right below your current avatar, click on the ‘Update Photo’ link to change your avatar.

12: Where do I go to check the best credit card discounts?

A: From the top navigation, click on the ‘Discounts’ link. You will then be able to view all card discounts on offer. For more details click on the card of your choice.

13: How do I calculate the total discount on fuel I can get?

A: The actual calculator feature is not quite ready just yet. As such to make a little easier for you folks, we have stated the total discounts you can hope to get in the ‘Discounts’ section.

14: How do I add a credit card to my list of favourites?

A: In the ‘Discounts’ page, click on the ‘I Use This Card’ link at the bottom of credit card image (You will need to be logged in to see this option). Or if you’re in the detailed page of a credit card, you can find the same link on the right side of the page.

15: PetrolWatch does not display the credit card that I use. How do I inform them to add it to the list?

A: This feature will be launched shortly. But in the meantime, please email the details of the card (if possible an image as well) to info@petrolwatch.com.sg and the PW Team will add it in for you.

We’ve updated the member profile feature to make it easier and less confusing. Initially, we wanted to allow members to upload multiple photos in their profile, but on hindsight, we think its best to keep it really simple for now.

How to upload/update your profile photos:

Step 1: Log in to your account. Click on your username at the top right of the page.

Step 2: Click on ‘Update Photo’ to change your existing photo.

Step 3: Click on ‘Browse’.

Step 4: A dialog box should appear. Select a file from your local drive. Note: The file size should not exceed 300mb. Also only JPG and GIF files are allowed. Once the file is selected, click OK. A preview of the selected image will appear. Click OK GO!

Step 5: A dialog box will prompt you once your photo is successfully updated. Click OK.

Done! You have successfully updated your profile photo!

Ok..this is just a quick post..but you can now access our website using the URL ‘petrolwatch.sg‘ as well. So yea, it’s another small step to achieving better efficiency for all our beloved members out there!

We’ve been getting some feedback from users who don’t seem to be able to receive our Welcome emails. Most of the time, the mails don’t even get to their SPAM/JUNK folder.

Well, to make the member registration process a whole lot easier, we’ve removed the email authentication check. What this means is that you once you’ve completed the registration form, you’ll immediately be able to login to the website.

One of the more popular sections with our users was the Price Guru. Basically, it listed all the available credit card discounts that motorists could enjoy at our local pump stations.

Well, we’ve pimped up the new Card Discounts section to make it more UGC (User Generated Content) friendly. Users will be able to report whether the info on a card discount is correct or not. They will also be able to add cards to their personal list. By doing so, they will receive automatic email alerts whenever there is a discount/promo update on that particular card.

See some screenshots below of the how the new Card Discounts page will look like. And of course, feel free to post your comments or suggestions, thanks!

Landing page for the Credit Cards Discounts section

Credit Card Discounts Search Results

Credit Card Discounts Card Details page

A small idea..

It was way back in July 2005 that a group of friends came together to create PetrolWatch. It was hard to keep track of fuel prices back then, with different brands (as well as stations) offering different prices. Motorists would scamper around Singapore just so that they could enjoy special discounts at selected stations, sometimes causing massive traffic jams.

PetrolWatch aimed to provide motorists with accurate fuel price information of all 216 petrol stations around the island. It also provided free SMS alerts to its members on impending price fluctuations. And as quickly as the fuel prices were moving, more and more people signed up to become PetrolWatchers. At the height of its popularity, PetrolWatch was featured in international and local news (BBC, Associated Press, The New Paper).

Changing the business model…

Membership reached a staggering 70 000. As a free service, it was going to be tough sustaining PetrolWatch. Members were requesting for new services and features. After review and discussion, we decided to rebrand PetrolWatch as a subscription based service. The new website would be designed to have a more social networking and web 2.0 edge to it and would be launched during the Singapore Motorshow at Suntec City. We even produced some of our own PW merchandise and signup gifts for members.

The mistakes…

By moving into a subscription-based service, we were hoping to be free and independent of pandering to advertisers. We would also be able to upgrade our hardware to provide better and more services to our members. However, as we found out, this route was going to be rocky, and eventually bleak! Looking back, the mistakes that we made were:

•    Little or no experience in B2C business – We run a purely B2B type of business and never have to deal directly with consumers (the good, bad and the UGLY!). Also, our customer and technical support wasn’t entirely ready to effectively handle the large volume of member inquiries.

•    Feature Overload – We threw a whole bunch of new features to members when what we should have done was to focus on 1 or 2 core features first. We should have let our users familiarize themselves with them and only released new features as and when members requested for them.

•    Insufficient Contributors – One of the new key features was PoliceWatch. It provided a platform for members to share with one another sightings of police operations. However, for the model to work effectively, there had to be a substantial base of contributors. On the Internet, about 1% of your users will contribute, while the rest of the 99% are generally satisfied to just lurk around. Hence, the service would not work due to a fairly low contribution rate.

•    Subscription Model – Let’s face it. The Internet is largely a FREE model. No one pays for a web-based service unless it is a B2B service or pornography. By imposing a fee (no matter how small) for users to use the site, it was akin to placing a giant fire-breathing dragon patrolling around the website, scaring them away. Some felt betrayed and didn’t return. Some signed up but was disappointed of the lack of activity and contributions.

•    Sustainability – With dwindling signups and an almost non-existent marketing budget, it was going to be hard to sustain the business.

Give up or step up?

With fuel prices set to enter uncharted territories, we feel that there is an even greater need for PetrolWatch then when we first started out.

We’re unfazed and are willing to have another go at it. This time, we’ve (hopefully) fixed some of the kinks and are aiming to produce a better service.