Donna Brocklesby, SSO at JET Balby, takes us ‘Behind The Business’ to a stand-out site that sits at the heart of the South Yorkshire community.

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The site is impressive – can you tell us about the new JET branding and the recent refurb?

We have remained open throughout the pandemic and lockdown but had to close in late 2020 for the forecourt redevelopment – which has been transformational! The new layout and look is great – really fresh and open and accessible. Our customers love that there is more space and it feels genuinely welcoming and friendly – which is what we hoped for! The new branding has definitely had the thumbs up from our regulars and it’s particularly impressive at night with the under canopy lighting. You can’t miss us – and probably visible from space!

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Can you tell us a little about your relationship with JET

Really good. Wayne, our main contact at JET, is great. Really responsive and never more than a phone call away. What more could you ask for?

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Do you have a best ‘on-the-job’ memory?

As you can imagine there’s been a few! But you know the one that really stands out happened very recently. During lockdown last year, the daughter of one of our regular customers, who is elderly, called and asked if we could get him a gift on her behalf. She suggested a few things but we decided to make him a hamper - and when we delivered it to him, we took some pics and emailed them to his daughter so that she could be a part of the surprise and share in the moment.

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Our community is super important to us and it felt really good to be able to help in some way. Definitely a good day and great memory.

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If you weren’t running a JET site – what would you be doing?

I’ve been in retail since I left school at 16 - so truthfully, if I wasn’t running JET Balby I would definitely be working in a shop. I love retail - the interactions, meeting people, having a laugh. I’m so lucky to love what I do and to have a great team around me.

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Tell us about your customers?

As I said before we know that for a lot of people we are a really important service and resource – especially so over the past 18 months. We have a lot of elderly regulars and we will always shop and deliver for them and they are so so appreciative. We are also happy to order in specific products for people - all part of the service!

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Have you noticed a significant change since the restrictions were lifted?

Truthfully we’ve remained really busy throughout the past 18 months and my staff have worked so hard. I am so grateful to them - it’s been tough sometimes but we support each other and we’re always up for having a laugh!

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What’s next for JET Balby?

We’ve got a great SPAR retail space and the most brilliant state of the art JET forecourt – so we’re are all set to be the best we can be. Keeping our customers happy. Oh, and we’re getting a Tango Ice Blast machine very soon!

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If you were to sum up your job in three words - what would they be?

Fulfilling

Challenging

Fun!

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