You might recall that because of recent issues with the Esso/Mobil app during its rollout that resolved themselves, that drove me to trying the Shell App to see if it was any better at contactless fuel fill ups and payments. But seeing as the Esso/Mobil app was all new, I decided to give that a test to see if it was any better. After all, it was the clear winner when pitted against the Petro Canada app. Thus it would only be fair to see if it retained the crown, or had dropped a couple of places.
I’ll skip past the registration process as I covered that when I encountered the issues with this app. But I am going to assume that now that things seem to be working, it should be smooth for you. The first thing that I will say is that the user interface of the Esso/Mobil app makes it easy to use. Once you click on “Pay At Pump” you’re presented with a pretty clean interface that allows you to type in the pump number and choose if you want a car wash as well (assuming the station has a car wash). Then you can pay using Apple Pay which is my preferred payment method. Once authorized, it only takes a few seconds for the pump to be activated. This is similar to the Shell App.
One thing that I should point out is that the previous version of the app which was called Speedpass+ had an Apple Watch app. But that Apple Watch app was pretty useless as it wouldn’t work properly unless your iPhone was nearby with the iPhone app running. The Esso/Mobil app has done away with the Apple Watch app and I can’t say that I miss it. Though it would be been nice for one of these gas companies to come up with an Apple Watch app that doesn’t require an iPhone so that I can use that to get a fill up if I need to.
Another thing that Esso/Mobil seem to have done away with is the gas discount cards. The previous version of the app allowed you to store discount card and apply them to your gas purchases automatically. This new app seems not to have that functionality. And that’s a serious downgrade from the previous version of the app. They need to bring that back as that was one of the things that made it better than the Petro Canada app. On the plus side, they do better integrate the PC Optimum rewards system into the Esso/Mobil app. Though some functionality requires you to have the PC Optimum app installed.
So where does this leave the Esso/Mobil app relative to the competition from Shell and Petro Canada? In my opinion, Esso/Mobil and Shell are basically tied. If Shell had the ability to use Apple Pay to pay in store, it would go ahead. If Esso/Mobil kept the functionality to add discount cards, it would go ahead. That leaves the Petro Canada app a step behind those two as they really haven’t changed or improve the functionality. And it takes longer to activate the pump versus the other two.
This is something that I’ll be keeping my eye on as contactless payments at the gas pump is the best way to get gas in Canada. And it’s nice that there are not only options, but hopefully those options spur competition to make things better for consumers. And that’s a win for everyone.
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This entry was posted on December 22, 2023 at 7:44 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Esso. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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How Well Does The New Esso/Mobile App Work For Contactless Fuel Fill Ups? Let’s Find Out!
You might recall that because of recent issues with the Esso/Mobil app during its rollout that resolved themselves, that drove me to trying the Shell App to see if it was any better at contactless fuel fill ups and payments. But seeing as the Esso/Mobil app was all new, I decided to give that a test to see if it was any better. After all, it was the clear winner when pitted against the Petro Canada app. Thus it would only be fair to see if it retained the crown, or had dropped a couple of places.
I’ll skip past the registration process as I covered that when I encountered the issues with this app. But I am going to assume that now that things seem to be working, it should be smooth for you. The first thing that I will say is that the user interface of the Esso/Mobil app makes it easy to use. Once you click on “Pay At Pump” you’re presented with a pretty clean interface that allows you to type in the pump number and choose if you want a car wash as well (assuming the station has a car wash). Then you can pay using Apple Pay which is my preferred payment method. Once authorized, it only takes a few seconds for the pump to be activated. This is similar to the Shell App.
One thing that I should point out is that the previous version of the app which was called Speedpass+ had an Apple Watch app. But that Apple Watch app was pretty useless as it wouldn’t work properly unless your iPhone was nearby with the iPhone app running. The Esso/Mobil app has done away with the Apple Watch app and I can’t say that I miss it. Though it would be been nice for one of these gas companies to come up with an Apple Watch app that doesn’t require an iPhone so that I can use that to get a fill up if I need to.
Another thing that Esso/Mobil seem to have done away with is the gas discount cards. The previous version of the app allowed you to store discount card and apply them to your gas purchases automatically. This new app seems not to have that functionality. And that’s a serious downgrade from the previous version of the app. They need to bring that back as that was one of the things that made it better than the Petro Canada app. On the plus side, they do better integrate the PC Optimum rewards system into the Esso/Mobil app. Though some functionality requires you to have the PC Optimum app installed.
So where does this leave the Esso/Mobil app relative to the competition from Shell and Petro Canada? In my opinion, Esso/Mobil and Shell are basically tied. If Shell had the ability to use Apple Pay to pay in store, it would go ahead. If Esso/Mobil kept the functionality to add discount cards, it would go ahead. That leaves the Petro Canada app a step behind those two as they really haven’t changed or improve the functionality. And it takes longer to activate the pump versus the other two.
This is something that I’ll be keeping my eye on as contactless payments at the gas pump is the best way to get gas in Canada. And it’s nice that there are not only options, but hopefully those options spur competition to make things better for consumers. And that’s a win for everyone.
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This entry was posted on December 22, 2023 at 7:44 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Esso. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.