The surge of the COVID-19 global pandemic has changed our lives in ways we never thought possible. Our community and our customers were the catalysts behind the change we sought to affect at Booster and the resiliency our company experienced on the other side of these changes.
Since day one, safety and innovation have been our highest priorities at Booster Fuels. These ideals drove Booster’s creation and have accelerated our evolution since our first boost.
But 2020 was a year of breakneck change. The COVID-19 global pandemic taught us important lessons about resiliency and was a reminder that we can serve our communities better. We did this by offering a safer, more reliable, more efficient service that continued to create well-paying jobs, even under the severe limitations of COVID-19.
In June of 2020, we broadcast a webinar and published a companion blog article about the precautions we took to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, we’ve learned a lot and have pivoted in meaningful ways to adopt procedures, processes and protocols that have not only worked, but that we plan to keep in action even after the stresses and workplace requirements of the pandemic are lifted. Below are a few highlights of our proactive response to the pandemic over the past 10 months.
Safety
The MFOD industry provides our communities with the only 100% contactless way to fuel their vehicles. These days, that’s more important than ever. Gas station pump handles are highly contaminated with pathogenic microbes and viruses, including COVID-19, can live on plastic surfaces like gas station pump handles for up to three days.
In response to the pandemic, Booster launched a Pop-up Gas Station (PUGS) service where we set up shop in the parking lots of essential places like pharmacies and grocery stores. We did this so that people who had to venture out on a run for essentials could cut down on extra stops and reduce their exposure risk. Instead of Booster fueling customers at their offices, our customers filled up by simply coming to one of our pop-up locations, where mini-tankers awaited app-based orders and our service professional team took care of the rest.
In addition to meeting customers at essential spots, we continued our usual at-work delivery service for essential employees. Companies such as Gilead, that have scientists working in labs, continued using Booster. We even launched our service at a large biotechnology company that wanted to encourage its scientists to drive straight from home to the lab — no added stops or risk along the way.
In addition to providing services that kept our communities safe, we’ve adopted new safety measures like staggered shifts and frequent, routine cleaning of high-touch surfaces to keep the Booster team safe.
Efficiency
The pandemic has pushed many people to start shopping online, and last-mile delivery companies are busier than ever. Booster works with many of these companies to ensure that their vehicles are always fueled, limiting delivery drivers’ risks at the gas station and helping them deliver up to nearly 20 more packages per route.
Additionally, Booster’s service helps increase each last-mile delivery company’s efficiency. This helps them deliver more goods, faster, and for a better cost to the end consumer. As a result, our communities get more access to the goods that they need and reduce their need to go into busy stores.
Reliability
People, companies, food banks, ambulance services and fire departments have relied on Booster throughout the pandemic. So many services have been forced to shut down or pause due to shelter-in-place orders. Booster is honored to be a consistent part of the solution.
Booster launched its services at The San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department (SMCFD) in 2020. The SMCFD team was concerned about effectively protecting its 154 firefighters from COVID-19 exposure, especially with fire season in view. For emergency services, partnering with Booster has not only helped keep employees safe, but also continued to reliably service their vehicles so they could be always at the ready whenever duty calls.
Meaningful Job Creation
One of the most consequential long-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic has been to the economy. Continued unemployment, halting economic growth, diminishing state revenues and overwhelmed supply chains will persist for months – if not years – to come.
Booster and the mobile fueling industry promise to deliver thousands of new, salaried jobs with benefits and job training. But we’ll also provide relief to front-line workers, local governments and even generate millions in tax revenues, too.
Not only has Booster been a consistent creator of meaningful jobs, we’ve identified the safest, most efficient ways to train new employees while stemming the spread of the pandemic. It’s this kind of innovative thinking that led to the creation of Booster in the first place. For this reason, Booster will likely continue using these revised training methods even after the pandemic restrictions have been lifted.
The pandemic has forced our industry and our country to change in ways that are at once reactive, but at the same time, innovative. As we continue to safely lead the mobile fueling industry and evolve inside the grip of this global virus, we will identify the best ways to keep our people and our customers safe and continue to adopt tomorrow’s ideas, helping customers nationwide stay safely and efficiently fueled.
If you’re curious about the best ways to keep your employees safe, please download our full safety guidelines here.
