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S t a t i o n s o f t h e M o n t h
The gas station of Mrs. Papadopoulou
Aegean Stood By My Side
George Tsandirakis* (Chrysoula Papadopoulou), Aghia Fotia, Sitia Crete
The village of Aghia Fotia on Crete is located 3 kilometers east of Sitia, on the road to Vai. It
owes its name to the church of Saint Fotini and the whole area has great archaeological interest.
The gas station of Mrs. Papadopoulou
has been located here
since 1978, when her fatherin-law
was the gas station owner. In
2004 her husband took over and who,
since a young age, had been “trained”
in the profession next to his father.
Mrs. Papadopoulou how long have you
been responsible for running this business
Ever since my husband took over in
2004 and onwards I participated in its
daily functions. Since May 2012 I am
fully responsible for the gas station.
Unfortunately, not by choice but by
necessity, after the tragic loss of my
husband in a car accident.
It must have been extremely difficult,
together with the shock of the sudden
loss, to have to deal with the changes
in a ‘given’ course of life. Together
with the responsibilities—no longer
shared—of a family, the responsibility
of keeping a business running.
I faced a tragic situation. My husband
stayed in hospital for almost eight
months. I had almost abandoned the
station trying to keep up with everything
else. My husband in the hospital
and two youngsters at home. In this
impossible situation my cooperation
with Aegean proved valuable.
Please tell us about it. But tell us first
how and when your cooperation with
Aegean started.
We were in cooperation with another
company and the time had come
to renew our contract. There was
great concern on our part since that
company was very expensive, put a
lot of pressure on us, and the whole
relationship was completely impersonal.
A friend from Athens, who
knew Αegean, talked to us about the
company with great enthusiasm. My
husband made a trip to Athens, asked
around, heard, talked, saw, and this is
how it all started at the end of 2009.
How did your customers react seeing
this new name
You know in small places like ours the
name of the company does not play
such a leading role. What counts more
is the name of the gas station owner. Of
course after a while our customers realized
the importance of our being an Aegean
gas station. Besides, the very good
products and the competitive prices
allowed us to move differently and the
benefit was also for our customers.
Did your cooperation with Aegean measure
up to your expectations
Completely. My husband was very
pleased. And when I lost him I fully
realized how significant our decision
to cooperate with Aegean had been.
This is why I told you before that it is
a valuable cooperation. The support I
received from Aegean was way above
that of a business relationship.
They really stood by me!
* As a tribute to her late husband’s memory Mrs
Papadopoulou asked the reference to the gas station
under his name. We oblige with pleasure.
24 AEGEAN NEWS AUTUMN 2012