Now you can remove refueling from your task list. CAFU is a new App that doesn’t need you to wait in line at the gas station so that you can set aside that time for what actually needs you – like a weekend family board game! It also makes sure that you don’t get into sticky situations like these…
One night, a few weeks ago…
As I am driving home, a long beep fills the car. For me, it sounds like an alarm to hit the bed – it’s been such a long day! But a yellow icon that popped up along with the beep indicates that I need to fuel her up. I got to leave early for a shoot near Hatta but my heavy eyelids tell me that there is nothing in the world that cannot wait till I wake up.
So the next morning, I wake up to another beep with the realization that I’m already running late for the shoot! Fifteen minutes later I find myself at the gas station, at the wrong end of a long line of like-minded people. My shoot begins to feel like it’s in Haiti, not Hatta.
One afternoon, last weekend
The rippling water in a large swimming pool is still a picture of calm. Students at various stages of swimming training – my son among them – were practicing their lessons when the second message appeared on my mobile screen: [Your fuel is on its way. 🙂 Please remember to keep the fuel cap unlocked.] A similar push notification had reached me when the service was scheduled and another soon followed when the CAFU ‘Pilot’ pulled up outside, next to my car.
CAFU, the new automotive App in town is all about not having to go to the gas station and getting the fuel delivered instead. The difference is that it’s not delivered in a Jerry Can or an empty mineral water bottle, but in a secure vehicle that reminds you of an armoured truck, equipped with a digital counter, a filling tube with a safety nozzle and even traffic cones to cordon off the transfer area securely. The CAFU Pilot, as the trained driver-cum-delivery person is called would arrive at the chosen location, park next to the car, open the fuel tank, fill exactly the pre-determined amount and drive away leaving the car and fuel tank securely locked.
And all the while, I would be sitting at the pool, watching the progress made by the children, or simply watching the water move like a large fish with glittering scales.
[WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF THE CAFU APP]
How, where, and how much
It all started off with downloading the CAFU App on to my mobile. It is available at Apple Store and Play Store for free. An account has to be set up with the basic details of the person and the vehicle. The App has fields you fill up with the refuelling location, the amount of fuel, and the day/date that you want the fuelling to take place. The minimum order is AED 40 but you can choose larger amounts in multiples of 10, or simply go for a full tank. There is a choice of grades too, between Super98 and Special95!
Before completing an order, a payment mode needs to be set. The credit card can be scanned or the number manually entered. The best part is, if you are in doubt or wish to report a complaint, the App has a direct chat link to the Customer Service team. That’s thoughtful!
It is when you hear the price that you realize that it isn’t just a service for the villas and the Bentleys. There is a service fee of AED 18 for one fuelling but for a monthly fee of AED 45, the service can be utilized for as many pre-determined occasions as you wish – once a week, twice a week or as often as your usage demands.
So, how did my CAFU experience go?
Downloading the CAFU App was as quick and simple as any other and permissions required by the App too are as expected. While registering my payment mode, the scanning was a taking a while, probably due to my connection; so I went ahead with the manual entry.
CAFU is a new service and the location list is growing by the day but currently they are serving only the Emirate of Dubai. The location I chose was a paid parking lot near my child’s sports training center. There were many such lots on the CAFU list and many other locations across Dubai. The parking has to be outdoors as basement and closed parking are avoided as per regulations. For apartment dwellers with building parking, this might raise an issue but there is a way around which I have mentioned below.
The service was very professionally carried out, with the safety and transfer procedure adhered to with practiced ease, and it hardly took a few minutes! [WATCH THE CAFU EXPERIENCE VIDEO]
How to make the best of CAFU
The options are plenty with CAFU. Filling petrol at home location is an obvious choice – while you continue with that family board game, uninterrupted. Or it could be any place you regularly visit every week – say your health club, or your children’s hobby place or well, the other obvious choice, your workplace. Any of these could be a viable alternative for apartment dwellers, outside their closed parking.
As you don’t have to be there in person, CAFU saves you plenty of valuable time. And not being left high and dry at the end of a long line, when you are late for an appointment – invaluable!
