By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
Herrod’s Chevron in Prattville has been a staple of the community since 1967, providing excellent, timely, and friendly service to its customers.
Initially started by Don Herrod, the family-owned, full-service gas station was moved from its old location to where it resides now, 101 North Memorial Drive, in 1972.
Allen Herrod, son of Don, says that his father tried to manage both locations, but due to its popularity was not able to maintain both.
“He had both of them for a while but everybody wanted to come to where he was, so he ended up closing the original and staying here,” Herrod said.
Herrod said his father sacrificed much of his time to allow the gas station to reach its full potential.
“My father worked most days from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., mostly by himself when he first started,” Herrod said.
“Through his hard work, we were able to gradually get more employees throughout the years. Right now, I have an excellent, faithful crew.”
Herrod also said the station has a large group of regulars that have been coming to the station for years, particularly because they are the last full-service station in Prattville.
“We have regulars that have house accounts here that they can charge whenever they come and pay it off per month. Most people know they are a full-service station, meaning that we can fill your gas, check your air and tires for you, look under the hood, and just make sure that your car seems to be running properly,” Herrod said.
“We do provide self-service as well, and free air if you wanted to fill your tires on your own. You’re absolutely welcome to come here and do it yourself.”
When asked about the relationships that the business has made with its customers over the years, Herrod said, “We know our clientele and have a lot of repeat business. My father owned this place then I was able to take over, and I hope to pass it along to my son, Bibb, one day. There have been several generations pass through ownership of this gas station, and that’s the way it is with our clients as well. We’ve seen generations of families come through and continue to support us throughout all these years.”
Allen says that even though its hard work, his son’s family as well as his own has been able to make a good living off of the business. They’ve also helped to support five or six other employee’s families through just their business alone, without the need for a second job.
“We’ve been blessed that way,” says Herrod. “I wouldn’t be able to run this business without my Son, who’s worked here full-time the past five years, my wife, Denise, and mother, Nadine. Both my wife and mother work here as well to help make this place run the way that it needs to be run. Without them, none of this would be possible.”
“We’re also a Christian family, and it needs to be known that we wouldn’t have any of this without the guidance of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Some days, things can get hectic and busy and it’s easy to forget everything that He gives us, but on the slow ones I make sure to say a prayer to Him and give thanks for everything that my family is able to have.”
Along with those blessings have come awards.
“Over the years we’ve received awards for our service, some through Chevron. They sometimes send ‘mystery shoppers’ out who essentially review your location. You don’t know it at the time, but they are basically making notes about the cleanliness of the station, friendliness of the employees, and overall efficiency of your location. For every year that I can remember, we’ve received full remarks from Chevron,” Herrod said.
“We’ve also been awarded by the Chamber of Commerce, my dad has been named businessman of the year, and was also the first recipient of the Annual Pat Partridge Award, which goes to a local business with excellent service to the community.”
Sadly, Allen said that his father passed away a year ago, but that his mark has been made on the gas station for a lifetime.
“We all loved my father very much, and will definitely miss him a lot. We still have our customers come by, telling us that they expect to see him sitting in the front waiting to greet them,” Allen said.
In the wake of his father’s legacy, Allen also manages the three-bay service station located at the Chevron.
“We can service people’s cars, sell tires, change oil, and all other kinds of mechanical work. The only kind of mechanical work that we don’t do is either mufflers or transmissions. We still do hands-on, mechanical work beyond just the full-service aspect,” Herrod said.
“We do things around here the way that we like. We’re franchised by Chevron but not owned by them. We’re required to purchase Chevron gasoline and go to a few events here and there. But we own our business, our building, and our land. We’re not company-owned and we like to just do things a certain way around here.”
It’s because of the way that they do things that make Herrods Chevron such a successful business. It started with Don, moved on to Allen, and it will one day be carried on by Bibb.
