Truckies have hit out at the “disgusting” facilities at the Ampol Foodary in Cobar, NSW.
One driver, Stewart Potter, said he was confronted by a “pigsty” during a stop at the servo last week.
“It was my first run out west NSW, and I pulled in at the Ampol in Cobar to use the facilities,” he told Big Rigs.
“There was only one shower that was working, and the male toilets were all broken as well.
“I had to use the toilets in the ladies, and only one of them was working.
“When I finally got to have a shower, it was just a disgusting mess.”
Potter described the facilities as wet, muddy and dirty.
“The place was riddled with flies,” he added. “And the handbasin looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in God knows how long.
“The place is an embarrassment to the town.”
Karen Hawker, an owner-driver based in Toowoomba, was also left disappointed by the experience she had at the Ampol in Cobar on a recent run from Brisbane to Adelaide.
“I pulled in at the Ampol at the end of a long day, I had been driving for 12 hours,” she said.
“I hadn’t been down there for a long time, but I had been told Cobar was a good place to stop and get dinner.
“There’s not much before it on the road, and there’s definitely nothing until Broken Hill after it.”
Hawker said she pulled up at 8.07pm, hoping to have a shower and some dinner.
“There was a big sign on the door saying the amenities were closed, so I wasn’t able to have a shower,” she said.
“Then I went in to order dinner and was told the kitchen was closed and there was no cook.
“It was still daylight, and I had been really hoping for a sit-down meal.
“I had to have a hot box chicken roll for dinner after 12 hours of driving.”
In a statement provided to Big Rigs, Ampol said it is working to address the issues with its facilities.
“Ampol recognises that our Foodary site in Cobar is not up to our usual standards we expect of our retail network.
“Over the last six weeks, we have undertaken work to address the issues with the amenities.
“All toilets and showers are now operational, and we have commenced further maintenance to ensure we continue to deliver for our customers and commuters.”
get them to take a look at the Tallarook servos north and south bound. southbound is the worst though in terms of available food quality when compared to northbound and the toilets and showers southbound leave a lot to be desired also. I have brought it to staff attention on site previously but to no avail.