The c-store industry is, and will continue to be, a people business. As such, you cannot overlook the many values gained by making frequent visits to your No. 1 and No. 2 assets — your employees and your c-stores. It’s here where the magic happens, and it’s here where your success as a company is…
Mergers and Acquisitions Affect Store Employees
Merger and acquisition activity continues to dominate industry headlines as larger companies with deeper pockets pay, and in some cases overpay, for smaller companies. There are many questions we can ask about the current situation, but none is more important than, “What impact is this having on employees?” It’s hard enough to get employees. Is…
Holding Frontline Employees Accountable
The following is a true story that should give pause to anyone thinking they are smarter than the system. A frontline associate, let’s call her Joyce, was working her shift at a pretty busy convenience store, which was one of several very busy stores under my command a few years back. Joyce had been with…
Don’t Be Satisfied with Half the Profits
Let me ask you this: If you discovered a genuine gold mine on your property, would you take half and leave the other half sitting there for anyone else to take? Not a chance. Now let’s say you inherited $500,000 from someone you had helped support, would you only take $250,000? Of course not. And…
Are You Ready for New Challenges?
It may sound easy, but being prepared for any challenge that may come your way is crucial to business success. More than 20 years ago, I opened a presentation to a group of independent convenience store operators with this simple three-word question: “Are you ready?” My intention was to make them aware that competition and emerging…
The Story for Summer Glory
The late comedic and gifted actor Jackie Gleason often used the phrase, “How sweet it is.” This line popped into my mind as I began writing this column. As the star of the classic “The Honeymooners” TV show, Gleason delivered his catchphrase with great gusto, making sure that his enthusiasm would pique both the curiosity…
Sir Isaac Newton and C-Stores
Playing hockey, driving a car or simply taking a walk down the street are all everyday examples of Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of motion. How this scientist and his laws can be applied to the convenience industry might be a stretch unless you look at it from a business perspective. As the story goes, a…
Safety is a Business Virtue
Concerns over safety risks are a natural part of the convenience store industry. Implementing common-sense solutions can go far in securing your operation. By Jim Callahan There are few words that go together as well as safety and security. Those concepts make people feel good when they are at work, and uneasy when they are…
You Gotta Have Heart
The lesson of never giving up is as true in retail as it is on Broadway. By Jim Callahan Going way back in time, to 1955 specifically, there was a very popular Broadway musical, entitled “Damn Yankees.” If you dare to venture down memory lane that far, you might remember the song, “You Gotta Have…
Remove Your Rose-Colored Glasses
Whether we are assessing an individual’s job performance or the operational performance of a store, it’s difficult to gauge accurately without employing hard systems that accurately measure performance. By Jim Callahan Arguably, the most successful marketing campaign ever employed by the Army was “Be All You Can Be.” It was so successful it ran from…