Thanks to the stalwart reliability of the diesel engine and it’s inherent lack of flammability diesel fuel at normal temperatures, this type of fuel has been a staple in the transportation and commercial industries for years. However its future in the US is somewhat uncertain due to the rise of alternative fuel sources. While electric vehicles may decrease the demand for diesel, the commercial industry is still likely to rely on diesel engines for years to come for their durability, reliability, and fuel efficiency. Convenience store owners can prepare for the changing landscape by offering both diesel and electric charging options to cater to a wider range of customers. In this article, we will discuss the future of diesel fuel in the US and its continued popularity in the commercial industry, as well as the advantages of diesel engines and how convenience store owners can stay ahead in the changing market.

Gas stations and convenience store owners nowadays have a tough job of being nearly everything to everyone. Customer now expect a convenience store to offer fresh fruit, a wide array of drink hot and cold, clean and spacious restrooms, and even fresh vegetables with the standard candy bar options – and that’s just inside the premises. On top of that, each location needs to accommodate a number of different customers.

For those with fuel pumps, a convenience store should be expected to service commercial trucks, local service-based workers like those in the towing service or heating and cooler sector, weekend traveler, teenagers, and everyone else in between. Undeserving one customer segment can open the store up to unwanted competition in an already high-competitive industry.

With the very real potential of 35% of electric cars on the road by 2050, convenience store owners with fuel pumps need to have a plan in place to adjust their strategy while not ignoring current high-margin customers that utilize diesel fuel. How they address the shift will depend on several factors such as the location of their store, the demographics of their customers, and the current market trends. For example, if a store is located in an area where diesel trucks and buses are still widely used, it may make sense to dedicate some of their pumps to diesel.

On the other hand, if the store is located in a heavily populated urban area, it may be more beneficial to install electric charging stations to cater to the growing number of electric vehicle owners.

In possible, convenience store owners with fuel pumps should consider offering both diesel and electric charging options to cater to a wider range of customers and maximize their profits. The key is to stay informed about the latest market trends and technological advancements, and be proactive in adapting to the changing needs of customers.

Why Diesel Isn’t Going Anywhere, Anytime Soon

One of the biggest advantages of diesel engines is their longevity. Unlike gasoline engines, diesel engines tend to last much longer and require less maintenance, making them an attractive option for fleet managers and business owners. This is particularly true for heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses, which need to run smoothly and efficiently over long distances and heavy loads.

Another advantage of diesel engines is their fuel efficiency. Diesel fuel has a higher energy density compared to gasoline, meaning that vehicles with diesel engines can travel further on the same amount of fuel. This makes diesel engines particularly suitable for long-haul trips, where fuel efficiency is key to reducing operating costs.

“I really can’t see an electric tow truck that can do what this thing does, and still be cost competitive on cost.”

Even if there were an alternative available, many service-based businesses are hesitant to make the switch. Take for example, Sunny Day Towing Company, a tow truck service in Charlotte NC, and frequent customer of the Speedway location on North Tryon Road in Charlotte.

“Our tow truck is a very expensive piece of equipment, and I absolutely need to keep this thing running for as long as possible to put food on the table. Even with another type of truck that’s more efficient, I would still need to keep this truck running due to the significant investment we’ve already committed.”, says owner JT Thompson.

Asked how much he has invested in the vehicle, “It cost our business over $130,000. And that was four years ago.”

Additionally, diesel engines are known for their superior performance and power, making them ideal for heavy-duty tasks like towing, hauling, and transporting goods. This is why diesel engines are still widely used in the transportation and logistics industry, where performance and reliability are critical to the success of businesses.

“I really can’t see an electric tow truck that can do what this thing does, and still be cost competitive on cost.”

While electric vehicles are diesel engines are likely to remain popular in the commercial industry in the near future due to their longevity, fuel efficiency, and superior performance.

While electric vehicles may gain traction in certain segments of the market, diesel engines will continue to play an important role in the transportation and logistics industry for many years to come. Convenience store owners who cater to the needs of commercial customers should consider offering diesel fuel at their locations to meet the ongoing demand for this popular fuel source.

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Driving the highways, tollways, and interstates of the United States, it is difficult not to notice the many truck stops distributed along these vital transportation routes.  With signs emblazoned high above the horizon, and more than a few billboards alerting you of their location well before their exit, these outposts are strategically located to cater, in large part, to the professional truckers that heavily travel these routes.

Featuring showers, hotels, restaurants, plenty of diesel pumps, and large parking spaces dedicated to larger truck rigs, the truck stops identify largely with the trucker customer base, and the truck stops, in turn are rewarded with a happy customer base that spends generously in all the right places.

As an urban dweller and owner of a convenience and gas station in Raleigh, NC, I often wonder why other convenience store owners do not do the same for their service-industry customers.  I have found over the years that the workers in the service sectors like HVAC, towing, landscaping, utilities, and electric are often repeat customers and spend significantly more than your average driver topping off the tank on their way home from work.

So today, as follow up to an earlier article on the importance of the occupational service sector, I’ve been asked by the editorial staff of SOspeedway to review our recent effort to pivot of our convenience store in North Raleigh to better cater to our service sector customers.

What We Did

Expanded Targeted Offerings – With our belief that a convenience section dedicated to service-based drivers would also help drive ancillary convenience stores, we devised an area for items like back rest supports, steering wheel covers, and other high-dollar, high-margin items that would likely appeal to service truck drivers, further driving in-store sales and customer retention.   This “Service Section” like was located directly across from the refrigerated fresh foods section where many of these customers grab lunch for the day.

• Rewards Programs – As a convenience store owner of employee, there is a good chance you know who you best customers are and you probably know them on a first-name basis.  Rather than simply waiting for them to find out about rewards programs like the Speedy Rewards Mall programs to, we actively reached out to these customers to get them involved, and where appropriate, gave them a unsolicited discount on a purchase.  In my opinion nothing goes further for creating a life-long customer than recognizing these important customers individually.
• Smoking Section – We had asked our top service-sector customers what they would like more than anything and a clean smoking section was rated near the top.  Although hesitant to implement for fear of driving away non-smoking customers, we were able to carve out some open green-space away from the pumps and the store entrance to locate a cozy area with potted plants and a few ashtrays.  While not overly large, we wanted to ensure clean, adequate space while not creating a perception that they were being sent to “smoker’s jail” as we like to call many of the cramped smoking-only spaces we have seen elsewhere.
• Added Diesel Pumps – Service technicians are on the road – a lot.  And with the increased driving miles it makes more sense for these companies to own diesel-powered vehicles versus their gas counterparts.  With this in mind, we were noticing that many of these customers were having to wait for the diesel pump in the mornings and late rush hour.  In response, we made the decision to convert a gas pump to diesel making it a total of two pumps and four nozzles diesel and four / eight for gas.  Although there are now times every day where our traditional gas customers must wait for a pump to become available, we have seen it as an acceptable,  net-positive trade-off.

The Results

While we only have 6 months of data at the time of this writing our operating revenue have increased an impressive 5% and is trending steadily higher every month.  With the additional revenue, we’ve nearly paid half of the outlay for the pump conversion, new product and smoking section construction.  If this trend continues, tobacco product sales will increase 7% YOY.

On the downside, as expected, we did see a higher wait time for the normal gas station pumps, and we did have had some initial setback with product placement with the new within the store.  This forced us to try a number of different product offerings at the new “service section”, and had to eat the cost of a few higher dollar items that were not selling.

The Feedback

Feedback was mostly positive.  Here’s a couple that stand out…

“We love the new additions; the smoking section is a nice area to get out of the tow truck and have a smoke break after filling up and eating lunch.  Diesel pumps are not as congested at lunch.” Willis Banks, Straight Away Towing Service, Raleigh NC

“I come here around three days a week and prefer it over the BP across the street.  Its cleaner and the workers behind the counter know us.  Fact is, we are repeat customers and were offered a preferred customer discount without being asked.  I appreciated it.” – Brian Jordan, Independent Electrician, Wake Forest, NC

Conclusion

For years we had a suspicion that the service-sector customer profile was more profitable than more other segments, but we were always hesitant  to convert the customer experience toward that base in fear of alienating our “bread and butter” customers, however the effort so far has been well worth it.

While there are some downsides, the additional revenue speaks for itself and we would suggest any owner of a convenience store to take steps to similarly address the occupational service sector customer profile.

Thanks for reading!

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Based on the findings of a U.S. Small Business Association report, refrigeration costs can make up approximately 60% of total electricity consumption in establishments that rely on commercial cooling.

Nevertheless, there are many opportunities you can explore to help you maximize energy efficiency and eliminate waste.

With costs in mind, here are 5 essential tips/products to reduce your convenience store refrigeration costs.

Don’t leave display cases open

While it may seem obvious, an open refrigerator door can have significant impact on you operating costs.  Research shows that open display cases consume four times more energy than closed ones. Refrigeration is a big investment for a convenience store, so if you’re serious about reducing refrigeration costs, make sure your employees know to keep the refrigerator doors closed whenever possible.

Additionally regularly examine these refrigerator door seals to see if there’s an opening that allows cold air to leak outside. Loose seals make the motor run harder to make up for the cold air escaping. Moreover, you should check the gaskets and auto-closers too to make sure they’re fully operative. If they’re not, then warm air will infiltrate the refrigerator cases, resulting in energy waste and product safety concerns.

If done properly, your business should see significant savings in utilities as time goes by. With that said, if you can’t make the investment, then use a curtain on display cases overnight or whenever your convenience store isn’t open for business.

Give the refrigeration system enough space

Just as you would inspect the quality of circulation inside the refrigerator, you also need to ensure that the cooling system has enough room around it outside. This is all to allow for good airflow, especially over the heat exchange coils.

Note that these should be cleaned regularly to get rid of any dust, dirt, or build-up and to promote optimal performance.

Go LED all the way

LED lighting requires significantly less energy than to light than its incandescent predecessors.  And when installed properly, it emits less heat, which means an additional decrease in electricity usage to keep products cool.

From a preventative maintenance perspective, LED lighting also lasts longer than other options so you won’t have to change it frequently like you would with fluorescent lighting for instance. In addition to that, LED greatly improves visibility and showcases your convenience store products in the best light possible -which can be incredibly appealing to your customer base.

Store cold items immediately

When you load warm or room temperature products into your refrigerators, they have to work extra hard to cool them down. So make sure that any cold deliveries you get are loaded immediately to avoid overworking your cooling system.

Upgrade with efficiency in mind

When shopping for new appliances, make sure you go for the ones with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) star logo. Energy start certified equipment is known to save operators at least 30% on refrigeration costs on a daily basis. This is a promising saving opportunity, especially if your appliances need a replacement.

Upgrading the equipment you have to more ergonomic options is the best way to reduce your refrigeration costs as a convenience store owner. While this may cost a lot of money at first, the results are worth the investment, especially in the long run.

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There’s no question:  the gas station business has been, and will continue to be extremely competitive.

Couple that with additional headwinds from an overall decline in gasoline consumption and the breakneck changes in consumer tastes, it has become absolutely critical that Gas Stations, Service Centers, and Convenience Marts differentiate our businesses in order to remain viable.

Speedway Corporate and franchise owners should constantly be looking for creative ways to attract and retain loyal, high-paying customers.

One way to do that is to focus on the customer profiles that spend the most time and money at our Speedway locations.   In many ways the occupational service sector businesses fits the bill.

While our truck-stop locations are custom-built to service industries like transportation, our urban locations have had more of a challenge orienting our businesses to this unique and loyal customer profile.

Using survey information collected at selected Speedway locations in 2019, we’ll review some way in which our urban / suburban locations can cater our convenience store shopping experience for this key under-served customer segment.

Understanding the segment.

“I love the rewards programs here, but the gas station stalls are way too small for my flatbed tow truck.  I wish they had larger dedicated stalls for service trucks.”  Michael Campbell – One Click Towing Company, Cincinnati Ohio

The occupational service sector is comprised of around 20% of the overall service industry in the United States, with value production exceeding $3 trillion according to a the U.S. Census Bureau. It is largely mobile, typically providing on-site services to customers.

Business example include the home repair, home mitigation, utility, roadside services, home improvement, waste management, social assistance, and landscaping.

Because these workers are mobile, they tend to:

• Fill up more
• Purchase breakfast and / or lunch on the road
• Have more vehicle issues

According to survey data, over 45% rent or use a company service truck, and over 70% of these responders frequent the same locations day over day.

High value customers.

Typical jobs in these field pay well, but often require longer hours, and as such, would prefer to do their shopping, eating, and resting at these locations to save time on the job.

Some ideas to cater to these customers include:

• Fresh produce / mini grocery store offerings
• High quality dinner offering for overtime workers
• Comfortable rest area / outside eating area for rewards customers
• Free tire pressure fill for rewards customers
• Larger stalls reserved for service trucks for fast in and out access
• Truck maintenance service center

Getting the basics right.

“The outside of the convenience store looks good, but is a bit of a mess when you walk inside.”  David M. Brothers, Duke Energy – Utility Maintenance, Asheville North Carolina

While focusing on a specific customer segment may help drive profits, it’s important to not lose sight of the quality fundamentals below in order to keep your current customers and retain new ones.

• Excellent customer service – Your staff is the face of your business, so it’s vastly important that employees are always respect, attentive, and friendly.
• Store and station appearance – You could get everything else right, but if your location looks run down, many would-be customers automatically take a pass.  Ensure that your station looks sharp – inside and out.  That includes landscaping, trash receptacles, paint, lighting, and signage.  And always, ALWAYS include (and spend) a sufficient annual budget for maintenance and modernization.
• Cleanliness – Nothing repels repeat customers faster than a foul bathroom or dingy interior.  Make sure that windows, floor, and restrooms are spotless at all times, even if this includes having another staff member on hand to do the upkeep – it’s worth the extra cost.
• Competitive gas pricing – Make sure you are on your game with pegging your gas rates to your competitors.  Loyal gas station customers pay attention to the pennies, so make sure you are at least nominal to your closest competitors.

The post Customer Spotlight: The Occupational Service Sector appeared first on SOSpeedway.com.

The constant demand for fuel accompanied by a bunch of other aspects make Gas Stations a viable business opportunity.

As a result, purchasing the same brings several benefits that will be essential to the business plan that you have in mind. But before going ahead with the same, there are certain factors that need to be taken into consideration.

Apart from covering the business plan, the factors below enhance the outcome and help you get used to the new form of business.

1. Branded or Unbranded

One of the first aspects that need to be considered before purchasing a gas station is to find out whether they are branded or unbranded. Branded gas stations tend to carry forward a unique name that people recognise instantly. For example, gas stations like Chevron, Exxon, Shell, and Mobil are well known, and people prefer to meet their needs at these stations. On the other hand, unbranded gas stations take time to create a name for themselves in a market that reeks of competition. Hence, choosing between the two is essential with the outcome lasting for a long time.

2. Accessibility

By all means, your gas station should be accessible to potential customers and other such individuals. They should be able to fill their vehicles with gas without traveling a lot and facing different forms of inconvenience. Due to that, the location is an essential factor that plays a massive role in terms of sales and other such aspects. So when you choose a station, look out for prime attractions and understand the kind of traffic that moves around the place. If things are in place and up to your needs, then you can think about settling down for the station.

3. The Seller’s Ownership

Apart from the points mentioned above, you also need to look into the aspects that you will inherit from the sale. For example, you should find out whether or not the seller owns the pumps and tanks, is the property leased or owned by the seller and other such factors that come under the ownership of the seller. By understanding these points, you can examine what you will gain from the transaction and how beneficial it is going to be. In this manner, your sale will begin to head in the right direction with you formulating a good decision.

Conclusion

Every single business opportunity comes with advantages and disadvantages. Decoding them and understanding the kind of implications that they bring together will be critical to your goals and objectives. Hence, look into these points and make the most of the business transaction.

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A great short read from a customer’s perspective. Originally appeared in The Gazette 8/20/2020

Sometimes, gloom hovers over the drive north along I-25 to Denver. Troubles fill the mind and the terrors of endless construction along The Gap await and the temptation lurks to pull off the highway and surrender.

But then, on the northern edge of Colorado Springs, a beautiful sight glows in the near distance.

Yes, we’re talking about big signs that announce a gas war is blazing. Cheap gas can, for some of us, chase the blues away.Tuesday afternoon, at the outset of the ever-tormenting drive to Colorado’s Big Town, I stopped at Baptist Road to fill up with $2.09 gas after a day of driving past $2.39 gas. This filling delivered jubilation to my heart, largely because I was raised by parents who loved – in roughly this order – The Lord, each other, their children and cheap gas.

I understand aggressive attempts to save a few dollars make little, and maybe no, sense. I understand it’s weird that my heart aches, just a bit, when I buy gas for $2.35 and see $2.30 gas a few blocks later.

Thursday morning, I talked with Dr. Ron Berges, a Colorado native and psychiatrist. He told of his late Aunt Virginia, a thrifty woman who lived in Aurora. If she discovered cheap oranges in Arvada, she would drive 15 to 20 miles, through heavy Denver traffic, to save a small slice of her cash.

“It flabbergasts me that people will do this kind of thing to save a penny,” Berges said, laughing as he remembered Virginia.

But the good doctor offered a solid explanation for those long drives taken by his Aunt Virginia and other thrifty types.

“The common man — the unwealthy man, the average worker, even the average white-collar guy — always wants to keep more money and, this is key, get one over on some big company,” Berges said.

“They love getting a good deal and love the excitement and allure of the good deal to brag about to good friends.”

It’s just too enticing. It’s the ultimate cheapskate mentality.

And it’s a lot of fun, too.

My sister Sarah also internalized my parents’ cheap-gas obsession. Little pains me more than seeing a text photo of Sarah savoring the wonders of cheap gas. This spring, during the COVID-19 shutdown, she had the gall to text a photo of her filling up with – gasp! – 99-cent gas in Parker. I return the text photos as often as possible as we battle in our own gas war.

We come by this behavior naturally. Dad ranked among the busiest humans ever to walk our planet, but always found time for ridiculous drives to cheap gas.

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