C-Store Operations Best Practices

C-store leadership isn’t just about meeting today’s sales goals, it’s about building people who can carry the business forward. Greg Hendricks has seen firsthand how strong managers and well-prepared teams create consistent results across multiple stores. His philosophy is straightforward: give people the right tools, set clear expectations, and trust them to rise to the …

New seasons bring new opportunities. Fall is no different. A c-store checklist for fall success helps us to find simple and important ways to keep our customers engaged.  Fall brings its own busy rhythm, back-to-school mornings, football weekends, cooler weather, and candy season. Customers expect quick service, warm food, and shelves stocked with their favorites. …

C-Store leadership is about more than keeping shelves stocked or managing schedules. It’s about creating an environment where people thrive, both the store team and the customers who walk through the doors. That’s exactly how Vince Hammock approaches his role at Homedale Market, a top-performing store and a place that feels like home to many. …

Chastity didn’t plan on a future in c-store leadership. She came from nursing, took a five-year break to fight cancer, and then decided to change her life completely. When her doctors cleared her to work, she set her sights on the c-store across the street from her house in Lakeview, Oregon. “I hounded the manager …

In a recent SG Voices panel discussion, Stephanie Galentine, Lassus Brothers, Darrell Meek, JD Streett, Mason Cowan, Tom Bandy, BandyWorks, and Jed Brewer, SG Voices, discussed how they maximize c-store leadership development ROI. Summary C-Store managers are essential to the success of convenience stores. The panel highlights that effective store management, particularly in leadership and …

C-Store Leadership Development – Coaching & Reprimands are essential skills for growing sales and controlling profits. It is critical for managers to provide honest, helpful, and clear feedback to keep their c-store operations team at top performance. It has been argued that positive feedback is essential to keep morale and teamwork strong. Experienced managers are …

Heidi Sabo shared her experience with c-store leadership keys: finding your place, building your people. She didn’t start out thinking she’d run a convenience store. In fact, she tried just about everything else before settling into what became the perfect fit. Her story is one of exploration, resilience, and returning—again and again—to the c-store world …

Rhonda Nichols lives the profession of life of practicing c-store leadership keys every day. She didn’t follow the traditional cashier-to-manager path that many convenience store leaders take. Her journey into the world of convenience began early and unconventionally. She has carved out a unique leadership style rooted in experience, expectation, and empowerment. Rhonda’s story starts …

The big take-away, from a three-year project to improve c-store operations at GoMart was a bit of common sense and leadership prioritization: there are substantial advantages to strategically targeted, incremental c-store operations enhancements supported by data analytics. By embracing a thoughtful, measured approach to change management, Go Mart continues to strengthen its competitive position and …

Skylar Feldman’s Approach to Leadership at Lassus is an example of c-store management life – calm, cool, and collected. When you grow up watching someone lead by example, that bar is set early and high. For Skylar, now the store manager at the Lassus location in Leesburg, that person was his mom. She spent over …

Building a scalable c-store operations team can be a challenge for convenience store operators. Let’s focus on one major variable in the equation: Your people. They are the key to improve c-store operations. The average turnover rate for full time employees in the industry can be substantial. As high as 130% in recent reports (NACS). …

Don Broadwater listed the three qualifications for c-store managers if you want to have a successful career in the convenience industry. These traits were explained as he shared his transition from his initial job in a family- run grocery store to his current position as the manager of an up-and-coming, newly-renovated store in Napoleon, Ohio. His …