C-Store Operations Best Practices

C-Store operations best practices evolve with experience, technology and creativity. Retail competition is high. Therefore, smart owners and managers seek new ways to serve customers. Naturally, they want to provide new items that are desired. Obviously, they desire higher margins for higher convenience and value.

New products, faster service, cleaner shopping, home delivery, choices, and sometimes just simpler options are all included. Successful C-Store operations best practices make use of hot products as well as long term service excellence. Monitoring results, listening to customers and measuring ROI are all part of choosing the items of value.

In addition to great merchandise and service, operations have a direct impact on results. Operators that achieve high growth, stable margins and increasing loyalty operate well. Technology, management and training drive operations success. Best practices apply to technology selection. Of course, management is critical. Top performers have the same items as the bottom performers. Different cashiers in the same store have different outcomes. Stores are the same. Management and execution make a difference.

C-stores that thrive study best practices. They measure their results with POS scan data analytics and compare themselves internally and externally. The use of data is an objective way to find areas of strength. Of course, objective data will show weakness as well. The key is to know the actual status and focus energy on the priority work that drives sales and provides control.

Image of successful store with happy staff running the store. Managers forget numbers to fix problems. Once the problem is identified they work on the root cause with actions they can control. Focusing on strong operations is the main influence to improve store operations

Managers Forget the Numbers to Fix Problems

C-Store Growth | C-Store Operations Best Practices | Store Manager Development
May 25, 2023 — 

Managers forget the numbers to fix problems. A store manager cannot make a customer buy anything. They can only address how the store operates. The key is store manager problem solving. They must manage staffing, stocking, inventory, finances, cleanliness, preparation and how the store operates. Their work directly influences the customer experience. Before they fix …

Image of Don Longo of CSNews at the Food Service Exchange.

Ten Things I Learned at the CSNews Convenience Food Service Exchange

C-Store Growth | C-Store Operations Best Practices | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability
May 8, 2023 — 

The presenters at a recent food-service-focused-c-store conference provided a unique perspective on their successes. C-Store operations have already or may soon become primarily focused on food service. The presenters included a single store operator, several top 10 chains, investment bankers, leading vendors and leading consultants in the convenience space. Here are the ten things I …

Image of store manager stretching and focusing. Store managers thrive when they practice the five keys to grow food sales.

Five Keys to Grow Food Sales

C-Store Growth | C-Store Operations Best Practices
April 10, 2023 — 

Surveys of c-store managers identify five keys to grow food sales.  Food service is critical to the future success of most c-stores. A strong store manager can typically thrive in a store with great food offers as many of the jobs are the same as non-food stores. However, there are key differences. Preparing and supporting …

Image of fresh pizza preparation for c-store food service. It is clear that there are five keys to grow food sales. C-store managers thrive when the keys are practiced well.

Management Keys for C-Store Food Service

C-Store Growth | C-Store Operations Best Practices | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability
February 5, 2023 — 

Management keys for c-store food service utilize existing store manager skills, but require a few important new skillsets to maximize results. C-store managers have a complex job and the demands on their skills continue to grow.  C-Store operations’ complexity has increased with a combination of new services, technology, marketing and staffing challenges. The expansion of …

Image of ROI representing the concepts for store manager value. Store manager ROI strategy involves three components. Financial impact, store operations and leadership development drive the return on investment. C-Store Performance – ROI of Growth – How much profit from 1%?

Store Manager ROI Strategy

C-Store Growth | C-Store Operations Best Practices | Focus - Accountability Principles | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability
December 19, 2022 — 

Store manager ROI strategy involves three components. Financial impact, store operations and leadership development drive the return on investment. Overall chain health requires each store to provide value in three areas. The return provided to the chain is maximized when all three areas are addressed. That is, the store provides Financial return, Operates well Grows managers …

image of a store manager that meets the key criteria for c-store success. Owners and operations leaders look for seven key things great c-store managers deliver to maximize their ROI on their store locations. 

Seven Key Things Great C-Store Managers Deliver

C-Store Operations Best Practices | Focus - Accountability Principles | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability
November 22, 2022 — 

Owners and operations leaders look for seven key things great c-store managers deliver to maximize their ROI on their store locations. In order to receive the desired c-store leadership, owners and operations leaders must provide the vision and mission. Store managers are responsible to hire, develop and encourage teamwork by building alignment with the purpose …

image of Abigail Cerra who describes Abigail Cerra, ReFuel, share her experience regarding what she experienced as the keys to success for c-store loyalty systems.

7 Key Parts to C-Store Loyalty Systems

C-Store Growth | C-Store Operations Best Practices | Guest Columns | Scan Data & Loyalty Program
October 7, 2022 — 

Abigail Cerra, ReFuel, discusses 7 key parts to c-store loyalty systems. While the rollout of a loyalty system can be daunting, there are a set of things to consider that can be addressed to successfully achieve the customer loyalty implementation. Based on her experience of implementing several loyalty programs she identifies a few keys to …

Image of Weigels store. C-store customer experience includes the store, the staff, the brand and the service.

Customer Experience Versus Service

C-Store Operations Best Practices | Guest Columns
September 22, 2022 — 

Customer experience versus service is the core concept address to maximize customer c-store relationships. In this multi-part series, we will take a dive into the importance of Customer Experience (CX) and how to deliver it to every customer that comes into our convenience store. It is the most important marketing tool there is in our …

image of c-store manager doing yoga headstand as symbol to explain How c-store managers avoid overload is easy. Create high c-store retention: keep low c-store turnover by avoiding high staff stress le

How C-Store Managers Avoid Overload

C-Store Operations Best Practices | Focus - Accountability Principles | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability | Uncategorized
August 29, 2022 — 

How c-store managers avoid overload is an important question for c-store chains. Many operators fear c-store manager burnout so much, they strictly limit changes that impact store managers. They even limit those changes that will make the store manager’s job easier. They often report there are just too many challenges with staffing, supply, regulations, and …

Image of c-store manager taking time to listen to staff to build understanding, clarity and alignment. C-Store management questions CLEAR the air. Leaders maximize the value of questions by trusting, respecting and understanding their team.

C-Store Management Questions CLEAR the Air

C-Store News & Work Shops | C-Store Operations Best Practices
July 31, 2022 — 

C-Store management questions CLEAR the air. Great managers use questions to build teamwork, develop new skills and avoid misunderstandings. Clarify problems Learn how your team thinks Encourage new thinking Appreciate staff knowledge and skill Respect your team Probing Questions Questions help to get answers and share information effectively. The goal of communication is to share …

Image of boy considering Given c-store staffing issues and inventory shortages, there are many pros and cons of c-store managers using data analytics.

Pros and Cons of C-Store Managers Using Data Analytics

C-Store Analytics & Scorecards | C-Store Operations Best Practices | C-Store Technology
July 3, 2022 — 

Given c-store staffing issues and inventory shortages, there are many pros and cons of c-store managers using data analytics. Some argue that there is absolutely no way to ask store managers to do anything except to just keep the doors open. Hence, it can be scary to add another task to store managers for fear …

Image of an open c-store which is a main challenge for many operators with tight labor markets

C-Store Managers Are Facing Challenges

C-Store News & Work Shops | C-Store Operations Best Practices | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability
May 3, 2022 — 

C-store managers are facing challenges of shortage, overload and isolation. Customers and vendors create a highly dynamic set of daily, small transactions. Each requires focus and accuracy. This demands a high level of energy to maintain a level of good work all day long. Labor and supply issues force hard decisions and require more management …