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.
Yogi Berra was often lampooned for his seemingly non-sensible statements. But the easy to remember and thoughtful concepts help to clarify issues and allow simple choices. His ‘take the fork’ statement made sense when you understand that he lived mid-way on a circular road. When driving to his house you came to a fork. Either …
Change the People or Change the People
C-Store Operations Best Practices | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability
March 23, 2017 —
Working with top C-Store operators provides a lot of great insights into management. C-Store operators deal with heavy competition, long hours, and weekend work. This environment often leads to high turnover. In order to run well you have to have staff that can get things done as you need. If your store performance is suffering …
The Four Stages of C-Store Growth
C-Store Operations Best Practices | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability
February 22, 2017 —
The four stages of c-store growth are natural. The way humans deal with change is a process. Many have studied different stages for human response to life changes – growing, aging and death. Likewise, management studies show that change management has to be addressed in order for an organization to reach its potential. Like any …
The Arrogance of Ignorance and Other Reasons C-Store Operators Shouldn’t Get Mad
C-Store Operations Best Practices | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability
February 2, 2017 —
C-Stores typically hire part-time people. This can leave their employee base to be largely among the young. The reasons c-store operators get mad may be age-based. Remember, their life is shorter than many Boomers have been paying their mortgages. People often complain about the young being arrogant. They have known little failure, most have experienced little …
Using Business Intelligence to Make Money
C-Store Operations Best Practices | C-Store Technology
January 23, 2017 —
All businesses know the value of automation and online systems. Obviously, they make businesses run better, more cheaply and more efficiently. It is easy to forget that technology is worth little without human involvement. Most technology is merely tools built to make humans function better. One great way to combine people and automation is with …
Store Performance Improvement Strategies – Should Failure be Encouraged?
C-Store Operations Best Practices | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability
January 5, 2017 —
C-Store operators want store performance improvement strategies. Implementing new things can be a challenge. As such, they often ask should failure be encouraged? Sometimes we get improvement easily. Typically, most would agree change is needed to improve thing. Typically, we may ‘know’ that a certain change will produce a better result. However, we also know …
Everyone in a C-Store Operation Can Find Comfort Under the Blanket of Accountability
C-Store Operations Best Practices | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability
December 7, 2016 —
Everyone in a c-store operation can find comfort under accountability. Accountability is everyone’s friend. It provides the support that organizes, motivates, rewards and recognizes your work. Operation Accountability Blankets in Feedback Too often, in the rush to keep things moving we only take time to analyze problems or mistakes to fix them. A natural management …
The 4 Components of a Balanced C-Store Performance Scorecard
C-Store Analytics & Scorecards | C-Store Operations Best Practices
November 16, 2016 —
There are 4 components of a balanced C-Store Performance Scorecard. It is common to measure revenue and let that information alone make the call on performance. Success is rarely attributed to one thing in life. There are other areas to be monitored that will provide long term performance gain. If you have been measuring by sales goals …
Surprising Results of the C-Store Management Method of Accountability
C-Store Operations Best Practices | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability
October 26, 2016 —
Results of c-store management accountability are sales, profits and time. Specific goals and clear expectations make work easy. Taking time to discuss work that is not good is needed. This approach applies to most situations. For example, work, athletics, academics, relationships; you name it. Nonetheless, many think firm oversight is scary or too tough. In …
The 3 C’s That Define the Power of the Check List
C-Store Operations Best Practices | C-Store Tips
October 12, 2016 —
Define the power of the check list. Everyone loves to check off a job as done. Naturally, getting a job done is satisfying. Use the power well and everyone wines. For example, c-stores use checklists. They have duty lists in the stores. Likewise IT backup lists in the IT departments. Just about anything that must …
Why Grades Matter for C-Store Performance
C-Store Control | C-Store Growth | C-Store Operations Best Practices
September 28, 2016 —
Why grades matter for c-store performance. Just like school grades, assessment provides understanding and drives learning. Many innovative tools use simple grades to turn complex data into understanding, motivation and action. Many argue as to the validity of a single score showing anything meaningful. Others, however, believe it is one of the most effective ways …
Accountability is Better Store Performance, Not a 4 Letter Word
C-Store Operations Best Practices | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability
May 18, 2016 —
Getting better results is the goal for any c-store manager. Many use technology to drive performance in there stores. Good managers in c-stores or any business, understand that getting good results means having good accountability. Tools are critical, but a manager is responsible for results. Good managers know good accountability is better store performance. 4 …
