C-Store Operations Best Practices

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 …

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 …

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. 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 …

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 …

Don’t let c-store performance problems surprise. Everyone knows that work has surprises and work has problems. The trick is to do what you can to make sure those problems are not surprises. If you are looking at your c-store performance on a monthly basis, you may be well aware of that wisdom. Finding the problem …

If you were to ask someone on the street “What would your rather own, a small company or a big c-store company?”, the typical answer would probably be “A big company”.  Advantages of owning a small c-store company are many. Smaller  companies have a lot of advantages that are often overlooked. First, they try different …

One of the surprising things about the motivational impact of numbers. Share results shows staff that you care about performance. Think about it. We know business at some fundamental level has to produce a revenue. Obviously, sales generates the money to run operations. the staff control the output of a store. If you are not …

There are 4 ways employees win with accountability. I am one of the “doers” in my company. I report directly to our CEO. Tracking my activities is a key part of my job. Our culture expects work to be done and done well. We know how projects are progressing. Further, we analyze how use our …

Taking time to sharpen your tools is necessary. C-stores tools include reports to drive business.  Managers look at them to measure performance, make key decisions and set the path for the company going forward. When the tool that is used to guide this process is a report, it makes sense to spend a little time …

Good data provide good insights. A useful measurement can be a single number that indicates the health of a days work (or any other unit of time). For example, in a c-store the inside sales traffic is key. Those spending money inside is even better. Many operators use the measure of coffee sales to judge …

A song was written, “Tell me what you want, what you really, really want.” Though this song may be a bit Pop, there is a lot of wisdom in this request. Studies show that employees want and need this feedback. The corporate benefit in doing so is multifold. Dr. Jan West, PHD, wrote an article about the biggest …