C-Store Management Made Simple

Using time well is not easy, but if you had a set of key information, would it make sense to take a little time each day to organize? If your managers have a good daily plan, what would happen?

If they manage the important work – staffing, stocking, cleaning and customer service, then good results will follow. Those that believe managers can control store activity, know they must have a plan to succeed. Using time well is the key to growing profits. Good managers control the work in their stores. They resolve problems, fix inventory issues, open the store and schedule labor. It takes knowledge of the situation and the ability to manage the resources. Providing the key information makes managing more effective.

So what information should be provided to make it easy for a c-store manager to have a great daily plan?

Many think helping them to choose daily work items wisely, is a key to success. Providing key facts allows a manager to assess the store performance and then assign the work to get the needed results. Making it easy to see the key indicators for store results allows the store manager to focus attention and make things happen. Here is a list of things used to make decisions that help improve store performance.

C-Store Daily Plan – Prioritize, Fix & Grow

1. Same day sales – same day of week, last week or last year
2. Monthly sales – year over year comparisons
3. High-risk shrink activity
4. Underage Selling alerts
5. Top selling items
6. Items that sold last week but are not selling this week
7. Categories that are going up or down compare to the same period last year
8. Planning orders to keep hot movers in stock yet avoid excess inventory.
9. Customer feedback
10. Store inspections
11. Store maintenance items

Daily C-Store Plan – Make It Easy!

If there is a place that the most important information can be found so that the manager is not spending time gathering the information, then it becomes a quick check to decide what things need attention. Creating a list of actions and getting them done becomes a short task each day and leads to success. Knowing where to find the answers is a big part of the job. Make it easy!

There may be missing information, but having a regular scan to keep an eye on the big things helps find small problems before they become large. Of course, there are other things to manage and address. Hiring, training, new programs, holidays and sick leaves will alway keep managers busy. Making sure the regular items that need attention every day are not missed, help to keep a manager’s day less stressed and a bit more managable.

More on C-Store Management

The Impact of C-Store Onboarding Debt

C-Store Operations – Keep It Simple – The Hard Work

Managers Forget the Numbers to Fix Problems

Get the book on store accountability.

The post C-Store Managers Start with a Daily Plan appeared first on BandyWorks.

Age Verification Compliance Summary

Overview

The new  regulation and compliance laws for underage sales  are here. As such, retailers must find ways of selling responsibly. Obviously, they must also make it easy for regular customer to buy what they want. That is, no one wants to be the ID czar. For example, good cashiers do not want to sell alcohol or tobacco to underage customers. Cleary, managers must balance the risk of cashiers making age judgments throughout the day rather than the stricter approach of forcing a 100% ID check policy. Full compliance means regular, well known customers may become annoyed. Hence, the challenge is too much verification and frustrated customers or too little verification and risk failure. To make things harder, some store managers argue strict ID policies take away from their marketing appeal. They are the local/community store where everyone feels at home.

What can a retailer do to satisfy customers, employees, and regulators?

The Compliance Approach – Establish Standards & Identify Staff Risks

Navigating an underage drug crisis requires balance. Managers address social-responsibility along with ID regulations. As expected, new technologies that apply AI and data-driven oversight provide new options. That is, data analytics combined with artificial intelligence track endless purchases. Thus,  every store is monitored fully. That means all activity can be review. It is easier to train staff and correct mistakes using specific examples. Hence, managers can apply the right balance of oversight with cashier decision-making.

As a result of these challenges, BandyWorks developed a method to identify stores and cashiers at higher risk of selling to underage customers. For example, the proprietary software identifies all age restricted transactions. It then generates an analysis based on specific compliance heuristics. As a result, standard behavior is established and risky events are presented. This enables a “heat map” to graphically show the store and cashier activity. Standard age verification performance across the company is  established and henceforth abnormal behavior becomes easy to identify.

Using this new tool, area and store managers receive a short list of stores and staff that need attention. It helps them stay in compliance in their c-stores. Next steps become clear as comparison data makes it easy to know who is taking short cuts, or who is skipping the ID process all together. This information can be instantly shared or delivered on a schedule to the manager in charge.

The Age Verification Analytical Process:

1. Lists cashiers with risky verifications
2. Documents actual results for regulators.
3. Tracks the verification method.
4. Counts fake birthday entries.
5. Establishes an age verification baseline.
6. Simplifies training.

Age-based Analytics Perspective

Comparing store details makes it clear which stores and cashiers need attention. As such, an area manager or regional director can find unusual stores or staff. Naturally, they  show a better way. The simple counts and lists  make questions easier and solves problems faster. In summary, managers stay in compliance with age verification in c-stores. in this manner, the process is simple to use. Best of all, engagement with cashiers is less stressful. In fact, it helps cashiers to know that you care age verification. Thus, they know you care.

Age Compliance Bottom Line

No one wants unneeded age checks. Of course, managers must find the balance.  It follows that a  consistent system using actual results provides the best way to avoid fines and loss of license. Obviously, it feels great to ensure only adults are buying.

Click here to request an analysis of Age Verification Compliance at your store

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