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THE PROMISING FUTURE OF FUELS

WWW.NATSO.COM NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

THE MEMBER MAGAZINE OF NATSO, REPRESENTING THE TRUCKSTOP AND

TRAVEL PLAZA INDUSTRY

ENGAGE & TRAIN EMPLOYEES

FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS

TRUCKSTOP AND TRAVEL PLAZA OPERATORS

GIVE BIGPREVIEW see page 12

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JOB#: P35389SPACE: Full Page: 4CBLEED: 8.75” x 11.25”TRIM: 7.875” x 10.5”SAFETY: 7.25” x 10”GUTTER: NonePUBS: CompositeISSUE: NoneTRAFFIC: Darcey LundART BUYER: NoneACCOUNT: None

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FontsHelvetica (Light Condensed, Medium, Bold), Mobil (Regular)Graphic Name Color Space Eff. Res.1303_15_115_4K.psd (CMYK; 694 ppi), 1303_05_052_V2.psd (CMYK; 2553 ppi), MDLogo-wTag_V2_4C.eps

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CHAIRMAN’S LETTER

TOM HEINZ CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

I t’s often said that there is more than one road to heaven, which for me I hope is a truism. Similarly, when it comes to metric formulas there are sometimes more than one road to a like result. In the last issue of Stop Watch, I discussed the importance of key performance indicators. In this issue, I will share details on

some of the top indicators and how you can apply them to your business.I’d like to thank David M. Nelson, PhD., Professor of Economics at Western Washington and Presi-

dent of FRMC/Study Groups, Bellingham, Wash., for sharing the following formulas and examples.

RETURN ON CAPITAL EMPLOYEDReturn on Capital Employed (also commonly referred to as Return on Invested Capital) is one of the most important return on investment metrics to analyze. It looks at the return being earned before the payment of interest divided by the net capital employed in the business. Net capital employed is the por-tion of total assets financed by interest bearing debt or the owner’s own equity. It is a purer measure of return than either return on assets (7) or return on equity (9) since it is computed without regard to how a business finances its assets. This allows for more meaningful comparison between firms. It represents how productively the firm is earning a return on the capital employed from whatever source that capital has come from. The return on capital earned in a business should be compared with alternative returns that can be earned elsewhere. High returns on capital will add value to the firm. Adjusted earnings (29) have been used in the numerator rather than net profit before tax to take into account additional ways in which owners reward themselves from the profitability of a business.

Let's look at an example to show how to calculate ROCE:

Assume a firm with pretax income of $1.5 million and interest expense of $500,000. Adding these together gives the return the company has earned on the debt and equity employed by the firm of $2 million. A look at the company balance sheet shows 5 million of owner's equity was used during the previous 12 months and 10 million of debt was employed. Adding these together gives $15 million of permanent capital employed by the firm. To calculate pretax ROCE (book) take the return the company has earned on debt and equity of $2 million and divide this by the $15 million of permanent capital employed to get .133 which expressed as a percentage is a 13.3 percent pretax ROCE (book).

Does the 13.3 percent pretax ROCE fairly reflect the ROCE actually earned by the company? Not necessarily. The pretax book earnings of a closely held company may not reflect the actual earnings of the company if the owners’ compensation is above or below market for the functions they perform as employees in the company and/or if the lease payments made to company owner's for assets used by the company are above or below a market-value lease.

Let's see how this works. In our example, suppose the owner's estimate that they pay themselves salary and benefits and perks of $200,000 in excess of what they would be paying non-owner hired managers to perform the functions they perform in the company. Let's also assume that the lease payments made on assets used in the business but owned outside the business are $300,000 in excess of what an arm's length market lease would be. In this case we would add $500,000 to the reported earnings of $2 mil-lion to get "adjusted" earnings of $2.5 million. Adjusted Pretax ROCE (book) would then be $2.5/$15 million or .167 or 16.7 percent. These adjustments can go up or down depending on whether owners are over- or under-compensating themselves for the resources they are provided to the company.

For companies that have assets held in the company whose market value is substantially different from their book values a further adjustment is called for in order to calculate Adjusted Pretax ROCE (mar-ket). Suppose that in our example the $5 million of book owner's equity is estimated to be $10 million when a $5 million market-value adjustment is applied to the value of assets on the company's books.

For more information about additional metrics, including Adjusted Pretax ROCE and Breakeven Pool Margin, visit www.natso.com/stopwatch-performanceindicators. !

Best regards,

Tom Heinz Coffee Cup Fuel Stops & Convenience Stores Inc.NATSO 2013 Chairman

HERE IS THE FORMULA FOR ROCE:

Return on Capital Employed = (Pretax Income(Loss) + Salaries-Owners + Perk Differential

+ Actual Lease-Market Value Lease-Estimated Hired Manager Salary(ies) + Interest Expense)

(Total Assets — Accounts Payable (including taxes payable))

X 12

www.natso.com 3

THE MEMBER MAGAZINE OF NATSO, REPRESENTING THE TRUCKSTOP AND TRAVEL PLAZA INDUSTRY

WWW.NATSO.COM NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

19 Truckstop and Travel Plaza Operators Give Big Each year operators donate their time, money and resources to their community

COVER STORY

Chairman Tom Heinz

President & CEO Lisa J. Mullings

Editor Amy Toner

Associate Editor Mindy Long

Stop Watch is published bimonthly by the NATSO Foundation, 1737 King Street, Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22314.

Copyright 2013 by the NATSO Foundation. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without written permission of the publisher. All editorial materials are acceptable and published by Stop Watch on the representation that the supplier is authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter. Such entities and/or their agents will defend, indemnify and hold harmless Stop Watch and the NATSO Foundation from and against any loss, expense or other liability resulting from claims or suits for libel, violation of privacy, plagiarism, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or suits resulting from the editorial materials. Periodicals postage 024-723 paid at Alexandria, VA and other mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Stop Watch, 1737 King Street, Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22314

FEATURES

8THE PROMISING FUTURE OF FUELS MANUFACTURERS AND CARRIERSARE EMBRACING ALTERNATIVETECHNOLOGIES AND FUELS

12THE NATSO SHOW 2014SAVE THE DATE FOR THE NATSO SHOW JAN. 26–29, 2014

17ENGAGE AND TRAIN EMPLOYEES FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESSGET CREATIVE TO ENSURE YOUR LOCATION IS FILLED WITH EMPLOYEES WHO CARE

3Chairman’s LetterKEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

6Great Ideas! 12 HOLIDAY SHRINK CONTROL HINTS

PROTECT YOUR TRUCKSTOP AGAINST CHECK FRAUD

20Foundation Update TRUCKSTOP AND TRAVEL PLAZA OPERATORS GIVE BIG

24Member Profile JUBITZ TRAVEL CENTER GETS IT RIGHT

26Operator 2 Operator HOW, WHEN AND BY WHOM DO YOU TRAINYOUR EMPLOYEES?

DEPARTMENTS

We Want to Hear From You! Do you have comments, ideas or suggestions? Don’t hesitate to contact us.

The NATSO Foundation1737 King Street, Suite 200 Alexandria, VA 22314Email: [email protected] / Phone: (703) 549-2100

http://www.facebook.com/NATSOInc / https://twitter.com/natso_inc

DARREN’S GREAT Darren Schulte, NATSO’s vice president of membership and a retail expert, writes a biweekly retail column on NATSO’s blog. We feature the best here in Stop Watch magazine. Join Schulte on NATSO’s website at www.natso.com/great-ideas to read his digestible retail tips every other Thursday.

It is imperative that you have a fourth quarter and holiday shrink control pro-gram.

I have highlighted a dozen areas to pay particularly close attention to during the holiday and fourth quarter season. It is critical that you do not lose sight of other warning signs and metrics that you look at daily.

1. If you collect coins in any areas, such as laundry or amusement games, stamps, etc., are they trending down when you notice more physical activity?

2. If you collect payment for paid showers, are you noticing fewer dollars collected?

3. If you collect payment for paid parking, does this year’s rev-enue match last year’s historical collection?

4. If you collect payment for cop-ies or faxes, are these amounts dropping off significantly prior to fuel gallons trailing off before the holiday?

5. Examine your diesel and gaso-line drive offs; are you seeing a marked increase?

6. Is there an increase in waste in the food service area? For example, are you seeing more pizza supposedly thrown out late at night as a result of over-producing or call-in orders not picked up?

7. Is your restaurant having more errors and/or unpaid tickets?

8. Are you monitoring your returns to vendors closely? Do your returns go up markedly? Is the product really broken? Is it really a return?

9. If you manage and collect your own ATM, are you monitoring your ATM checks and balances?

10. When is the last time you audited your safe? Does it match your books? Does it have any IOUs?

11. How closely are you monitoring your lottery and scratch-off tick-ets? Are you noticing anything strange, such as an increase in sales on particular shifts and/or days that do not make sense?

12. Lastly, do not forget to check the trash on every shift. It is like sun-screen. It you do not apply it, you will get burned.

Also, for the fourth quarter, it is important that your retail and food service plan is robust and well thought out, particularly with flat to declining diesel and gasoline gallon sales. We have written about the importance of creating such a plan already twice this year (see Create a Specific, Measurable, Realistic Holiday Action Plan for Your Truckstop at http://www.natso.com/blog/holiday-plan).

12 HOLIDAY SHRINK CONTROL HINTS FOR YOUR TRUCKSTOP

6 November/December 2013

HAVE A RETAIL MERCHANDISING, MARKETING OR OPERATIONS QUESTION? Reach out to Schulte at [email protected] or (703) 739-8562 and he’ll answer your question in the next Darren’s Great Ideas! for Independent Operators.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR TRUCKSTOP AGAINST THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN CHECK FRAUDThis fall the FBI arrested a man for steal-ing at least $100,000 from truckstops with fraudulent EFS TransChecks. Sus-pects often use a scam that has been around for years. The good news? You can stop it from happening to you.

EXAMPLE OF HOW THIS SCAM WORKS1. The customer walks into a truck-

stop asking to cash an EFS TransCheck or Comdata Com-Check. The check sometimes has the authorization number al-ready filled in, but other times it is left blank.

2. The customer tells the cashier to expect a phone call from EFS or Comdata. The customer could have a hard-luck story about why he has no cash or ID.

3. An accomplice calls the cashier, pretending to be an employee of EFS or Comdata. This accom-plice verifies the authorization number on the check or provides it to the cashier.

4. The cashier cashes the fraudu-lent check.

5. The check thieves often move to another truckstop nearby where they repeat the scam.

What You Should Know

EFS and Comdata will NEVER call a fuel desk with an authorization, issuer or transaction number. The travel plaza employee must call EFS or Comdata for TransCheck or ComCheck authorizations.

If you receive such a call, assume it is a scam. Ask for the person’s name and phone number and call the EFS or Comdata dedicated phone line.

Make sure your cashiers are aware of this scam and have a clear process for what to do if they suspect fraud.

www.natso.com 7

While diesel will remain

the primary fuel for the

trucking industry for the near

future, a growing number of

manufacturers and carriers

are embracing alternative

technologies and fuels that will

allow them to move away from

diesel derived from crude.

W hether they’re looking to cut fuel costs or go green, busi-nesses nationwide are show-

ing increased interest in alternative fuels and the market is responding. Manufacturers are investing in the future and building more and more engines that run on cleaner burning fuels, including liquefied and com-pressed natural gas and dimethyl ether, and fuel producers are work-ing to create more gallons of so-called drop-in fuels from natural sources, such as chicken fat and algae, that can be used in existing engine technology.

The Promising FUTURE OF FUELS

“If there is an opportunity to save money, the manufacturers and ship-pers will look at it. When there is an opportunity, the marketplace will work,” said John Felmy, chief economist at the American Petro-leum Institute.

There are a number of fuels that show promise, industry analysts said, and the use of a handful of fuels is already on the rise.

DROP-IN FUELSMichael McAdams, president of the Advanced Biofuels Association, said renewable diesel holds the most prom-ise for an alternative fuel for transpor-tation. Renewable diesel is identical in composition to diesel fuel and has a D975 spec, he explained.

“These are diesels that can be used without being mixed in to other fuel,” he said.

Dynamic Fuels, LLC, a joint ven-ture of Tyson Foods, Inc., and Syn-

BY MINDY LONG


www.natso.com 9

troleum Corp., produces next-gen-eration renewable, synthetic fuels from animal fats, greases and veg-etable oils at its plant in Geismar, La., near Baton Rouge. The plant is designed to produce approximately 75 million gallons per year of fin-ished products.

On its website Dynamic Fuels said, “We call our fuel synthetic since it is made from sources other than petroleum, but after our pro-cess, those sources yield the same molecule produced from traditional petroleum diesel processing. The difference is that synthetic fuel does not contain the impurities that give petroleum diesel its characteristic odor and color.”

Another facility, Diamond Green Diesel, is getting underway in Norco, La., near New Orleans. The project is a 50/50 joint venture with Valero Energy Corp., and animal rendering and food waste recycler Darling In-ternational, Inc. Following two years of strategic planning, the joint ven-ture began production in June and is designed to produce 137 million gal-lons of renewable diesel per year. The refinery will convert approximately 11 percent of the country’s animal fat and used cooking oil into a fuel that has the same properties as petro-leum diesel, Diamond Green Diesel said in a statement.

The fuel has the same properties as petroleum diesel, allowing the finished product to integrate seam-lessly with Valero’s existing fuel infrastructure and be delivered by pipeline.

The Pasadena, Texas-based com-pany KiOR built a commercial facility in Columbus, Miss., to produce drop-in fuel from forestry-

based feedstocks, including South-ern Yellow Pine whole tree chips. KiOR’s technology converts bio-mass to a renewable crude oil that is then refined into gasoline and diesel blend stocks using conventional hy-drotreating equipment.

KiOR began shipments of cellu-losic fuels from the Columbus facil-ity in early 2013, and it is planning to build a larger facility in the fu-ture, the company said.

McAdams said the number of renewable diesel facilities will con-tinue to increase both domestically and internationally. “These plants are just now getting up and running so we should see significant oppor-tunity for trucks throughout the country to use this fuel,” he said.

NATURAL GASNatural gas vehicles are one of the fastest-growing segments of alterna-tive fuel vehicles, but they still make up a small percentage of the total Class 8 trucks on the road. Hugh Donnell, North American OEM and truck market leader at CWI-Cummins Westport, projects that Class 8 natural gas penetration fore-casts show anywhere from 4 to 20 percent adoption rates by 2017.

Natural gas vehicles promise sig-nificant fuel savings. With the cur-rent price spread between diesel and natural gas, carriers can save $1 or more per gallon at the pump. Natural gas vehicles typically have a significant price differential over their diesel counterparts, sometimes reaching $60,000.

Zach England, chief operating of-ficer of C.R. England, a refrigerated carrier based in Salt Lake City, said natural gas vehicles cost roughly

60 percent more than their diesel equivalents and, so far, the company has a negative return on investment on the small number of natural gas tractors within the fleet due to the high upfront cost of equipment.

“It is going to be difficult for carriers to make these things pen-cil out,” England said. However, he added that the experience has been invaluable and C.R. England remains committed to the cleaner burning fuel.

Another concern for carriers in-terested in natural gas is the added weight that comes with the fuel tanks and natural gas components. Ohio and Indiana have waivers for the additional 2,000 pounds for the equipment and other states may fol-low suit, Donnell said, which will allow more carriers to opt for natu-ral gas equipment.

To be used in vehicles, natural gas must be compressed at 3600 PSI, resulting in compressed natural gas, or cooled to -260 degrees Fahren-heit, resulting in liquefied natural gas. Engine and equipment manu-facturers make vehicles that can run on both fuels, and most fleets choose which to use based on the application.

Carriers can also choose between dual-fuel, compression-ignited en-gines that use a small amount of diesel fuel to ignite the natural gas, and spark-ignited engines. EPA said that in heavy-duty vehicles, dual-fuel, compression-ignited engines are slightly more fuel-efficient than spark-ignited dedicated natural gas engines. However, a dual-fuel en-gine increases the complexity of the fuel-storage system by requiring storage of both types of fuel.

www.natso.com 9

Fueling facilities for CNG require a connection to a gas main, while LNG is generated in liquefaction plants then transported via truck to fueling facilities.

Carriers, shippers and fuel dis-tributors said they are working to-gether to increase the number of natural gas Class 8 vehicles on the road and the number of CNG and LNG fueling locations nationwide. The government may also provide additional support. U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz said the department plans to help speed the development of fueling infrastruc-ture so more natural gas can be used as a transportation fuel.

Moniz has said natural gas is a promising alternative to oil, despite the fact that the U.S. has increased domestic oil production. “Crude oil imports and exports essentially are becoming equal for the first time in a long time. However, this does not change the fact that we need to de-crease our oil dependence, particu-larly as a transportation fuel,” Moniz said while speaking at the Depart-ment of Energy’s Energy Information Administration’s annual conference.

C.R. England recently hosted a natural gas symposium in Park City, Utah, where carriers, shippers and

fuel distributors joined together to discuss natural gas.

Presenters included Jim Harger, chief marketing officer of Clean Ener-gy; Amanda Copperthite, LNG busi-ness development, Shell; Frank Love, president and chief operating offi-cer of Love’s Travel Stops; and Andy Bowman, logistics manager, The Her-shey Company, among others.

Love said Love’s Travel Stops is investing in the fuel and adding fast-fill CNG fueling technology at some of its locations in Texas and Oklahoma. Love’s opted for CNG over LNG because there is already a natural gas network in place that touches 80 to 85 percent of it's locations. “The pipeline is an eco-nomically more favorable approach assuming you’re already connected,” Love said.

Clean Energy has built 76 LNG stations and 15 are open. Harger said the stations are up and ready to go, but there hasn’t been the demand for the fuel. “ I just need 10,000 gallons of fuel consumption every month to pull the trigger,” he said.

Erik Neandross, chief executive officer of Gladstein, Neandross and Associates, a national consult-ing firm specializing in the natural gas transportation sector, said the

national infrastructure data shows there are 566 CNG stations. “Very few of these stations—maybe 10 percent—are tractor trailer ac-cessible and a fewer number than that have the compression to fuel a truck,” he said.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently approved several requests from U.S. companies looking to export natural gas, and given the vast increases in natural gas produc-tion in the U.S., many analysts ex-pect exports to increase. However, the price of natural gas in the U.S. should remain consistent.

“Most analysts say there will be a price impact, but it will be small. That is because it is an enormously expensive proposition to start ex-porting natural gas,” Felmy said. “The other question is how big is the world natural gas market?”’

Harger said natural gas produc-tion should increase internationally as well. “I think what you’re going to see is gas will become very flat worldwide,” he said.

Felmy said China has almost twice the natural gas the U.S. has, and Australia also has natural gas com-ing online. “There are a lot of sup-plies that could come out and limit export potential,” he explained.

BIODIESELBiodiesel is a fuel derived from renewable feedstocks, including animal waste fat, soybeans and vegetable oil. Biodiesel can be used in diesel and is blended at certain percentages. To work in today’s engines, biodiesel must be blended with diesel and should only be used in blends of less than 20 percent.

BIOGASBiogas, also called renewable natural gas, is gas produced from the breakdown of organic matter, including solid waste in landfills and animal waste. The gas can be treated and converted into compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas and used in vehicles. A growing number of refuse fleets are capturing biogas from their landfills.

AN OVERVIEW OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS


DIMETHYL ETHEREarlier this year Volvo Trucks North America announced that it will com-mercialize dimethyl ether (DME)-powered heavy-duty commercial ve-hicles in North America and expects to enter production with the engines in 2015. DME can provide a 95 per-cent reduction in CO2 compared to diesel, said Göran Nyberg, president of Volvo Trucks North American Sales and Marketing.

Volvo has been testing Bio-DME in Sweden since 2009. To date, it has not been used as a transporta-tion fuel in North America, in part because of the cost of developing large-scale production facilities.

Volvo is pursuing its U.S. project in partnership with Oberon Fu-els, which has developed a process to produce DME on a small scale. DME can be made from natural gas, shale gas and biogas from ani-mal, food and agricultural waste.

“Huge reserves of natural gas make efficient conversion to DME a natural next step toward promoting greater energy independence for the United States while reducing environmental impacts of the transportation sector,” Oberon said in a statement.

Oberon developed the first North American production units for DME,

which came online in June. The com-pany said it will produce 4,500 gal-lons of DME per day with its first production facility and subsequent units will have the ability to produce up to 10,000 gallons per day.

The physical properties of DME are quite similar to propane, so the distribution and dispensing infra-structure will be similar as well. The fuel can be stored on-site for long periods of time and does not need any extra care in cold temperatures. DME is injected as a liquid, but requires much lower pressure injec-tion than both compressed or lique-fied natural gas.

Oberon said its small-scale pro-duction units enable the develop-ment of regional fuel markets that service local customers engaged in regional haul, bypassing the need for a national infrastructure.

Oberon also said its small-scale production allows it to take advan-tage of smaller volume feedstocks that typically go unused, such as remote stranded-gas locations that are other-wise costly to access, and also to in-dustrial operations where waste CO2 streams can be captured to increase output. In addition, feedstocks—such as shale gas and biogas from animal, food and agricultural waste—can be

converted to DME using the Oberon process, the company said.

“Because DME can be produced from a variety of methane-contain-ing feedstocks, it has the potential to be a renewable resource,” the com-pany said. “Since production is not dependent on the price of crude oil and the Oberon process uses mul-tiple feedstock sources, the price of DME is expected to be more stable than that of diesel.”

As part of the project, Volvo and Oberon are also working with Safe-way, Inc., the largest food and drug retailers in North America. The company will use the trucks for op-erations in the San Joaquin valley. Oberon said DME offers diesel-quality performance with a high ce-tane number and low auto-ignition temperature, but burns cleanly with-out producing any soot, so it doesn’t require a diesel particulate filter.

Carriers looking to an alternative fuel might be able to save weight by opting for DME over compressed or liquefied natural gas as on-board storage is lighter only requires a sin-gle-wall steel tank versus the dou-ble-wall stainless steel tank that is needed for LNG or a carbon graph-ite tank that is needed for CNG. !

ETHANOLEthanol is an alcohol made by fermenting the sugar and starch components of certain crops, including wheat, corn, sugar cane and other feedstocks. Most gasoline in the U.S. contains some ethanol in order to meet the renewable standard requirements under the Clean Air Act.

RENEWABLE CRUDE OILSome companies are turning to advanced technology to produce crude from woody biomass or algae. These crudes can be processed using standard refining technology to convert the crude into renewable gasoline, jet or diesel.

RENEWABLE DIESELToday’s technology is allowing companies to make renewable diesel that has the same properties as diesel fuel derived from crude oil. Instead of crude, manufacturers use animal fats, and the final product can be used in existing diesel engines.

www.natso.com 11

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?Travel plaza and truckstop owners, operators, managers, buyers and staff who want to increase their industry knowledge, gain business intelligence and see new products.

Expect some big changes this year combined with the best of what you loved from years past. Captivating and engaging sessions on the hottest industry topics already planned include:

Learn exactly how the Affordable Health Care Act will impact your business in an innovative yet easy-to-understand session.

Hear about the needs of truckstop and travel plaza customers today and learn how you can adapt to satisfy the needs of an increasingly changing customer.

An interactive, hands-on training session will provide the basics of successful merchandizing including product location, selection, presentation and messaging.

Experts from Coca-Cola will share shopper insights from beverage research and then teach attendees how to best reach their shoppers.

Attendees will hear directly from successful truck repair shop operators on how they exceed their sales goals, manage safety concerns and cut costs in an interactive workshop. And as always, NATSO and The NATSO Show Advisory Council have

some surprises up our sleeves that you won’t want to miss. Stay tuned—new speakers, vendors and networking opportunities are announced weekly at www.natsoshow.org.

EXPERIENCE THE NATSO SHOW ALL YEAR IN THE NATSO SHOW MAGAZINE

WWW.NATSOSHOW.ORG/MAGAZINE

The NATSO Show is

two-and-a-half days

of smart ideas, great

new products and good

advice—all designed to

meet the unique needs

of travel plaza and

truckstop leaders.


THE NATSO SHOW ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS Thank you to The NATSO Show 2014 Advisory Council members for crafting this year's show experience.

Tom Heinz, Chairman Coffee Cup Fuel Stops & Convenience Stores, Inc. Aberdeen, S.D.

Mark Augustine Triplett, Inc. Salina, Kan.

Corey W. Berkstresser Lee Hi Travel Plaza Lexington, Va.

Ed Brown Orion Food Systems Sioux Falls, S.D.

Jim Goetz Goetz Companies Portage, Wis.

Wade Hollis Love’s Travel Stops, Inc. Oklahoma City, Okla.

Delia Moon Meier Iowa 80 Group Walcott, Iowa

Bill Mulligan Pilot Flying J Knoxville, Tenn.

Don Quinn Sapp Bros. Omaha, Neb.

REGISTRATION PRICINGRegister on The NATSO Show’s website at www.natsoshow.org.

Member1st Attendee $3092nd and 3rd Attendee $259Additional Attendees $109Spouse $209

Nonmember Attendee $749

LOCATIONThe official host hotel for The NATSO Show 2014 is the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. The NATSO room rate of $184 plus tax is available until Dec. 26, 2013, or until the NATSO block sells out.

The main events of The NATSO Show, including the education and exhibit hall floor, will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

Rooms can be reserved at www.natsoshow.org or by calling (866) 972-6779 and referencing The NATSO Show.

Expect some big changes this year combined with the best of what you loved from years past.

www.natsoshow.org

www.natso.com 13

SUNDAY, JANUARY 261:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Exhibitor Move-In

9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. NATSN Board of Directors Meeting

MONDAY, JANUARY 277:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Exhibitor Move-In

8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. Foundation Board of Directors Meeting

10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. NATSO Board of Directors Meeting

3:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m. The NATSO Show Kick-Off Keynote

5:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m. Welcome Party

6:30 p.m. NATSO Foundation Fundraiser Social Event

9:30 p.m. NATSO PAC Party Email [email protected] for an invite.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 287:00 a.m.–7:50 a.m. Future Leaders Training Session

8:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Show Floor Open

8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. Keynote Speaker and Breakfast on the Show Floor Sponsored by

9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Expo Hours and Snap Learning

9:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Human Library One-on-One Sessions Sponsored by

12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m. Keynote and Luncheon on the Show Floor

The NATSO Show

ScheduleSchedule is tentative as of September 16 and is subject to change.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERSWe’re gathering experts on today’s ahead-of-the-curve trends. Learn INNOVATIVE business ideas from the five keynote speakers during The NATSO Show.

FUTURE LEADERSEducation and networking tailored for future leaders is back! Expect INTERACTIVE sessions that provide TACTICS you can apply the day you get home and new business contacts you can lean on for ADVICE.

GUIDED EXHIBIT HALL TOURSFor the first time The NATSO Show is offering GUIDED exhibit hall tours. Sign-up in advance to take a guided tour of the vendors providing products and services on a certain topic, such as shop, foodservice and fuel services. A big exhibit hall can be intimidating, but a guided tour will help attendees see the vendors or particular interest while learning from the questions asked by their peers.

EXPO HOURSWalk the expo floor to meet innovative industry suppliers with BOLD NEW PRODUCTS AND SOLUTIONS.

Live Positively Lounge on the expo floor is provided by


1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m. Expo Hours and Snap Learning

2:45 p.m.–3:45 p.m. NATSO U Breakout Sessions off the Show Floor

4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. NATSO U Breakout Sessions off the Show Floor

5:15 p.m.–6:15 p.m. Future Leaders Informal Happy Hour

6:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m. Travel Plaza Attendees Reception and Dinner, hosted by the Chairman’s Circle Members

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 297:00 a.m.–7:50 a.m. Future Leaders Training Session

8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. Keynote Speaker and Breakfast on the Show Floor

8:00 a.m.–2:15 p.m. Show Floor Open

9:00 a.m.–2:15 p.m. Human Library One-on-One Sessions Sponsored by

9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Expo Hours and Snap Learning

12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m. Keynote and Luncheon on the Show Floor

1:30 p.m.–2:15 p.m. Expo Hours and Snap Learning

2:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Great Ideas! for Independent Operators Workshop Sponsored by

3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Chairman's Circle Advisory Board Meeting

Snap LEARNINGMeet informally in the exhibit hall for 20-minute power sessions full of BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE. Topics planned included diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) pump options, understanding your restaurant feedback and more!

TRUCKSTOP OPERATOR NETWORKINGTake advantage of the best NETWORKING opportunities you’ll find all year including Tuesday night’s exclusive dinner and Wednesday’s Great Ideas! for Independent Operators Workshop.

REGISTER TODAY!Don’t miss this exciting opportunity! Visit www.natsoshow.org or call (703) 594-2100. Register today!

BREAKOUT EDUCATIONAL SESSIONSTuesday afternoon is packed with practical sessions that will offer new strategies to ensure your viability and the COMPETITIVENESS of your business. Expect TRAINING that will help improve your bottom line and CUT COSTS.

www.natso.com 15

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Business owners nationwide know that finding and keep-ing top talent can be a chal-

lenge. In industries with high turn-over, owners and managers often find themselves with open posi-tions, but sometimes the hiring process isn’t so much about finding new talent as much as retaining the current staff.

Ericka Schapekahm, director of human resources and special proj-ects for Coffee Cup Fuel Stops & Convenience Stores, Inc., often shares her expertise on hiring with fellow operators, many of whom come to her with questions about finding new hires.

“Before we start talking about re-cruiting, I say, ‘Why do you have so many open positions.’ Then we

back track to why they left,” Scha-pekahm said. “It is less about not being able to find great people than about not being able to keep peo-ple or keep people with potential and make them great.”

KEEPING EMPLOYEES HAPPYEmployee engagement is key to retaining staff, and all employees like to feel appreciated. “You can burn a lot of energy recruiting somebody, but if we get them here and then do nothing to engage and retain them, they’re not going to stay,” Schapekahm said.

One way Coffee Cup Fuel Stops does that is to have “huddles” two to three times a day where they talk about the goals of the business and each individual profit center. “In

The Second Half of a Two-Part Series on Human Resources Best PracticesSee Part One at http://www.natso.com/HRPart1.

EMPLOYEES ARE THE GLUE THAT HOLDS BUSINESSES TOGETHER, YET HIRING AND KEEPING EXCELLENT STAFF ARE THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECTS OF NEARLY EVERY BUSINESS. NATSO MEMBERS AND HUMAN RESOURCES EXPERTS ARE GETTING CREATIVE TO ENSURE THEIR LOCATIONS ARE FILLED WITH EMPLOYEES WHO CARE. BY MINDY LONG

ENGAGE AND TRAIN EMPLOYEES

FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS

www.natso.com 17

food, it may be Caribou’s goal is to do 20 buy one get one frees,” Scha-pekahm said.

Coffee Cup Fuel Stops also holds monthly team meetings to teach and train employees. “They get the agenda ahead of time. We treat them like their time is important,” Schapekahm said.

Coffee Cup Fuel Stops also gives visible recognition of their em-ployees’ efforts. Each location has small recipe cards that have an in-spirational quote and room for the name, date and a note. “We blow through 1,000 of those every cou-ple of months,” Schapekahm said. “From a morale and engagement standpoint, those are the things that people notice.”

SHOWING YOUR APPRECIATIONSchapekahm said money isn’t al-ways enough for employees. “We’re the highest paying retailer in this town, paying almost $10 an hour for some people, but that isn’t al-ways it. Everyone wants to feel like they’re valuable,” she explained.

vironment,” she said. “Your perfect job is based on those soft benefits plus a work-life benefit.”

Simply being available and pres-ent can help engage employees. “Go in on off hours to find out what is going on. If you do this well, you can build relationships with your employees,” Fenton said.

Being personable helps create dialogue and keeps employees con-nected with both the owners and managers. “You need to make it painful for me to leave. We work for the company, but we also stay at work for our boss,” Fenton said. “People quit their boss.”

Human resource expert Michelle Fenton who spoke during The NATSO Show 2013 in Savannah, Ga., suggested operators spend a good amount of time thinking about their employees’ needs.

During her session ‘Good People Equals Good Retail’ at The NATSO Show, Fenton said, “You’re giving service back to the employee who is giving service to your customers. There is a lot of work the management team has to carry out to make sure that smile is authentic.”

Fenton asked operators attending the session to think about charac-teristics that describe their perfect job. Responses includ-ed a fun environment, growth opportuni-ties and job security. “None of those char-acteristics necessar-ily have to do with where you work but more about the en-

TRAVEL PLAZA AND TRUCKSTOP TRAINING MANUAL

Training is an essential element in the success of any operation. To help NATSO members, NATSO offers an electronic Truckstop and Travel Plaza Training Manual. The manual is designed to help you create your own store- and company-specific operations training manual.

NATSO members can purchase the manual for $175 and nonmembers can purchase it for $675 at www.natso.com/trainingmanual.

Coffee Cup Fuel Stops posts small notecards highlighting notable contributions in their locations.


NEW MEMBERSNEW ALLIED MEMBERSLYNCO PRODUCTS1410 11th St., WestMilan, IL 61264PHONE: (309) 787-2300FAX: (309) 787-3200CONTACT: Ed LampoEMAIL: [email protected]: www.lyncoproducts.net

NEW TRAVEL PLAZA MEMBERSMILLER’S #4012445 Jefferson Ave. Newport News, VA 23602PHONE NUMBER: (757) 640-2153 CONTACT: Wanda Sheffield

MILLER’S #552872 Pruden Blvd.Suffolk, VA 23434PHONE NUMBER: (757) 640-2153 CONTACT: Wanda Sheffield

TOWN PUMP LICENSEE LOCATIONSFlying J #923, Billings, MTFlying J #924, Butte, MTFlying J #925, Great Falls, MTPilot Travel Center #905, Millertown, MT Pilot Travel Center #906, Columbus, MT Pilot Travel Center #907, Miles City, MT Pilot Travel Center #908, Butte, MTPilot Travel Center #909, Shelby, MTPilot Travel Center #910, Three Forks, MTPilot Travel Center #911, Superior, MTPilot Travel Center #914, Missoula, MTPilot Travel Center #915, Billings, MTPilot Travel Center #916, Lolo, MTPilot Travel Center #917, Great Falls, MTPilot Travel Center #922, Columbia Falls, MTPHONE NUMBER: (406) 497-6882CONTACT: Steve Tozzi

TRAINING FOR SUCCESSOnce hired, new employees need the knowledge and tools to do their job well. “Success comes with proper training,” said hu-man resource expert Darren Bateman. “A champion doesn’t win from throwing a lucky punch.”

Training needs to be repetitive and takes time. “You aren’t going to be able to train someone in one to two days to be the caliber you want them to be,” Bateman said.

Coffee Cup Fuel Stops has de-veloped an in-depth training pro-gram, which pays off. “Our new hires can spend a month or more doing training. In their last shift with a trainer, the trainer does an honest assessment. If they aren’t ready for their work station, we will do more training or we may decide to move them into anoth-er area until their ready.”

Coffee Cup Fuel Stops relies on peer trainers to do the train-ing. “To become a peer trainer, our employees apply and they are usually our high-potential employees. We try to have more than one peer trainer for each area so they don’t get burned out,” Schapekahm said, adding that the fuel desk has four peer trainers.

Bateman said operators should designate trainers and make sure their trainer is someone they want the new hire to be like. He also recommends operators cre-ate their training in a way that will reach all employees.

“People learn in three different ways—audio, visual and tactile. Most people use a combination of all three,” Bateman said. “Be-

fore an employee is left alone to perform the job they must prove that they can do it while still be-ing monitored. They have to see it, they have to say it and they have to do it.”

Training is not a one-time thing, Bateman said. “Continu-ous improvement is required for success,” he said. “If you want to keep employees motivated, keep training them.”

For example, training can take place on new products. “If they know what it is about, they sell it. If a customer is interested in a product and you can answer three questions on it, you’re probably going to sell it," Bate-man said.

BEING PREPAREDOne challenge operators face is that they’re typically hiring at a time of need, which means they don’t always have the time to train them properly.

To help speed the hiring pro-cess and potentially buy more time for training, Klaus Kokott, a partner at Kokott, Wood & Associates, LLC, recommends operators keep a flow of resumes coming in. “It saves you a few days because you already have those files in,” he said, adding that employers need to make sure new hires understand the roles, responsibilities and objec-tives of their employees position.

With proper training, employ-ers are happier, customers are hap-pier and there is less stress on man-agement because they don’t have to worry that something is going to go wrong, Bateman said. !

www.natso.com 19

DEPARTMENT XXXFOUNDATION UPDATE

the museum features his dad’s col-lection of cars along with thousands of other items, including Elvis Pre-sley and Roy Rogers memorabilia, antique pedal cards and die cast toys. Russell said the idea to use the museum to generate funds for those in need belongs to his mom, Barbara Russell. So far, professional drivers and the traveling public have embraced the cause.

“We get a lot of drivers that come through and say, ‘I’d like to make donations but I’m never anywhere around.’ We have a lot of regular drivers and other travelers that come through and look and say they want to donate,” Russell said.

Russell said the location has con-tributed over $118,000, which has surpassed his expectations.

“If somebody would have asked me what I would have thought we’d collect in two to three years, I prob-ably would have said $10,000. It is surprising how generous people are,” he said.

Every penny collected through the museum is passed along to two local charitable groups that provide meals. The groups also provide documentation that the money is used for meals, which Russell said is important.

“If we say we’re going to use the money for something, that is what we need to do. We are just stewards of other people’s money,” Russell said.

In addition to feeding the hungry through the car museum, Russell’s Travel Center has a needy traveler

fund to assist travelers that have bro-ken down or need extra assistance.

“We had a paraplegic come in here and he was having car prob-lems. We were able to get his vehicle taken care of and get him gas and food and get him down the road,” Russell said.

The location also hosts an annual car show as a fundraiser for the local fire department. “The state funds their equipment and uniforms, but when they’re working out on a fire, they have to buy their own meals. They might be on a fire for 12 hours,” Russell said, adding that each year the car show gets bigger and bigger. It is now on its third an-nual show.

The owners of Iowa 80 Truck-stop and CAT Scale Company in Walcott, Iowa, have always been big supporters of their community, and they recently created a fund to award grants to groups that have a presence in Iowa. The fund awards grants twice a year and most recent-ly gave $6,550 in grants to eight groups in July.

Iowa 80 wanted to involve em-ployees in deciding which groups should receive the funds. “We have a panel of employees and we tried to make it representative of the makeup of our organization,” said Heather DeBaillie, a spokesperson for Iowa 80 Group.

DeBaillie added that employ-ees from every profit center at the truckstop as well as employees from CAT Scale sit on the panel. “As we get near the deadline we get togeth-

Truckstop and Travel Plaza Operators Give BigBY MINDY LONG

N ot only do truckstop and travel plaza operators serve profes-sional drivers and the traveling

public, they serve their communities as well. Each year, operators donate their time, money and resources to charitable organizations, churches and schools in their community.

Over the past three years, Russell’s Travel Center in Glen Rio, N.M., has provided nearly 100,000 meals for the hungry. The location collects dona-tions through its car museum. While admission to the museum is free, the location asks visitors place donations to feed the hungry in a kettle it has set up within the museum.

Mark Russell, director of opera-tions at Russell’s Travel Center, said

Love's Travel Stops has raised more than $7 million through their campaign with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.


FOUNDATION UPDATE

ate for kindergarten through sixth grade. You talk about basic con-cepts of money, identifying money and how can you make money. If you’re at the high school level, you’re creating a mini business,” DeBaillie said.

Bob Ryan, Atlanta South 75, Jackson, Ga., also is a big supporter of his community. In September he hosted his 18th annual golf tour-nament for youth recreation. “We support the football, basketball and cheerleading programs. We’ve given over $350,000 to youth rec-reation in Butts County,” Ryan said.

Atlanta South also supports the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, the Empty Stocking Fund that provides Christmas gifts for children in need and holds four blood drives each year.

Late last year, the Wyatt brothers, co-owners of the Geo. H. Green Oil Company of Fairburn, Ga., raised more than $26,000 in just 27 days in the company’s annual fund raising drive. The company donated all of the funds to three local charities—Greater Atlanta’s Empty Stocking Fund, Fairburn’s In His Great Name Ministry and Newnan’s Welcome House, which is a shelter for women in need.

Love’s Travel Stops holds an an-nual in-store fundraiser for Chil-dren’s Miracle Network Hospitals. For one month out of the year, cus-tomers and employees can donate $1, $5 or $20 for a paper heart icon at the register to help Chil-dren’s Miracle Network Hospitals. The money is used to fund vital treatments, equipment, therapy pro-grams and charitable care.

NATSO FOUNDATION’S DISASTER RELIEF FUNDThe NATSO Foundation is committed to doing its part to help victims of tragedy. Through the Disaster Relief Fund, the Foundation provides charitable funds to support people within our very own travel plaza and truckstop community affected by a disaster by providing access to immediate financial resources.

Charitable awards are made by the Foundation Board of Directors based on an objective determination of need or distress to truckstop and travel plaza customers or employees, truck drivers and small motor carriers impacted by disasters. All donations received for this fund go directly to the victims.

Donations to the fund can be made online to help support people from our own industry who are in urgent need. Visit http:/ /www.natso.com/natsofoundation/disasterrelief to donate.

More information about the NATSO Foundation Disaster Relief Fund can be found on the Foundation website. Visit http:/ /www.natso.com/natsofoundation/disasterrelief or call us at (703) 549-2100 or contact Tiffany Wlazlowski, senior director of public affairs, at 703-739-8578 to learn more.

er and review all of the applications. Everyone comments on them and it is a two- to three-hour meeting,” she said.

As a BP fuel retailer, Iowa 80 is also able to direct grant money from BP to community charities. “We just awarded money to the

Walcott School and this is the third time we’ve been able to do that to help them fund smart boards for the classrooms,” DeBaillie said.

Iowa 80’s staff is also heavily in-volved with Junior Achievement. “You teach economic and business information, but it is age appropri-

Iowa 80 Truckstop and CAT Scale Company recently created a fund to award grants to groups that have a presence in Iowa.


FOUNDATION UPDATE

Love’s employees get involved in the event to help spur dona-tions. Dewayne Juarez, general manager of the Love’s Travel Stop in Tucumcari, N.M., even went so far as to promise to kiss a pig in public if his staff doubles last year’s donations. If staff can triple last year’s donations, Juarez said he will wear a dress for an entire day. As part of its fundraising efforts, the Tucumari location is holding a golf tournament and a softball tourna-ment in addition to hosting bake sales and burrito sales throughout the campaign.

Since 1999, Love’s Travel Stops have raised more than $7 million through their campaign and it’s as-sociated events, such as bake sales, cook-offs, pumping gas for kids and other employee-driven events.

TravelCenters of America has thrown its support to the St. Christopher Driver Development & Relief Fund—a charitable group that supports professional drivers in need. “Trucker-based charities struggle. Even with a very good

mission, they struggle. We wanted to focus our efforts on something we could make successful,” said Tom Liutkus, a spokesman for TravelCenters of America.

This is TA’s fourth year support-ing the group and to date locations have raised $1 million for the fund, which helps drivers who, through medical crises, can no longer drive or have medical and home bills pil-ing up. “We decided we want to make it more about our custom-ers,” Liutkus said. “We’re in the truckstop business. We serve truck-ers. These are the people who make us successful.”

TA and Petro locations sell rubber wristbands for $1 for about a month each year. The large sum of money speaks volumes to the heart of the American trucker, Liutkus said, adding that the fund has helped over 830 drivers in some way.

There are several other charities TA/Petro assists during the year, including the Trucker’s Charity, which helps drivers who may have been stranded when their fleet

went bankrupt. “Somebody will come and pick up the truck, but that driver has no way to get back home. There is a group of driv-ers that have created a charity to pick up those drivers and get them home,” Liutkus said.

During last year’s holiday season, Pilot Flying J raised $100,000 to support Wreaths Across America—a non-profit organization dedicated to coordinating wreath-laying cer-emonies each December at Arling-ton National Cemetery and nearly 800 additional veteran cemeteries and memorials across the country and overseas.

Pilot raised the money through its “Cup with a Cause” campaign in which drivers purchased a $4.99 limited-edition travel mug. With every mug purchase, Pilot donated $3 to WAA.

WAA marked its 20th anniversa-ry trip to Arlington in 2012, plac-ing 105,000 wreathes at the cem-etery. It placed 406,000 wreaths in total last year—over 25 total trac-tor-trailer loads. !

Russell's Travel Center hosts an annual car show as a fundraiser for the local fire department.

www.natso.com 23

Founded in 1952 as a truck leasing company, Jubitz Travel Center has been a fixture in the Northwest since opening in its current North Portland location in 1958.

Jubitz has a 100-room hotel, 24-hour full-service Cascade Grill restaurant, Ponderosa Lounge, 80-seat Portlander cinema movie theater, gas station and convenience store, as well as a barbershop/hair salon, shoe repair shop and laundromat.

Sitting on 26 acres, the location is unarguably huge. But as is often the case for many NATSO members, it is the small things that have kept Jubitz in business for more than 60 years.

“Owner Fred Jubitz is a big proponent of doing things right the first time,” said general manager Chris Wetzel. This fall, Wetzel, took Stop Watch on a tour of the facility and highlighted a few of the things they’re doing right, both large and small.

JOIN US FOR A VISUAL TOUR.

JUBITZ TRAVEL CENTER GETS IT RIGHTBY AMY TONER

BULKWhile merchandise just dropped in the middle of a store is not good retailing, carefully chosen and crafted bulk displays are an example of good merchandising. “We sell a lot of water gallons—a surprising amount really. A big display like this allows customers to easily grab a jug and it can be easily restocked,” Wetzel said. Behind the water, they also have coolers. “Coolers are a high-margin item, but they take up a lot of space,” Wetzel explained. The bulk display allows them to put out more than one and keep this high-margin item well-stocked.

DIGITAL MOVIE THEATERJubitz has an 80-seat cinema movie theater that generates nontraditional income in the form of movie sales, food sales for patrons and advertising sales. They recently switched to a digital movie system and can now program the entire week’s worth of movies and advertisements in just an hour. They also were able to cut the labor cost of someone to run the movie. “It is fun to program. It took a while to get used to, but now it really is fun to program the movies,” Wetzel said.


CANDYWetzel and his staff at Jubitz know the little stuff is important too. For example, they have put the brightly colored candy at the bottom of their display where children will easily see it.

INVENTORY STORAGE SYSTEMThe inventory storage system at Jubitz is simple and easy to use. The bins in a small room behind their c-store allow them to keep their shelves full at all times. The bins are labeled by category. To refill, employees just need to take out the bin with the correct category to fill up the shelves. “It really helps us stock better,” Wetzel said.

INVENTORY RECEIVING AREATruckstops and travel plazas are constantly receiving deliveries from vendors. To ensure inventory is not placed on the floor before it is put in their system, Jubitz has a clearly marked area for receivables. It is labeled with “Do not put out,” which will prevent an eager employee from putting it on the floor too early.

DIGITAL MEDIAWhen Jubitz Travel Center renovated the deli, they added digital media. “We have a lot of specials and so we were spending a lot of time and money printing signs,” Wetzel said. They can now load all the specials and menus onto a flash drive and easily update the digital displays.

www.natso.com 25

OPERATOR 2 OPERATOR

WANT TO BE FEATURED IN THE NEXT OPERATOR 2 OPERATOR? Our next question to discuss is "What is one metric you review daily?" Submit your answers to Darren Schulte at [email protected] by Feb. 15, 2014.

How, when and by whom do you train your employees?

ERICKA SCHAPEKAHM, COFFEE CUP FUEL STOPS & CONVENIENCE STORES, INC. We do two to three hours of new

hire training and orientation that I do with them, then we have a service training and a suggestive selling train-ing. We have three franchise locations within our facilities—Caribou Cof-fee, Pizza Hut and Subway. They all provide outstanding training materi-als and we don’t eliminate anything out of that. For each of our work centers, our employees undergo train-ing on their primary work center and then eventually, after 90 days in their primary work center, they will be cross trained. We rely on peer train-ers to do the training. To become a peer trainer, our employees apply and

they are usually our high-potential employees. We try to have more than one peer trainer for each area so they don’t get burned out. For example, at our fuel desk we have four peer train-ers. Our new hires can spend a month or more doing training. In their last shift with a peer trainer, the trainer does an honest assessment. If they aren’t ready for their work station, we will do more training or we may de-cide to move them into another area until their ready. Our diesel sales can be the most complicated, so if they aren’t ready for that, we will keep them on the gas side while they con-tinue to train on the diesel.”

JAKE MCFEE, BELLS SILVER CREEK I am currently training the frontline

personnel here at the Bells Silver Creek Station and we have a foodservice man-ager who trains our production per-sonnel. Typically we use a hands-on approach to maximize our impact on customer satisfaction, the goal being to create a consistent atmosphere here that our shoppers can count on. We under-stand that the frontline employees will have the greatest impact on our custom-ers, that being said our training system educates our clerks on how important it is to create a positive experience for the customer. The belief I hold is that train-ing and education are never complete.”

BARBARA ROITZ, LITTLE AMERICA Fuel Desk cashiers are trained

by the lead cashier on the shift that the new cashier will be working. Additionally, neces-sary training is done by the su-pervisor or manager."

FAYE FEATHERLY, TRAVELERS' OASIS We have someone on our

staff to train new cashiers. Our store manager goes through the necessary training videos for safety and sale of tobacco and alcohol before the new person is put behind the till. However, it's always train and retrain."


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