In the last installment of "Gas Station Reviewing 101" we learned the basic criteria for achieving 5 Star Reviews from your patrons. For those that missed class, or passed out due to the incredibly exhilarating subject matter, here they are again:
- Convenient entrance and exit from the station and pumps,
- Reasonably clean environment with properly stocked supplies
- Well lit for safety
- Credit is an accepted form of payment with no additional fees
- All equipment is in working order
That understood, we'll move on to today's lesson, one of the ever present wild cards that could easily sway a review up or down the scale in a fairly drastic manner. That's right. I'm talking about the convenience store!
In terms of the business of running a gas station, the convenience store is a huge opportunity to increase margins AND guest experience. Stock the right products, keep the store clean, and train your staff on how to provide exceptional customer service, and each guest walking out will feel awesome about spending $20 on some processed snacks and sugary soda. Heck, they may even overlook the fact the bathroom hadn't been cleaned in who knows how long too!
Improperly trained staff, on the other hand, armed with ridiculous store policies, can turn a mediocre experience into a terrible one really fast, and hurt your margins too by driving customers away and reducing the amount of items they an to purchase.
Case in point: A customer walks into the store seeking a specific product because they've received a manufacturer's coupon from a package bought at another store. The coupon provides a discount on the purchase of two packages of that product, and this customer has chosen to use it in your store. At the register the customer is told they only accept coupons on cigarettes, so the customer reluctantly decides to purchase not 2, but one package as a result.
As students of retail we all know manufacturer coupons require the retailer to do a little something extra to get their money, however the additional business they drive to stores is well worth it and adds value beyond that of the coupon.
In the scenario described above, why might the retailer not accept a coupon like this? Anybody? Anybody?
The crickets in the room really say it all folks. There's hardly a reason any retailer should turn away the business generated by these coupons.
In this situation Id be surprised if that customer, who likely frequents that station due to proximity and convenience, will ever consider making a purchase in the store again, meaning not only has the station lost the increase business that would have resulted from the coupon, but also drastically decreased the lifetime value of this particular customer. read more
