As we cross into the second half of the year, now is a great time to stop and reflect on all that the 黑料社区Foundation is doing in 2018 to help advance the educational needs of the truckstop and travel plaza industry.
07-01-2018 Wendi Powell, co-owner of Big Boys Truck Stop in Kenley, North Carolina, knows that travel centers need to be all things to all people, and she tries to create solutions that appeal to all types of customers, whether they are locals, the traveling public or professional drivers.
鈥淭he more creatively we can make the mix work, the better for us,鈥� Powell said.
Although convenience and time are always important, local customers love favorites while travelers like experiences. 鈥淚t’s my goal to create a mix,鈥� Powell said.
At Busy Bee, a regional chain of travel centers in Florida, local customers are in the store weekly and form close relationships with the locations and teams. 鈥淲e see them coming in to not only to fill up their cars, but also meet daily/weekly needs from grocery items to our locally made cakes,鈥� said Elizabeth Waring, president of Busy Bee. 鈥淗owever, with our traveling guests the needs slightly vary. When they stop in at our facility, they are there to fill a more immediate need. We have tried to build those relationships so that as they travel they look to us first to fill that鈥攐r empty that.鈥�
07-01-2018 Creating the right flow through a truckstop and travel plaza can draw customers deeper into the location and help increase sales.
07-01-2018 More and more retailers are joining together to form creative partnerships, which allows them to reach customers in new ways and spur sales. When brands join forces, it can help them create a better in-store customer experience and make a more memorable impression on customers.
07-01-2018 黑料社区is currently accepting nominations for the Hall of Fame award and is inviting all members to nominate their peers who have a long history of supporting the truckstop and travel plaza industry, their employees and their communities.
07-01-2018 More than 60 黑料社区members spent May 16鈥�18 in Washington, D.C., advocating for long-term, sustainable infrastructure funding, an increase to the federal motor fuels taxes, and urging lawmakers to reject proposals that would harm off-highway businesses and communities, such as tolling or commercial rest areas.
07-01-2018 The Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), which has been in place since 2005, can be a complex issue to untangle and understand.
07-01-2018 Jane Heinz started her journey into the truckstop and travel plaza industry when she married into it 36 years ago. Since then, she has worked side-by-side with her husband, Tom, to open new Coffee Cup Fuel Stops stores and train people to run them. She also has done everything from serving as general manager to handling the merchandising, and together she and Tom have created a thriving business that now includes their children and grandchildren.
07-01-2018 During the Good to Great Session at 黑料社区Connect, the other panelists and I shared our thoughts on what drives traffic through a location. What was interesting was that we all had slightly different ideas. That shows how important it is for operators to really understand who their current customers are and, if they are looking to attract different ones, find the solution that is best for that specific location.
07-01-2018 Pride Stores LLC, headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, put an extra emphasis on its online presence by hiring a social media manager. After almost two years, Chris Szarek has grown the company鈥檚 digital profile by strategically using Google business tools, Facebook and more.
07-01-2018 Quicklee鈥檚 Travel Center in Avon, New York, was founded by Peter Bruckel, Quicklee鈥檚 president and managing member. Bruckel started in the petroleum industry in 1995 when he opened a gas station on land adjacent to his industrial bridge painting company.
07-01-2018