Oil Prophets

Summer 2016

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24 Oil Prophets How many gallons a day? No, way… The store is how big? Really??? How many people do you have working at one time?? Those were some of the questions posed by our members on a recent behind the scenes tour of a QuikTrip Corporation "Generation 3" store. As the chairman of the Retail Committee I thought it would be educational and insightful to see a best in class operator of convenience stores in action. Since QT only operates in large metro areas we arranged a tour in conjunction with the Summer Convention at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, GA. The tour was comprised of retailers, jobbers and associate members. I believe each one of these participants got something out of the visit they can take back to their respective businesses. Whether it was the fuel canopy layout with 14 MPD's on a two plus acre lot that wasn't traditionally placed directly in front of the store but rather on the side. Maybe it was the 5,600 plus square foot store that has three entrances to funnel the heavy volume of customers from two side entrances and one grand entrance. Or it could have been the emphasis on the new QT Kitchen's food service program (made to order items such as pizzas, milkshakes, smoothies, breakfast sandwiches, etc.). What I think all the attendees got out of this unique experience was to see QT folks do what they do best and that is customer service. QT has customer service down to a science. They great all the customers as the walk in the door, no matter which one. We noticed that during our tour if the line of customers exceeded two people a second register was opened. If there was line for the second register a third one was opened. QT understands how to get masses of people in and out of their stores in a fast and friendly manner. Here are some numbers provided on QuikTrip: • Privately held company founded in 1958 • Fortune Magazine listed QT as one of the best places to work for 13 consecutive years • 28th largest privately held companies in the U.S. • Operate 735 stores in 11 states • $11 Billion in sales • Weekly average of over 90,000 gallons of fuel sold per store • Average store size 4,343 • Weekly average merchandise sales of $15.48 per square foot • Over 20,000 employees This store tour was one of hopefully many to come in the future with various retailers. I believe looking at best in class competition outside of our market is good way to benchmark and gain valuable industry knowledge. I would strongly encourage you to attend our next tour! A Quick Trip to QT By Jonathan Tang, IRA Phillips, Inc., Gadsden, AL

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