Propel Kwik Trip to Its Fıfth Mystery-Shop Titlep. 30
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THE BUSINESS OF CONVENIENCE RETAIL AUGUST 2016 | CSPDAILYNEWS.COM TIPTOP TRIP ‘Just two things’ propel Kwik Trip to its fı fth mystery-shop title P. 30 Don Zietlow (left) and Greg Olson are positioning Kwik Trip for a bright, healthy future. Reprinted with permission from the August issue of CSP Magazine Copyright © 2016 Winsight, LLC. All Rights Reserved. MYSTERY Shop nother year, another photo fi nish for the CSP/Service ‘Just two things’ Intelligence Mystery Shop. Separated by a little more propel Kwik Trip than three points, the top five performers included to its fı fth mystery- fresh faces Family Express and Rutter’s Farm Stores, as well as shop title mystery-shop veterans QuikTrip, last year’s champ, and 2014 winner Cum- Kwik Trip’s retail leadership team: berland Farms. Sandy Malay (left), Terry Schmitz, But in 2016, mystery-shop glory goes Chuck Thoftne, Greg Olson, to perhaps the ultimate veteran. After Tom Vandenheuvel, Brad Fogarty, losing the 2015 shop by two-tenths of Paul Servais and Joan Elsing a point, Kwik Trip has nabbed its fi fth crown with an overall score of 94.6%. “We’re happy to be on top again,” says Don Zietlow, co-founder and CEO of the La Crosse, Wis.-based retail- er. “It’s humbling and a credit to our co-workers.” Second-place finisher Family Ex- press came in at a strong 93.9%, and Zi- etlow says he prefers to win in the kind of high-scoring photo fi nish we’ve seen the past several years than in a landslide. BY SAMANTHA OLLER AND MELISSA VONDER HAAR PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID BOWMAN MYSTERY CSP/SERVICE Shop INTELLIGENCE “It’s always nice to win in a company’s culture. “If we just On the fl ip side, “taking care tough race,” Zietlow says. “The do these two things, we’ll be of customers” goes beyond just MYSTERY SHOP industry has gotten better, in- successful.” retail execution. cluding Kwik Trip.” “Taking care of employees” “[It’s] simple things, like car- The 2016 mystery-shop audits Ask anyone at Kwik Trip’s means a number of things at rying groceries, helping change were conducted from May 12 more than 500 locations about Kwik Trip, from competitive a flat tire,” says Olson. “Our to June 16. These audits took the company’s continued suc- wages and benefits to sharing co-workers are making a diff er- place between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. cess, and it comes down to one 40% of its pretax profits with ence in the lives of our guests. any day of the week. Following thing: culture. team members at every level. It happens because that’s our each visit, mystery shoppers “The family is going to take Greg Olson, vice president of re- expectation; that’s our culture.” completed a survey in which each care of our co-workers and our tail operations, says this culture That golden-rule-like culture response received equal value. co-workers will take care of our helps Kwik Trip keep its turnover made it an easy decision for Kwik customers,” Zietlow says of the rate at less than 30%. Trip to join the Partnership for a OVERALL BRAND PERFORMANCE Kwik Trip 94.6% Family Express 93.9% QuikTrip 93.5% Cumberland 92.7% 100% Farms Rutter’s Farm Six of the Stores 91.5% mystery-shop participants received a perfect score for fresh BRANDS SHOPPED and attractively presented Brand Number sandwiches, of shops including Family Express, GPM/ Kwik Trip 81 FOODSERVICE Fas Mart, Kwik Trip, Kum & Go, PERFORMANCE QuikTrip and Family Express 64 Ricker’s. QuikTrip 81 [foodservice] in 2002,” and food gross-profi t Cumberland Olson says. “We’ve dollars. 80 made a ton of mistakes “It’s really on Farms MYSTERY SOLVED and have learned a lot everyone’s mind every Rutter’s Farm 60 Foodservice alone makes or since then. But our focus single day,” says Olson. Stores breaks the guest experience is on taking care of the guests, then taking care Safe Satiation Speedway 84 or winning metrics are the most of the food.” Of course, any retailer Kwik Trip, rewarding element of To reiterate foodservice program Ricker’s 50 foodservice isn’t its involvement in the that importance to is problematic without Fjust a strategic pillar of program, says Greg employees, Kwik sound food-safety GPM/Fas Mart 81 its business; it has been a Olson, vice president of Trip has developed practices, particularly as major focus in its eff orts retail operations. leadership levels just for the industry faces more Thorntons 54 around the mystery “It’s our No. 1 goal, its foodservice program, stringent regulations from the Food Safety shop itself. The retailer’s our No. 1 priority plus a bonus program Kum & Go 80 strong foodservice since we rolled out built around food sales Modernization Act. Healthier America (PHA), be- of PHA, ties in with our culture.” Flint, a registered dietitian in It also puts Kwik Trip in a coming the fi rst c-store to do so The PHA partnership in- food research and development great place for 2017 and be- back in 2014. Olson says partner- cludes offering EatSmart-la- for Kwik Trip. yond—a future that includes ing with PHA—which works with beled items that meet specific Though meeting PHA stan- opening 35 to 40 stores per year, retailers, distributors and others nutrient and affordability cri- dards isn’t always easy or cheap increasing the number of Kwik to implement strategies to solve teria and building bike racks at (Zietlow says it was pricey to start Trip co-workers from 18,000 to the nation’s childhood obesity new store locations. sourcing organic eggs and milk), 20,000 and (it hopes) claiming crisis—was a natural extension “PHA has been good for our it’s been invaluable in redefi ning yet another mystery-shop win. of existing programs. business by holding us to some health and convenience. Not that Zietlow’s sweating “We have a huge wellness ini- rigorous standards and chal- “It’s expensive to do, but it’s it. “I see the future as much tiative here for our co-workers,” lenging us as a company to think the right thing to do,” says Ziet- brighter than the past,” he says. he says. “Having those healthy outside of the box when it comes low. “It raises the bar for conve- “It’s going to be easier for us to foods available, being a member to what we can do,” says Erica nience stores.” grow—that’s a good thing.” COMBO-DEAL DOWNLOAD A COFFEE LEADER SANDWICH SAFETY While many retailers offer food combo deals, Cumberland Farms ranked in the top fi ve for coffee-bar The food-safety attribute with not all are promoting them in the store. attributes the most of all participants, netting placement the lowest scores came at the in three out of the four areas. sandwich cooler, where a number of chains got scores in the 80s for CHAIN FOOD COMBO COMBO-DEAL keeping the temperature within DEALS PROMOTIONS AVAILABLE IN STORE 32 and 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Cumberland Family Express 93.7% Farms 100% 98.8% 98.8% 95.5% 87.5% Speedway 90.0% Kwik Trip 100% 96.3% Fully All Working Ricker’s 89.4% Kum & Go 97.5% 100% stocked equipment thermometer coffee operational to test coffee Family area temperature Kwik Trip 88.8% Express 95.3% 90.2% Thorntons 88.2% Rutter’s 95.0% 96.5% “A customer buying scored in the 90s and in the fi rst place. a number of foodservice gets a foodservice a sandwich a couple high 80s. Four received “A c-store chain categories, particularly mystery shop that of degrees off what it perfect scores for having having a bad event in in food safety. The examines multiple should be is not going a procedure in place for your neighborhood but retailer conducts a facets. “On top of to have a customer tracking temperatures not in your store is still monthly foodservice cleanliness, we look at service experience in the sandwich cooler, your problem,” he says. excellence inspection, rotation and dating of that’s any lesser,” says but the top fi ve dropped examining everything items, being in stock, Gus Olympidis, CEO of to the low 90s and upper Craveable from food safety to food plan-o-gram integrity,” second-place mystery- 80s for coolers being in Convenience quality elements such as says Glenn Plumby, shop fi nisher Family the proper temperature Quinn Ricker, president item rotation, speed of senior vice president of Express, Valparaiso, range. and CEO of Ricker’s, service and the quality operations. Ind. “But if they get The fountain is the Anderson, Ind., says the of ingredients. As is evident for sick because the rare biggest Achilles’ heel 125-store chain is “still Speedway, Enon, mystery-shop winner occasion becomes for the c-store industry, in the infancy” of its Ohio, has made Kwik Trip, success reality, then it could be Olympidis says. Too foodservice program. foodservice a big focus comes with the balance catastrophic.” many retailers are not The off er, now in 14 with its grab-and-go of a high-quality, This year, the top fi ve sanitizing their valves sites, continues to be breakfast sandwiches, craveable menu and the retailers in each food- often enough—and do rolled out. Ricker’s pizza, roller-grill items safety and operational safety attribute mostly not have a set procedure placed in the top fi ve in and snacks.