Best Truckstop Customer Service Tips

NATSO members talk about what things make a good overall customer experience.
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What small things add to your overall customer experience?

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"We have a dress code. It is always worth the minimal effort it takes to put one together. We invest in new branded uniform shirts twice a year—spring/fall. We also require business casual pants in khaki/ brown or black. Even if branded uniform shirts are not in the budget, requiring a specific colored collared shirt with khaki/black pants will immediately bring a professional image to your team. NO HOODIES!!!! When team members have to change clothes and clean up to get here, they know they are coming to a job where brand is important. When it comes to signage, we absolutely do not allow a handwritten sign to go up. Everyone has a computer and a printer and laminating sheets are our best friend. In the category merchandising and clearance areas, people place value on things if you do. As soon as we throw things up wherever there is room, it reduces the feeling that this is something very cool that looks great and I need. Clearance can still make money if properly merchandized and placed up front, so our fuel desk team can point the deals out to guests as they come up to the fuel desk. Finally, clean restrooms and showers cannot be over emphasized. We easily get a comment or more a day on how clean our restrooms and showers are and it’s because we not only ask the team to clean them as part of shift duty, our leaders on duty are required to check them twice a shift and document the time. We do the same for our food areas, casino, gas and diesel islands." /// Ericka Schapekahm, Coffee Cup Fuel Stop

 

 

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"We are about a half mile off the interstate, so we mow the medians from the time you exit until about a quarter mile past our facility. We also use landscaping with flowers, shrubs and trees. We want to ensure that customers entering or leaving Lee Hi have the best experience possible." /// Corey Berkstresser, Lee Hi Travel Plaza

 

 

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"We recently had the director of the Utah Small Business Development Center come to our business and put on training classes for customer service. It went really well, and I think all of our employees learned something from it. He had a lot of good information and presented very well. It always seems to make a bigger impact on my employees when someone from the outside comes in for events like this. I’m sure that every state has something or someone like this, and I recommend that other operators take advantage of it. The other good thing about this is it was free." /// Allen Burns, West Winds Truck Stop

 

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This article originally ran in Stop Watch magazineStop Watch provides in-depth content to assist NATSO members in improving their travel plaza business operations and provides context on trends and news affecting the industry.

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