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Truckstop Travels: Service Stands Out at Coffee Cup Fuel Stops

When you walk through the front door of the Coffee Cup Fuel Stop location in Vermillion, South Dakota, what strikes you is the customer service. As soon as you enter, you can feel how they have taken ordinary and made it extraordinary. More

Replace an Unproductive Restaurant in Your Truckstop with One of These 15 Creative Offerings

Over time, certain profit centers can fail to produce the same margins they once did. Many in our industry are experiencing this with sit-down restaurants. Priorities for both professional and passenger drivers’ have shifted what today’s consumers are seeking out. For truckstop and travel plaza operators replacing an unproductive restaurant with another food option or service offering can bring a boost in sales. Here are 15 ideas for transforming space within your location. More

Is Yours an Employee-Friendly Company? If So, Flaunt It. Here’s How…

Exuding confidence about your company’s status as “employee-friendly” and actually making sure it’s perceived that way are two very separate things. What sense is it to put so much effort into creating the ultimate workplace if you’re not leveraging it to your team-building advantage? If you’re so certain that you offer your employees an experience that competitor companies don’t, here are six things to consider emphasizing in your job listings, the careers section on your website, your LinkedIn company profile, and other content that’s geared toward job seekers. Or, to be put it bluntly – six helpful tips on what, exactly, you should be flaunting… More

Truckstop Travels: Seeing Service in Action During the Louisiana Floods

The prolonged rainfall and resulting flooding in Louisiana in August was absolutely devastating. During a recent visit there in August, I saw so many truckstop and travel plaza operators doing everything they could to remain open during the disaster to serve their customers. We also talked with members who had to close due to the floods but were hard at work in hopes of re-opening as soon as possible. Our industry keeps people and products moving, and that can be even more important as people are leaving devastated areas or working to bring in relief supplies. More

Don’t Get Burned: Fire Prevention Week – October 9-15, 2016

Every year, fires costs business owners billions of dollars – and that number doesn’t even begin to measure the impact fires have on businesses and families of employees who are injured or killed by the blaze. Fire Prevention Week, October 9-15, 2016, is a great opportunity to remember that preventing workplace fires is not a yearly, monthly, or even weekly activity—it is a daily activity. Investigations reveal that most fires can be prevented if businesses consistently pay attention to a few, very specific hazards. To help you and your employees make it home safely each day, your Federated Insurance team is excited to share a new resource: a customizable, fire prevention checklist. More

Compliance Corner: Changes to Labor Rules Will Affect NATSO Members

The National Labor Relations Board has revised the so-called “joint employer” standard significantly to expand the scope of determining “co-employment” under the National Labor Relations Act. Specifically, the NLRB decided that a company could be considered a “joint employer” if it possesses the right to control various terms and conditions of employment, regardless of whether that company actually exercises such control. In addition, the Department of Labor has released “guidance” that has the effect of limiting employers’ ability to classify workers as “independent contractors” rather than employees. Both moves will have a direct affect on NATSO members as the franchisor-franchisee business model is ubiquitous throughout the truckstop and travel plaza industry and many NATSO members utilize independent contractors. More

Truckstop Travels: Clearwater Petro Speaks to All the Senses

Wendy Johnson, vice president of operations for Clearwater Travel Plaza, and her team operate one fantastic travel center! The independent Petro franchise location, which is located northwest of Minneapolis and is owned by Joel Nelson, is filled with the traditional travel center amenities and products. Even better, this location also indulges all the senses. Your ears, your eyes and your sense of smell are treated to a smorgasbord of delights. My favorites are the hand-crafted sandwiches, the amazingly tasty homemade breads of many fanciful flavors and the exceptional bakery products. More

Four Ways to Make the Most of End Caps at Your Truckstop

End caps are prime real estate within a truckstop and they need to say “Bam, buy me!” To maximize the effectiveness of end caps, make sure they: More

How to Proceed When an Employee Candidate Discloses an Injury Requiring Months of Rehab

How to Proceed When an Employee Candidate Discloses an Injury Requiring Months of Rehab Today Federated Insurance is sharing one of our “HR Questions of the Month” regarding employment-related practices liability issues. Question: Our firm is in the process of interviewing candidates for an associate position. We have held phone interviews with several candidates and selected some of them for in-person interviews. One of the candidates selected for an in person interview has shared the following information with us: Thank you for confirming. Before we meet, I'd like to disclose a recent injury. Approximately 3 weeks ago while playing recreational basketball, I suffered a ruptured Achilles and subsequently had surgery performed. I have been using PTO from work since the injury and will be on doctor ordered leave for at least the next week or two. An Achilles rupture is a very serious injury and I will be facing anywhere from 4-6 months of rehab going forward. The description of the position seems like such a great opportunity that I didn't want to pass up the offer for a phone interview. I hope this will not hinder the process but I wanted to make sure you knew my situation up front. We have mentioned to all candidates that we seek to have the new position filled in the next 4 weeks. If the person is on medical leave, I'm not sure they will be able to come in to our office for an interview. How would you suggest we handle this situation? More

Driving the Fight Against Human Trafficking

When industry works together, we can make a difference in the fight against human trafficking. That was the message on Sept. 1 in San Antonio, Texas, where I had the opportunity to participate in a press conference hosted by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to announce that Texas law enforcement, the trucking industry and truckstops are coordinating ways to combat human trafficking within the state. The press conference kicked off a meeting designed to educate participants about human trafficking as well as to provide a forum to discuss regional human trafficking trends. More than 60 members of the law enforcement, trucking and truckstop communities participated in the event. More

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