Truckstop Travels

24-7 Travel Stores, which are operated by Triplett Inc., have 10 locations in Kansas, and I was recently able to stop by the location in Maple Hill, just 20 miles west of Topeka on I-70 and Exit 341. I was greeted with fast and friendly service and enjoyed seeing the large selection of products.

Pride Travel Center in Eloy, Arizona, excels in customer service and speed, which helps this location drive some incredible fuel volumes. In speaking with drivers during my visit, speed and staff are mentioned frequently, and this is critical especially when attempting to compete with more modern or brand new interstate travel centers.

During my travels, I was recently able to visit Pride Travel Center in Salome, Arizona, which is owned by Manjit Bajwa, Charanjit Bajwa, Laddie Bajwa and Jagjit Kahlon. Pride recently took this store over and have been making steady improvements to the operations, which is resulting in good success.

After stopping at PetroCanada during my time up north, I was also able to visit Husky Energy’s location in Golden BC. This particular location is operated by the husband-and-wife team of Denise and Ken Scott.

Sometimes it is fun to see what our neighbors to the north are doing. Earlier this year I was able to visit a PetroCanada location just outside Calgary operated by the husband and wife team of Allan and Kathy Neuauter.

Pride Travel Centers and Convenience Stores, which are located in Connecticut and Massachusetts, are more great examples of NATSO member locations that are serving as excellent representatives of industry.

We stopped at a Shell UPA! when we were in Chile during one of our NATSO International Study Tours. I think there are a lot of lessons NATSO members can take away from the location.

During the Good to Great Session at NATSO Connect, Mike Lawshe, president of Paragon Solutions and a fellow panelist, told us about one of his favorite locations, Slovacek’s, a market, café and fuel stop in West Texas.

Bowlin Travel Centers operates ten locations in New Mexico and Arizona, and the Arizona location on I-10 and exit 322, 17 miles east of Benson and about 40 miles east of Tucson, excels at marketing. The location is famous for ‘The Thing,’ a roadside attraction that it touts on billboards up and down the interstate.

Quicklee’s Travel Center in Avon, New York, is another great example of a beautiful location. The location is highly recognized on sites, such as Trucker Path. The location is 19,000 square feet and sits on nearly 10 acres. Inside there is something for everyone. Like every modern travel center, there are the traditional c-store snacks, candy and beverages, and electronics and truck accessories. The store colors, use of different materials, and the layout and design make this operation POP from a visual standpoint.

During the Good to Great Session at NATSO Connect, the other panelists and I shared some of our favorite examples of locations that are doing things well. I took the opportunity to highlight COPEC, a Chilean energy company with a chain of fueling stations throughout Chile.