Welcome to the newest post in our blog series, Darren’s Great Ideas! for Independent Operators.
Best of Darren's 2014 Great Ideas for Independent Operators
Let's take a look back at the most popular Great Ideas for Independent Operators blog posts of 2014.
Eleven Tips for Building an Effective Bulk Display at Your Truckstop: You really can generate additional sales if you have the right product properly merchandised in floor bulk displays. As you know, items that sell well in bulk displays are 40-quart thermoelectric coolers, gallons of water, additives, TVs, 12pks of this and 12pks of that, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) jugs, etc. If you are creative, you can really bulk stack almost anything. Read Eleven Tips for Building an Effective Bulk Display at Your Truckstop here.
How to Set Your Truckstop's Coolers: Cooler space is a valuable commodity in truckstops and travel plazas. The number of products that can fill the cooler are increasing. Today we’re seeing a wider variety of flavored craft sodas, new age flavored waters, juices and energy drinks and a growing grab-and-go food segment. Read How to Set Your Truckstop's Coolers here.
Seven Steps to Minimize Loss from Fuel Theft at Your Truckstop: In our industry, drive-offs are less of an issue than they were just a short 10 years ago, but sometimes fuel theft does occur. Read Seven Steps to Minimize Loss from Fuel Theft at Your Truckstop here.
Create a Strong Microwave Section to Increase Grab-n-Go Offerings: For the time-pressed travelers who visit your truckstop, the microwave section of your truckstop can be a destination location. Not only will customers heat food within the location, over-the-road drivers may grab something they can prepare in their truck later. Read Create a Strong Microwave Section to Increase Grab-n-Go Offerings here.
Top 10 Daily Metric Checks for Truckstop Operators: Travel plaza and truckstop operators often ask which performance metrics would be the most helpful to them. They want to know what they should look at hourly, daily, weekly and monthly. Read Top 10 Daily Metric Checks for Truckstop Operators here.
Eight Ways to Be A More Productive Leader at Your Truckstop: While no two days are ever exactly the same for truckstop and travel plaza operators, one thing that is consistent is there is never enough time to get everything done. To succeed, independent operators need to excel at the basics while constantly strategizing and innovating for the future. Read Eight Ways to Be A More Productive Leader at Your Truckstop here.
Five Tips for Selling Gifts and Themed Apparel: In today’s economy, gift programs in many locations do not sell like they used to. Travelers and over-the-road drivers have significantly less disposable dollars, which means they’re more selective about the items they buy. While they may be purchasing less, gift items are still an important category for truckstop and travel plaza operators, so it is important to utilize the space and inventory you dedicate to gift items. Read Five Tips for Selling Gifts and Themed Apparel here.
Steps to Prevent the Sale of Alcohol and Tobacco to Minors: Retailers who violate the law and sell these products to minors can face tens of thousands of dollars in lost sales, fines, embarrassment within the local community and significant costs in lost employees. Read Steps to Prevent the Sale of Alcohol and Tobacco to Minors here.
Photos Credit: Ira Wexler/NATSO and Amy Toner/NATSO
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