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Convenience stores in gas stations have evolved in the Western New York area, and now offer high-end food services. This new trend is followed by gas pumps having televisioin screens on them, where customers can watch channels such as ESPN's Gas Station TV. These new marketing strategies of gas stations in Buffalo are discussed.

TWENTY-EIGHT-YEAR-OLD DRIVING INSTRUCTOR Karen Gilkes is sitting on one of the comfy chairs in the bright, airy waiting room at In'n'Out Drive-Thru and Xpress MOT while her Peugeot 206 is [...]

After a hurricane sweeps across Florida, the state wants to keep gas pumps as busy as a department store on Black Friday. Keeping nozzles in gas tanks, however, requires electricity, [...]

Stretched across three and a half acres of Louisiana highway, Blue Harbor Pointe, a single site owned and operated by Lavigne Petroleum LLC, houses much more than a convenience store. [...]

Situated in a prime location at the junction of Route 196 and Route 9, the Mobil 1 Lube Express site in Lisbon Falls, Maine, is a quick stop for an [...]

Today it seems like there is an automotive shop in just about every neighborhood. With this many choices the average driver might have a hard time deciding which service center [...]

Americans love their cars - they them so much that retailers who can leverage this fascination with the automobile stand to clean up where profits are concerned. One such operation [...]

Cincinnati-based Kroger hit the 300 mark for supermarket fuel centers. It took the chain three-and-a-half years to reach the [...]

A chain of what many are calling the gas stations of the future--complete with an upscale cafe concept featuring the first full-blown bakery operation ever set in such a venue--recently [...]

Two supermarket rivals, Albertson's Inc. and Raley's Inc., both plan to open gas stations combined with convenience stores in our area next year. Raley's first gas station-convenience store would be [...]

Only a few years after gasoline marketers learned to be grocers, they are starting to sink their teeth into a new trade--fast food service. At projected gross margins of 50% [...]

The catering facilities at Aire de Berchem, Luxembourg, petrol station is run by Societe Europeenne de Restauration S.A., which has the contract until 2012. They offer a 24 hour food service every day of the year, in the 200 seat restaurant. Some 20 million pounds sterling in turnover is made from the catering facilities. The petrol station is owned by Shell. There are 42 fuel pumps in operation, 18 are reserved for trucks. Truckers are provided with their own area and menu in the restaurant. The caterers provide a range of foods to suit the needs of the various nationals who use the restaurants.

Car wash services used to be a profitable venture among gasoline stations. However, there has been a steady decline in the number of station-owed car wash services since 1996. This is attributable to gasoline stations' pre-occupation with their newer and more profitable ventures, namely the operation of convenience stores. Likewise, station managers point to decreasing profit margins from car wash services due to increased competition from independent car wash stations., Back before the marriage of convenience stores and gas stations, the oil industry had another partner - the car wash industry. Marketers poured money into the latest in wash technology [...]

Automobile service shops should provide fast and efficient tire mounting and balancing services to maintain and attract customers. Service personnel should be well-trained and disciplined to reduce errors and ensure that rules and routines are strictly observed. Service shops are advised on the proper ways to eliminate wheel corrosion, install valve stems, coat tires and rims and choose the style of wheel weight., I've been coming here for years! You don't have to stand around too long waiting for your tires. These guys are fast and best of all they do it right!' [...]

10 largest owners of ATM networks 1 Bank of America 7,500 2 Nationsbank 5,930 3 Electronic Data Systems 5,637 4 Wells Fargo 4,265 5 Bank One 3,807 6 U.S. Bancorp [...]

The Sullivan Group, which is a research and consulting firm focusing on the oil industry, conducted a survey to measure the industry's customer service performance, particularly in the Hartford, CT, and Atlanta markets. Results reveal that employee personality and professionalism have a great impact on customers' impression of a facility. Customers also give high priorities to well-maintained and accessible facilities. Furthermore, new technologies and competitive gasoline pricing entice them to patronize a service station., Uncovering the various reasons that determine why customers purchase gasoline at a given location is the aim of an ongoing survey by The Sullivan Group, a research and consulting firm [...]

Convenience store operators can establish a check cashing co-branding program as a value-added service. Check cashing services are one of the fastest growing areas in financial services. They can benefit convenience stores by bringing in more customers, leading to increased fuel and merchandise sales. Demographics is an important consideration in establishing check cashing services. Customers who avail of the service are usually blue collar workers within the low to lower middle income brackets., Did you know that over 30% of America's adults do not have a bank account? Surprising perhaps, but true. Increased costs to banks resulting from enactment of the Monetary Control [...]

Sandwiches are ideal quick service restaurant offerings and can be a source of added profits for petroleum marketers. The Food Service Director periodical projects that sandwich/hot dog preparations will realize sharp unit-growth during 1997 and that non-traditional outlet sales of branded foods will reach $5.7 billion. Food service operators report that sandwiches entail short preparation time and less waste.

It is advisable for service station personnel to review the basics of automobiles to improve their ability to identify and take care of car problems. At the very least, this exercise can help make it easier for them to spot trouble areas when inspecting cars, as well as help them better communicate car problems with customers. One area of auto service that needs review is suspension service. This job is explained., Every now and then it is a good idea to go back and review the basics to help you diagnose and troubleshoot automobiles. If nothing else it may sharpen your [...]

Pizzas are one of the most popular fast foods available in convenience/gasoline stores, along with sandwiches, Mexican food and ice cream. Stores wanting to include pizza in their menus can choose from either branded or licensed products, although some stores offer both branded and licensed varieties. Many stores also utilized a variety of promotions to boost their pizza sales. The costs of such promotions are often recovered quickly enough via sales of other foods that go along with pizza, including fountain drinks, frozen carbonated beverages and salty and sweet snacks., Many C-stores specialize in the quick bite to eat. It's not surprising then that a portable product such as pizza should become so popular an offering with gasoline/C-store retailers who [...]

Petroleum marketers contemplating on installing fountain systems should consider system uniformity and ingredient balance. Their operation can be very intricate but once the quality control techniques are learned by the retail operator, they can be very profitable, with average margins of about 60% or more. The elements that should be integrated in fountains are the water source and filtration system, ice source, carbonator, syrup package, fittings and tubings, beverage dispenser and dispensing valves., In the eyes of a C-store customer, a fountain drink program may seem as simple as pie, like fixing a cup of Mr. Coffee. Experienced C-store operators know better, of [...]

Marketers and convenience store operators in North Carolina are complaining about price postings in the area. They are also concerned about the evident increase in competition as national trends such as rebranding and co-branded fast foods enter the market. There are indications that the petroleum and convenience store industry is planning to set up combination fast food, convenience store, car wash and gasoline facilities., Marketers and C-store operators attending the late-summer Southeast Petro-Food show in Charlotte, N.C., talked of substantial margins, but also made their displeasure known about plain old 'dumb' pricing on the [...]