TOP PERFORMERS Gilbarco Veeder-Root Verifone Inc. Professional Data Solutions Inc. (PDI) HONORABLE MENTIONS Dresser Wayne FACTOR Inc. Pinnacle Corp.

With convenience stores offering more services and profit centers, operators need a point-of-sale (POS) system that can easily integrate each component without driving up operating costs. Consider the rapid expansion of loyalty programs—successful chains have been able to integrate loyalty into POS and reap increased sales and loyal consumers.

“We’re just gas people—we don’t understand this stuff,” said Gene Tish, vice president and chief operating officer of Ashland, Ore.-based WSCO Petroleum Corp. “I didn’t know the answers, but I did know what our problems were and what I wanted.”

WSCO wanted to provide customers with a card that could be processed like a check, would activate pumps and allow customers to go inside after pumping and pay with cash. It also had to tie into loyalty concepts. The more he studied it, Tish was convinced the loyalty piece was crucial to get customers to migrate from credit cards to ACH. But he needed a partner that could integrate into his existing POS system. A long search led him to Idaho-based KickBack Rewards Systems.

Surprisingly, while there is a need for effective solutions, 37% of the 73 buyers of POS equipment and software reported no sales presentations from POS suppliers in the past two months. In fact, 99% of buyers reported less than five presentations from the 16 supplier companies in the market.

Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Verifone Inc. and Professional Data Solutions Inc. (PDI) were identified as top performers, while honorable mentions were Dresser Wayne, FACTOR Inc. and Pinnacle Corp.