Many store tasks can produce big headaches if they all come at once. By Jim Callahan. Many years ago when I was still fairly new to the industry, I was tasked with dragging five utterly sorry convenience stores into compliance and profitability. I say with a wee touch of embarrassment that nothing in my career…

Poor customer service can strike down even the biggest and brightest commercial retailer. By Jim Callahan Recently, I arrived at my bank on a Saturday morning as they opened the doors—and I hoped—the vault. Little did I know it would be another day of big business in Corporate America, in the greater Atlanta area where…

How do we learn to deal with pressure on the job? It’s not easy, but developing certain tools can help. By Jim Callahan Really, when you get right down to it, stress is like any obstacle you either must master, learn to control or at the very least, come to terms with. Whether it’s learning…

Everybody makes mistakes. One of the important things to teach your workers is that not only do too many excuses erode the trust factor, they highlight a bigger issue when those employees refuse to own up to their mistakes. By Jim Callahan We’ve all heard the old saying: “You’re only as good as your weakest…

Connecting with customers in ways that develop trust in your brand and goodwill within the community is a vital strategy to your business. By Jim Callahan One of the most important and often overlooked parts of being in business is the need to let customers and prospective customers know who you are but, more importantly,…

NYACS, retailers, distributors and manufacturers are working together to neutralize local tobacco regulations that impede retailers in doing business. By Jim Calvin With mounting intensity, localized attacks on the tobacco category are spreading like wildfire across New York. In the past six months alone, three more upstate counties and two large Long Island towns have…

The difference between success and failure in business is often quite miniscule. By Jim Callahan here’s a fine line between success and failure. Sometimes the line is so thin, if it were a pair of pants, it would have only one belt loop. Do you know what else is thin: the difference between profits and…

Often, the difference between great sales and mediocre sales is attention to detail. There are certain tasks that c-stores can accomplish that will generate a positive impression in the mind of a customer. By Jim Callahan Strong retail sales growth in January and February indicate that consumers are still confident in the U.S. economy. Indicators…

Spring is almost here, which means summer isn’t too far behind. It’s time to get your beverage business in order. By Jim Callahan The warning, “Beware the Ides of March” probably resonates more with readers of Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar” than it does with c-store operators. Still, March is an important month to mark on…

When dealing with employees, store managers and operators must be upfront with employees about the types of discipline that may be meted out in response to performance deficiencies and misconduct. By Jim Callahan Let me advise you that no matter how good or how important an employee is to your operation, the fastest way to…