Tens of thousands of people fuel up their cars every day, and most of those sales take place in a convenience store just like yours. With the convenience of pay-at-the-pump, many of your fuel customers never walk into your store, but that doesn’t mean they don’t expect great customer service under the canopy. Train your convenience store staff to focus on safety, security, and service at the fuel pump.
Safety at the Fuel Pump
As a fuel provider, you have an obligation to follow stringent safety guidelines at the pump. This means making sure you’ve provided Class C UST Operator Training as mandated by law. Your employees should also be trained on how to handle emergencies at the pump, such as fuel spills and breakaway procedures. The amount of effort you put into safety at the fuel pump is often invisible to guests. However, if you are lax in your safety procedures, your customers will eventually notice and aren’t likely to stay loyal to a company that puts them in harm’s way.
Security at the Fuel Pump
Keeping your customers physically safe is, of course, most important, but you also have a responsibility to keep their information safe as well. Credit card skimming has become a serious risk at the pump and in retail stores in general. Skimming prevention training can stop the theft of credit card information at the pump. You can also help protect customer credit card data by making sure your convenience store employees follow all PCI compliance guidelines and never share access to your data storage systems.
Service at the Pump
Even if you and your staff never interact with customers face-to-face at the pump, you still have opportunities to influence the quality of their visit. Exterior store care is critical under the canopy. You can’t afford to cut corners here. Your customers simply have far too many choices on where to stop for gas. They may tolerate overflowing trash cans, a lack of windshield cleaner, or a CRIND that’s out of paper once, but they aren’t likely to give you many more chances than that. When you respect your customers’ time and meet their needs, they’ll repay you with their loyalty.
Customer Service Training for Convenience Stores
Our Early Success training series includes several lessons on customer service, store care, and safety at the pump. Modules within this series also make excellent refreshers for all employees. Click here for more info.
