On-the-Job Training
Heritage Dairy Stores and Kingsway Learning Center partner to provide a unique learning opportunity for students with disabilities.

Thorofare, N.J.-based Heritage Dairy Stores has started a new employee-training program. Instead of training current c-store employees, however, it's training the c-store employees of the future as part of a new partnership with Kingsway Learning Center, a non-profit, non-sectarian special education school helping children with multiple disabilities in the New Jersey area.

[Read the full story here...]

CSD Launches Web Site Redesign
New site features an industry-specific vertical search engine, industry blogs, white papers, and much more.

After many, many hours of research and development, and countless hours in organizational meetings, Convenience Store Decisions is proud to launch a complete redesigned CSDecisions.com. To say developing this site was a team effort would be an understatement. This site is the culmination of the wonderful combined efforts of CSD's staff editors and the technology savvy of our IT and E-media staffs.

[Read the full story here...]

Building and Integrating a Loyalty Program

Savvy retailers have adopted loyalty programs as a method of getting more sales out of their customers. But simply issuing a card, offering some incentive and sitting back to wait for the sales to ring up is not going to deliver good results. You need to design your program with defined success in mind.

For starters, it is important to note that customers respond to loyalty programs. In a recent study, Jupiter Research claims that 75% of consumers are card-carrying members of one program or another. The key to success is not in simply "having" a program, but structuring that program to collect usable data. Success is in the execution of slicing the data collected, and using it to build repeat sales. It's not the data itself, but the trends and actionable insight that will spell success.

Other important issues include educating and influencing customers to the benefits of becoming a member and how to promote your program.

As part of its online Roundtable Series, Convenience Store Decisions will examine these issues and explore what leading markets are doing to increase their loyalty yields and grow their base of loyalty customers. The Webcast will also look at the different types of loyalty marketing programs and the rewards and incentives chains are offering customers for the repeat business.

If you have a loyalty program or are even considering implementing one at the store level, this is one event you cannot afford to miss.

The event takes place on Wednesday, February 28th at 2:00 p.m.ET, and registration is FREE!

Click here to register now.

N.Y. Gov. Vows "Level Playing Field" for Tobacco
Industry, burned too many times in the past, takes a wait-and-see approach.

VPCGA Expands its Ranks
Mergers with the Mason-Dixon Truck Stop Operators Association.

Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Philip Morris Case
Cigarette manufacturer looks to shift suits out of state courts and into federal courts.

Colorado Fuel Discounts May be Coming Back
Lawmakers seek to clarify the role loyalty and rewards programs have on "below-cost" sales.

Sheetz Deploys Stampede Software
Improves network performance without costly network infrastructure upgrades.

Panel Faults BP's "Safety Leadership"
Report on Texas City refinery fire critical of procedures.

Chevron Refinery Fire Not Expected to Affect Production
Fatalities avoided; cause of the blaze is still under investigation.