Pictured above is the stocking winner and Manager, Debbie Brown with Santa!
Pictured above is the stocking winner and Manager, Debbie Brown with Santa!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Georgetown Chevron, store #84, recently received a Deli make over. We are now featuringKrispy Krunchy Chicken, and homemade pizza! You can purchase crispy fried chicken, chicken tenders, potato wedges, and delicious honey buttered biscuits. Our pizza is offered by the slice or a 14" pie!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Santa will be at the Rt. 3 BP, Monday December 14th, from 4-6 pm.
There will be a coloring contest as well as a stocking filled with candy and toys to be given away!!! Don't miss it!!!!
Rt 3 BP Address:
2250 St Rt 3
Ashland, KY 41101
BOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) -- The Boyd County Sheriff needs your help in identifying the three people who tried to steal an ATM from a convenience store.
It happened early Saturday morning around 4 a.m. at the BP Gas Station on State Route 3.Deputy Steve Lake says the three suspects broke into the store through the front door. Once inside, they tried to remove the ATM by wrapping a towing chain around it and then attaching the chain to a green pickup truck parked outside.
After several unsuccessful attempts, the suspects fled the scene.
Investigators believe the truck was stolen from Prichard Law Care in Ashland several hours earlier.
Anyone with information, is asked to call the Boyd County Sheriff at 606-739-5135.
To view the video please click here.
We are in the process of re imaging our deli's; new food, new menus, and a new look! Be on the look out for our new deli logo!
Our Deli at the Shopes Creek location is now open. Tomorrow is the first day for a lunch special. Stop in and have a steaming hot plate of chicken and dumplings!!! YUM
Monday, October 12, 2009
"The new doodle from Google marks the 57th anniversary of the day the first patent was made on the bar code.
Granted to American inventors Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver three years after it was filed, patent number 2,612,994 was for a pattern of concentric circles, rather than the set of straight lines used today.
Mr Silver and Mr Woodland, a fellow graduate student and teacher at Drexel, first tried using patterns of ink that glowed under ultraviolet light, but it proved too expensive and unreliable.
Mr Woodland then came up with the linear bar code, and later replaced the lines with circles so that they could be scanned from any angle. The pair patented their “bull’s eye” design the next year.
The bar code was first trialled in 1966, and in 1970 the familiar Universal Product Code (UPC) design, still used around the world, was agreed on as an industry standard.
The first item to be scanned using UPC was a packet of Wrigley’s chewing gum at a supermarket in Troy, Ohio, in June 1974.
Neither inventor made a fortune on the idea because they sold the patent in 1952 for a moderate sum before it was commercialized.
Mr Silver never even witnessed the bar code’s success, having died in a car crash in 1962."
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Our Category Manager, Mark McCarty, has been busy redesigning the layouts in some of our stores. One addition/change he has made are the new pop displays. The display in the picture is located at our BP in Oak Hill, OH.
Monday, October 5, 2009
The drivers and some other employees for John W. Clark Oil and Bulk Plans Inc., met early Saturday morning, August 29th, for their Hazmat Safety Meeting. It is required as a refresher course every three years. Some of the topics of discussion were driving safety and all the Hazmat rules and regulations. The meeting was held at the Ashland Plaza Hotel.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
In Sunday's edition of the Ashland Daily Independent, Clark's Pump-N-Shop was mentioned in an article titled "Race Days, Guitars, Gas and Kid Stuff" by Tim Preston. In case you missed it, here's it is:
Gas and More
"A reader with a preference for BP gasoline advises a stop by the BP station at Greenup Avenue and 30th Street, particularly between 5 and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday for the happy hour discount of 8 to 25 cents per gallon.
According to the consumer's research, it is also the only place in the area to find French Vanilla Cappuccino flavor Alligator Ice beverages.
I'm not sure of the context on this part, but the field researcher tells me the current owner, 'knows how to treat his customers better than dear old dad'. "
Monday, August 24, 2009
This article was posted on the Convenience Store News website in the Daily News! www.csnews.com
Clark's Pump-N-Shop Expands, Invests
By Mehgan Belanger
August 06, 2009 - ASHLAND, Ky. -- Clark's Pump-N-Shop, the convenience store division of John Clark Oil Co., grew its base this month when it opened two new locations near its hometown in Ashland, following another opening of a store in the same area in April 2009.
The chain's three new convenience stores—Ironville Panther Mart, Burnaugh BP and Shopes Creek Marathon—bring the chain's store count to 66 across Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio. All locations were acquired from local single-store operators, thanks to the downturn in the economy, Brandy Clark, spokeswoman for the convenience retailer, told CSNews Online.
"We would not have acquired these three locations if it weren’t for the downturn of the economy," she said.
The three new locations all feature a deli, and fuel brand varies by location. Ironville Panther Mart offers unbranded fuel, while the Burnaugh location sells BP-branded gas and the Shopes Creek store offers Marathon fuel, Clark said, noting the company also offers Chevron fuel at some of its locations.
The first new store underwent a three-week remodel earlier this year to the Clark's Pump-N-Shop image, while the two other locations will be remodeled and restocked by the end of September, Clark said, noting there will not be official grand opening celebrations, but the "positive changes that take place in each location will let our customers know their store is getting better."
While there are no plans to grow further this year, Clark's Pump-N-Shop will make improvements to its current locations over the next 12 months, including the addition of new and improved beer caves, delis and equipment, Clark told CSNews Online.
Clark's Pump-N-Shop is also in the process of becoming PCI compliant by upgrading its Verifone Ruby registers to Sapphire registers, and implemented the latest back office software in every convenience store that is capable of scanning.
"We strive to have the best locations so our customers will continue to do business with us," she added. "We pride ourselves on clean, well lit, well stocked locations, with great customer service."
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
We just opened 2 new Clark's Pump-N-Shop locations: Burnaugh BP and Shopes Creek Marathon. Stop by and see the exciting changes taking place at each location!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Participating locations raffled off a corn hole game. Customers used their receipts as entry forms and names were drawn for UK, Marshall, and Ohio State corn hole games. Along with this raffle, the stores were responsible for making their own entry boxes. The boxes were judged and a prize was given to the winner. The winning corn hold entry box was used and displayed at the Nicholasville Chevron, featuring Barbi and Ken playing corn hole!
Congrats to all the winners!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
From January to June 2009, the home office employees of John W. Clark Oil and Clark's Pump-N-Shop held a weight loss challenge. The 41 participating employees lost a total of 690.5 pounds! The biggest loser lost 69 pounds in the 6 month challenge!
Way to go!
According to www.sheetz.com: "Sheetz is a family owned convenience store chain based in Altoona, Pennsylvania. For more than 50 years, our mission at Sheetz has been to meet the needs of customers on the go. Since 1952, Sheetz has grown from a small dairy/deli in Altoona, PA, to one of the fastest growing, family-owned convenience stores in the world, with more than 350 locations across six states — Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina — and more than 12,000 employees."
Sheetz has recently moved into our area, with one location already open in Milton, WV, one location under construction in Barboursville, WV, and another location under way in Huntington, WV. Let's maintain our focus on good customer service to keep our customers happy and coming back! We don't want to lose any of our customers to Sheetz!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
GRAPEVINE, Texas – Technology is helping retailers take on the four most common areas of shrink — employee theft, shoplifting, vendor theft and paperwork errors — through point-of-sale (POS) software solutions and scan data. These systems also help retailers control costs and track trends, all of which were explored during a NACStech workshop on Monday that featured:
- Jane Gabriel, retail solutions manager at The Pinnacle Corporation;
- Susan Flynn McLoughlin, senior systems analyst at WILCOHESS LLC (North Carolina); and
- Dale Williams, director of quality assurance and internal control, Flash Foods (Georgia).
The benefits of implementing a POS solution, according to Flynn, are that it helps control theft. For example, fuel integration and alerts keep staff aware of pump activity, detailed POS event logging allows for a more granular analysis of cashier activity, scanning eliminates pricing errors, and the company’s one cashier per till policy ensures each employee is accountable for his/her tray.
For identifying and controlling employee theft, WILCOHESS uses a “trend book” feature that captures key register information generated by the cashier during his/her shift. Over a period of time, store managers can follow the performance of cashiers and identify trends in key categories that may indicate a training deficiency or employee theft.
Flynn noted that the success of capturing this information for analyzing performance and trends is ensuring accuracy and consistency, as inaccurate figures will skew any shift or register analysis and hide a dishonest employee, or may lead a manager to fire an innocent employee.
At Flash Foods, implementing at POS solution has helped the retailer dramatically reduce gasoline theft (“drive-offs”). The company has reduced gasoline theft by 78 percent since 2006, a savings of almost $575,000 in just two years. The software allows Flash Foods to see a detailed report of each pump, the times of day theft occurred and how many times, including which sales associate was on duty at the time of theft. These patterns that emerge from the data allow Flash Foods to see a trend and be proactive at reducing theft rather than reactive.
Flash Foods’ “Rewards in a Flash” loyalty program also combats gasoline theft by allowing customers to fuel up and then pay, including those who pay in cash. If a customer drives off, whether intentionally or not, Flash Foods has that customer’s information through the loyalty card.
Article from Nacsonline.com
The Louisa Marathon #16, is having a Father's Day Raffle for a fishing rod! Buy 2 tickets for $1.00!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Just met with General Manager Joey Thacker, from Marshall University. We might have possible store visits and promotions with Men's Basketball Coach Donnie Jones and Football Coach Mark Snyder.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
We added our 54th store to scanning today, Louisa BP #17. Wednesday we will add our 55th store University Mart #46.
Monday, May 4, 2009
According to Convenience Store News, BP is briefing its branded jobbers and franchisees on a new point-of-sale enhancement initiative. This will allow customers to redeem cents-off-per-gallon rewards immediately at the pump with the swipe of a card when purchasing their fuel. Read more...
Friday, May 1, 2009
According to CS News there are 10 common sense tips for C-Store Owners:
- Test new things constantly.
- Solicit feedback.
- Keep your operation clean and mean.
- You can't sell what you don't have.
- Treat customers and staff with respect.
- Driving traffic from the pump into the store is key.
- Invest in store design.
- Control clutter at the checkout.
- Stay on top of industry trends.
- It's called a convenience store for a reason.
Today was the last day for the April car wash promotion. The winning store will be announced Monday, May 4th.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
KANSAS CITY, MO – The Kansas Lottery announced last week that it is the first lottery to offer the next-generation lottery game called PushPlay, the Kansas City Business Journal reports.
PushPlay game cards are instant lottery tickets that use an electronic player with an LCD screen to display the game. Players insert a card into the electronic player to activate and then play the game. Players accumulate points that are displayed on the LCD screen, with total points determining the prize won. Games can be validated and cashed without being played, with $1,000 the top prize on each game card.
PushPlay was developed by Scientific Games International Inc. Information found on www.nacsonline.com
Ironville Panther Mart is official! A throw back to good times! I was an Ironville Panther! What grade school did you go to?
In the first 117 days of this year we have provided service to 4,051,912 customers. On average we have 34,631 customers per day in our stores. If we keep up the momentum, we will have approximately 12,640,615 customers this year!
Have you joined the social networking craze online? I have and I'm totally addicted and my latest addiction is Twitter. Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to the question: What are you doing?I was sending tweets and finding new people to follow, and I found NACS! Now you can follow convenience store news; www.twitter.com/nacsonline.
Monday, April 27, 2009
A messy office isn't a metaphor for anything. It's just a messy office. But it's also causing you to waste precious time that you could have spent more productively. Sifting through papers, searching for folders, avoiding files — all amounts to a huge time drain. Thanks to Microsoft.com, here are 5 tips for getting your office mess under control:
- Use Hanging Files
- Make a "to do" pile and actually do it.
- Use your garbage can
- Organize your contacts
- Use your computer
Thursday, April 23, 2009
How many Peanut Butter Eggs did the Easter Bunny leave you? Maybe the Easter Bunny shops at Clark's Pump-N-Shop in Winchester, KY! The store in Winchester sold 564 eggs this Easter, taking the top spot in Peanut Butter Egg sales. We sold 6,624 Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs this Easter!!! I hope you got one!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Did you know?
- Average price for a cup of coffee $1.38
- Average size of a cup of coffee 9 ounces
- Average number of cups consumed each day: 3.2 cups
- Percentage of US population that drinks coffee: 30%
- Time of day when the most coffee is consumed: morning!
Jackson BP leads the pack with 6,898 cups sold!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Since we learned from NACS Magazine there are 6 types of purchases, there are also things we can do to help our customer make their decision on what to purchase. We should have the right product, in the right place, in the right quantity, at the right time.
- Right Product: The right mix of products are important when space is limited. Nearly 90% of sales come from 10% of the items in our stores, adding too many new items can be a mistake. However, new items add excitement.
- Right Place: "Eye level is buy level" -This is the place were best selling items should be located and related impulse items should be placed nearby.
- Right Quantity: With limited shelf space and limited back stock storage, it is important (but difficult) to maintain the right quantity of merchandise.
- Right Time: The right time to have merchandise on the shelf is when the customer wants to buy it. The average exposure a section receives from a shopper is around 6 seconds, customers have no patience for hard to find items.
According to the latest issue of NACS Magazine, there are 6 kinds of convenience store purchases:
- Planned Purchase: Shopper makes a pre-planned decision, often with a shopping list, to buy specific items. For example, buying a tobacco product or a gallon of milk.
- Substitute Purchase: When a customer can't find a specific item on their list, or sees a better bargain a substitute purchase is made.
- Planned Specific Category: When a shopper plans to buy from a specific category, but does not have a specific product in mind.
- Delayed Remembrance: When a consumer is reminded of a need for something after seeing another product in the store.
- Add-on: This is a purchase made after a customer decides on a "magnet" item; for example the purchase of chips after selecting pop.
- Impulse: Seeing, smelling, or sampling an item in the store can create an impulse purchase.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Leslie Barker signed the Oil Company up to be in the drawing for Free Lunch Friday from Magic 97.9. Today was their lucky friday! J.B. Miller delivered lunch from the local Chick-fil-A and stuck around to eat. According to Magic's website, www.magic979.com, the grand prize includes lunch for 15 with Chick-n-Strips, Chick-fil-A sauce, coleslaw, fresh fruit, fudge nut brownies and sweet tea. That sounds really good!
Friday, April 3, 2009
1. Employee carries out trash alone - right before break or shift's end.
2. Employee's car parked out of sight, behind the store, or next to the dumpster.
3. Employee's purse, garment, or backpack in area of work.
4. Sack of merchandise next to checkout, next to front door, or outside back door.
5. Excessive damaged merchandise. Management allows employees to take it home.
6. Friends and/or family of employees hang out at store.
7. Employee never takes breaks.
I stopped by the new store opening this morning in Ironville. There was a lot of work going on! JET Tank Testing was there testing the under ground tanks, Phillips Inventory was doing a beginning physical count, Ohio Valley Wholesale was stocking and tagging the shelves, Coke and Pepsi were putting product in the store, and Mark McCarty was counting tobacco products and making sure everything was running smooth.In the picture, new Manager Sherry Blanton and Supervisor Justin Gibson were reviewing the new cigarette and tobacco price changes.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
If you know you have accepted all of your paperwork and transmitted it to the office, but the office calls and says they did not receive it, here is what you can do to retransmit your accepted paperwork.
- Go to Communications
- Click on Prepare and Transfer Files
- Click on the button that says, "Recall Archived Files"
- From the list, select the file that you wish to resend.
- Select the file by clicking the check box.
- Click OK
- Click YES
- From the Communication screen, uncheck the box that says, "Prepare files for Home Office"
- Click OK
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Clark's Pump-N-Shop is holding a company wide, open call for any and all employees who would like to apply to be a Manager or Assistant Manager.
If you are able to work independently and are self motivated, if you have good communication skills and customer service, if you are able to motivate fellow employees and have a strong attention to detail, these jobs might be for you.
The responsibilities include but are not limited to: overseeing daily operations, training and developing store staff, preparing employee schedules, monitoring inventory levels and ordering to ensure in-stock efficiency, maintaining a clean and safe work environment, and submitting timely and accurate reports daily to the home office.
If you are interested in applying, please contact John Sebastian at 606-327-2775 ext. 26 or john.sebastian@clarkspns.com
Monday, March 30, 2009
Edgar Shepherd takes his brand new company truck on its first assignment, driving to Charleston #31 and fix some lights!
Friday, March 27, 2009
1. Blockage of cash register window, customers can't see sale total.
2. Signage on store windows around cash register area to block surveillance.
3. Cashier waiting for customer's money before scanning sale.
4. Cashier quoting customer's sales total without scanning sale.
5. Cash drawer left open between customers.
6. Tender time to high - the amount of time the cash drawer is left open.
7. Excessive voids, over rings, refunds, and no-sales.
8. "Suspend sales" not completed.
9. Calculator next to register with totals indicates overage in register.
10. "Tally Sheet" next to register with numbers indicates overage in register.
11. Coins on change shelf, or coins out of place in cash drawer indicates overage in register.
12. Hairpins, toothpicks, paper clips, etc around register indicates overage in register.
13. Cashier counting til alone.
Information provided by John Sebastian
2. Signage on store windows around cash register area to block surveillance.
3. Cashier waiting for customer's money before scanning sale.
4. Cashier quoting customer's sales total without scanning sale.
5. Cash drawer left open between customers.
6. Tender time to high - the amount of time the cash drawer is left open.
7. Excessive voids, over rings, refunds, and no-sales.
8. "Suspend sales" not completed.
9. Calculator next to register with totals indicates overage in register.
10. "Tally Sheet" next to register with numbers indicates overage in register.
11. Coins on change shelf, or coins out of place in cash drawer indicates overage in register.
12. Hairpins, toothpicks, paper clips, etc around register indicates overage in register.
13. Cashier counting til alone.
Information provided by John Sebastian
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Mary Smith, previously the Manager at #11 Hal Greer, recently transitioned into working at the Home Office. Mary was a wonderful Manager and makes a great addition to the Home Office team!
Clark's Pump-N-Shop will be opening the 65th store on April 1, 2009. Located in an area of Ashland called Ironville, this will be store #27. Welcome, manager Sherry Blanton and crew!
No, this is not an April Fools prank. April first is bringing with it many items that are taking an increase in price. In the state of Kentucky (where we have 55% of our stores) there will be a new tax increase on cigarettes, tobacco, and alcohol. They are calling it the "Sin Tax". With this increase cigarettes will be going up approximately $10 a carton and alcohol will be increased 6%.
Rt. 3 BP held a contest at Christmas time for their customers. The employees pitched in to buy a stocking and stocking stuffers for the prize. Kids took home a coloring page and returned the colored page to enter the drawing. The brightly colored pages were posted throughout the store. Winner, Kaylee Scott (2 years old), shown here with her grand prize along with employee Diane Kelly.
We have a new addition to the management team at Clark's Pump-N-Shop starting April 1, 2009. Brian Unrue will be rejoining our company as the Director of Operations.
Brian was born and raised in Ashland and graduated from Fairview in 1981. He began his career for John W. Clark Oil during high school, assisting in the opening of Pump-N-Shop #01 in Westwood and making fresh "Hole in One" donuts in the early hours of the morning. His frist management position was at the Gulf Station we now know as Pump-N-Shop #02, Catlettsburg. He also Managed the Burnaugh Truck Stop and the Wayne BP.
In 1984 he began a job with Super America, where he spent the next 13 years managing locations in Catlettsburg, Louisa, Paintsville, Pikeville, Mount Sterling, Lexington, Frankfort, and Ashland. In 1991 he won the award for Manager of the Year, and also served on the committee to help design the first 1200 quare foot store. In 1994 he also helped Super America roll out their Oasis back office and pos scanning system.
After Super America in 1997, he spent the next 12 years with Sun Ventures, Inc. With this company he held the position of Supervisor, overseeing 16 stores and 8 restaurants in the Tri-State area. His duties consisted of directing store management, human resources, purchasing, and the daily operations of all stores.
Brian now lives in the Ashland area with his fiance Tiffani and her two boys Trey and Taylor, and their two dogs Sammi and Pepper.
Brian will be visiting all the stores in the next few months, traveling and observing with our Supervisors. Please welcome him back to Clark's Pump-N-Shop, where he began his career 28 years ago!
Brian was born and raised in Ashland and graduated from Fairview in 1981. He began his career for John W. Clark Oil during high school, assisting in the opening of Pump-N-Shop #01 in Westwood and making fresh "Hole in One" donuts in the early hours of the morning. His frist management position was at the Gulf Station we now know as Pump-N-Shop #02, Catlettsburg. He also Managed the Burnaugh Truck Stop and the Wayne BP.
In 1984 he began a job with Super America, where he spent the next 13 years managing locations in Catlettsburg, Louisa, Paintsville, Pikeville, Mount Sterling, Lexington, Frankfort, and Ashland. In 1991 he won the award for Manager of the Year, and also served on the committee to help design the first 1200 quare foot store. In 1994 he also helped Super America roll out their Oasis back office and pos scanning system.
After Super America in 1997, he spent the next 12 years with Sun Ventures, Inc. With this company he held the position of Supervisor, overseeing 16 stores and 8 restaurants in the Tri-State area. His duties consisted of directing store management, human resources, purchasing, and the daily operations of all stores.
Brian now lives in the Ashland area with his fiance Tiffani and her two boys Trey and Taylor, and their two dogs Sammi and Pepper.
Brian will be visiting all the stores in the next few months, traveling and observing with our Supervisors. Please welcome him back to Clark's Pump-N-Shop, where he began his career 28 years ago!
From January 1 through March 24, 2009, our number one selling item is the 20 oz Mountain Dew. We have sold a total of 110,407 bottles!Wayne BP tops the list selling 5,143 bottles.
Never fear, Beyond the Island Newsletter is still around, however publishing a paper newsletter is old school. Clark's Pump-N-Shop is taking a leap into the "blogesphere" and turning our newsletter into a blog.
What is a blog (short for web log) you ask? According to blogger.com, "A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world. A blog is whatever you want it to be, there are no rules. In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so visitors can read what's new."
If you would like to have something posted to our new blog, please email it to brandy.clark@clarkspns.com. I will be posting often. This blog will help keep our company news up to date and our readers won't have to wait three months to get old information.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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