Speedway/7-Eleven integration

Gas stations & convenience stores (AM/PM, 7-Eleven, etc.)
storewanderer
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Re: Speedway/7-Eleven integration

Post by storewanderer »

BillyGr wrote: July 23rd, 2022, 8:42 am
Not sure why this is any issue - of course when you combine two similar companies, there will be people that are not needed, given that each company has similar positions, and you don't need two people doing the same job.

Could just be that they are (sensibly) choosing those who are the best for each type of job - that is, if the Speedway HQ or field personnel did better at those jobs than the existing 7-11 ones, keep the better ones, while keeping others from 7-11 that also did better (apparently the finance/legal/marketing departments).
7-Eleven and Speedway are set up very differently from a corporate perspective. The gutting that took place on the 7-Eleven side I find very interesting as it was heavily field support roles for the franchised stores (Speedway doesn't have this function because they don't do any of those things with franchised stores).

I am curious if 7-Eleven is on the cusp of doing a major culling of its stores. They need to. But that wouldn't be consistent with their ego goal to have the largest number of convenience stores by store count. What good is it if the vast majority of your stores are complete garbage? You are just embarrassing yourself. These stores are unbelievably poorly run. In Reno a few weeks ago they did a free small slurpee, it was a week or so long promotion. Most stores don't want to participate so they just don't put out any small slurpee cups. I went to 3-4 different locations before I found one who had small cups (I asked the others- the franchisees/family of the franchisees who are incredibly rude and don't communicate well mumbled things to me or said no or waived up their hands, and no cups ever appeared, so I eventually left). The filth of these locations and mess of their drink stations was incredible.

The issue I am seeing is Speedway's performance has deteriorated significantly since 7-Eleven purchased Speedway. 7-Eleven moved Speedway to 7-Eleven's fuel pricing model (resulting in noncompetitive fuel pricing) and then the total screw up with Speedway's fountain/frozen program where they basically doubled prices on everything was also a fantastic way to eliminate hundreds of daily customers. I also don't think the 7-Eleven private label program brought anything to the table for Speedway at all.

And that deterioration of Speedway doesn't even get into whether or not the actual operation of the stations has deteriorated since 7-Eleven, who is in my opinion a terrible operator, the worst operator in the US as far as c-store chains go, as such operational quality declines would also hurt customer traffic. The Speedways in Northern California were never great and from an operational perspective since 7-Eleven took over, they don't seem any different than they have been in the few years they've been there.
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Re: Speedway/7-Eleven integration

Post by storewanderer »

mjhale wrote: July 24th, 2022, 7:01 am

Add to this that there seems to be no desire from 7-11 corporate to force modernization of stores or if they don't they are out as a franchise. In the area I live there are many 7-11 stores built in the 70s and 80s that have had essentially no work done on them for many, many years. You can tell too. They are old, cramped and dirty. Selection is limited and they have very few hot foods. I think it is very interesting that in areas where you have a strong presence from a modern, all corporate owned convenience store like Sheetz or Wawa you just don't have the franchisee 7-11 type stores. If there is a 7-11 it is a modern store trying to have the same concepts as Sheetz or Wawa. I always wondered if the 7-11 stores with Laredo Taco or other significant food service options are corporate owned. Not saying a franchisee could keep that up but corporate oversight would give the consistency between locations people desire.
The problem is most of the stores you are describing, the real estate is controlled by 7-Eleven Corporation. They own it. The franchisee is simply the tenant. Any improvements to the facility, 7-Eleven Corporate would need to be paying for that.

They've done a couple of remodels to locations like this in Reno/Sparks. They have done new floors and repainted the walls. They still have the same old stainless steel fixtures/counters for everything. The stores are laid out the same as before. The product offer is exactly the same as before. They add more white (floors, walls) into the recent remodels and this is very bad as these stores are dirty and the white is a lot harder to keep clean than the old tan they had before was.

From what I've seen of the few licensee 7-Eleven locations I know about those locations actually seem to be better maintained than the corporate ones... usually because they started as something that was nicer in the first place.
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Re: Speedway/7-Eleven integration

Post by BillyGr »

storewanderer wrote: July 24th, 2022, 1:34 pm In Reno a few weeks ago they did a free small slurpee, it was a week or so long promotion. Most stores don't want to participate so they just don't put out any small slurpee cups. I went to 3-4 different locations before I found one who had small cups (I asked the others- the franchisees/family of the franchisees who are incredibly rude and don't communicate well mumbled things to me or said no or waived up their hands, and no cups ever appeared, so I eventually left). The filth of these locations and mess of their drink stations was incredible.

The issue I am seeing is Speedway's performance has deteriorated significantly since 7-Eleven purchased Speedway. 7-Eleven moved Speedway to 7-Eleven's fuel pricing model (resulting in noncompetitive fuel pricing) and then the total screw up with Speedway's fountain/frozen program where they basically doubled prices on everything was also a fantastic way to eliminate hundreds of daily customers. I also don't think the 7-Eleven private label program brought anything to the table for Speedway at all.

And that deterioration of Speedway doesn't even get into whether or not the actual operation of the stations has deteriorated since 7-Eleven, who is in my opinion a terrible operator, the worst operator in the US as far as c-store chains go, as such operational quality declines would also hurt customer traffic. The Speedways in Northern California were never great and from an operational perspective since 7-Eleven took over, they don't seem any different than they have been in the few years they've been there.
Must just depend on the stores/area. I think that free Slurpee was for their date (July 11th, aka 7/11) and I think it was available around here, in stores that have the machines which many do not due to being former Hess locations and smaller stores (like where the store is a building between the pumps, even one that has to be the original Hess building for the employees when they did full serve which disappeared in NY decades back).

Fuel prices have been pretty similar to other places around here, probably a bit lower if you use their paycard (which I suspect is like Cumberland's that hooks to an account). One spot, they have even been the best price (or equal to it) several weeks now, and seem to be taking off an extra 3 cents for scanning the Speedway card (which definitely makes it the lowest in that area).

Can't say I've gotten cold drinks recently, but they have had the Iced Coffee at $1 for any size (they have 16 and 24 oz.), and even the regular coffee rang up $1.99 for the largest one (which I got as the free item for buy 6, all of them the $1 Iced ones ;).

They did get rid of a few locations here. No idea how they chose, since they kept these smaller ones but closed at least one the same size with the building in pumps - that one is just a vacant lot now - and one that was a newer full sized store, and are currently opening at least one new one (in an area being redeveloped, used to be a Howard Johnson's hotel/restaurant complex, now a handful of smaller shops and eateries, on a main route and near the Thruway Exit).
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Re: Speedway/7-Eleven integration

Post by storewanderer »

BillyGr wrote: July 24th, 2022, 2:17 pm

Must just depend on the stores/area. I think that free Slurpee was for their date (July 11th, aka 7/11) and I think it was available around here, in stores that have the machines which many do not due to being former Hess locations and smaller stores (like where the store is a building between the pumps, even one that has to be the original Hess building for the employees when they did full serve which disappeared in NY decades back).

Fuel prices have been pretty similar to other places around here, probably a bit lower if you use their paycard (which I suspect is like Cumberland's that hooks to an account). One spot, they have even been the best price (or equal to it) several weeks now, and seem to be taking off an extra 3 cents for scanning the Speedway card (which definitely makes it the lowest in that area).

Can't say I've gotten cold drinks recently, but they have had the Iced Coffee at $1 for any size (they have 16 and 24 oz.), and even the regular coffee rang up $1.99 for the largest one (which I got as the free item for buy 6, all of them the $1 Iced ones ;).

They did get rid of a few locations here. No idea how they chose, since they kept these smaller ones but closed at least one the same size with the building in pumps - that one is just a vacant lot now - and one that was a newer full sized store, and are currently opening at least one new one (in an area being redeveloped, used to be a Howard Johnson's hotel/restaurant complex, now a handful of smaller shops and eateries, on a main route and near the Thruway Exit).
The Free Slurpee was good for a week with 7-Rewards, all of the locations I had issues were long term 7-Eleven sites. Not Speedway sites.

The $1 Iced Coffee has been a 7-Eleven offer for a while so yes they have that offer. At 7-Eleven you are supposed to go to the soda machine, get ice, then fill the cup with coffee from the coffee area (the hot coffee). Most 7-Eleven do not have an iced coffee machine like Speedway has. Maverik also took away the iced coffee machines like Speedway has but their brew by cup has an iced option and perhaps the one at Speedway does too. The 7-Eleven in my area are still on the glass pot coffee program.
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Re: Speedway/7-Eleven integration

Post by BillyGr »

storewanderer wrote: July 24th, 2022, 9:48 pm The Free Slurpee was good for a week with 7-Rewards, all of the locations I had issues were long term 7-Eleven sites. Not Speedway sites.

The $1 Iced Coffee has been a 7-Eleven offer for a while so yes they have that offer. At 7-Eleven you are supposed to go to the soda machine, get ice, then fill the cup with coffee from the coffee area (the hot coffee). Most 7-Eleven do not have an iced coffee machine like Speedway has. Maverik also took away the iced coffee machines like Speedway has but their brew by cup has an iced option and perhaps the one at Speedway does too. The 7-Eleven in my area are still on the glass pot coffee program.
OK, I was saying I remember seeing the free Slurpee or Speedy Freeze deal at Speedway also (at least those that the machines for it), which makes sense.

Many of the Speedway stores do not have a separate iced coffee machine here either (I think the largest one may have some already made, but not sure), but the brewers do have a setting for iced coffee, once you get ice (from the soda machine in the between the pumps store, a separate ice machine in the larger one and a tiny ice machine in the smallest one, looks like something you might have at a home bar, but that is probably all they could fit in there). Works fairly well from what I've seen (some even ask if you want space left for milk on both the hot and iced coffee).
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Re: Speedway/7-Eleven integration

Post by storewanderer »

BillyGr wrote: July 25th, 2022, 12:35 pm

OK, I was saying I remember seeing the free Slurpee or Speedy Freeze deal at Speedway also (at least those that the machines for it), which makes sense.

Many of the Speedway stores do not have a separate iced coffee machine here either (I think the largest one may have some already made, but not sure), but the brewers do have a setting for iced coffee, once you get ice (from the soda machine in the between the pumps store, a separate ice machine in the larger one and a tiny ice machine in the smallest one, looks like something you might have at a home bar, but that is probably all they could fit in there). Works fairly well from what I've seen (some even ask if you want space left for milk on both the hot and iced coffee).
So that works just like the Maverik iced coffee on the single cup hot brewing machines then. The CA Speedways, at least the ones around Placer County, all still have an iced coffee machine that dispenses pre-flavored pre-creamed iced coffee in two flavors. I have noticed those machines disappeared from various other stores (7-Eleven and Maverik) so I was surprised when Speedway still had them recently.

But 7-Elevens, even those recently remodeled in my area, have no such machines. You go over to the 1970 era glass coffee pots sitting on a stove type warmer with a cup full of ice and pour away. Then you deal with the rude clerk who acts like they didn't hear what you said, acts like the system is down when you try to get them to scan the app, and tries to charge you the higher soda price (or currently, you say nothing, since the Big Gulp discounts from 1.49 to .59 with the app- until they pretend to scan the app then don't actually scan it, then you have to say something).
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Re: Speedway/7-Eleven integration

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So it appears there is a .07 per gallon fuel discount now with Speedy Rewards at corporate Speedway sites (NOT "Speedway Express"). I have no idea what the terms of this discount are, when it started/ends, or if it varies by fuel grade as the locations in NorCal have no signs up about it and there is zero promotion. This discount also stacks with the cash fuel price that some of these CA Speedway sites have so if you do a cash fuel prepay and use the Speedy Rewards it applies two discounts on your receipt for a total of 0.17 off:
Speedy Rewards .07 Rollback
FUEL DISCOUNT CASH ALL SELECT CA SITE .10

Also on the receipt when the Speedy Rewards was scanned it used to display as a line item on the receipt "Speedy Rewards." Now it just displays as a line item on the receipt "Rewards."

7-Eleven has successfully killed traffic for fountain/coffee in these locations after ending the .89 any size fountain/frozen everyday low price from Speedway and nobody cares about the Slurpee program. The Slurpee machines were broken either all or multiple flavors at the two units I went to. They installed 7-Eleven bakery endcaps but the cases are not stocked and there were just a few thaw and sell crap items in them.

One location still had two urns of "Speedy Tea" iced tea, I guess 7-Eleven doesn't know how to rebrand iced tea brewed.
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Re: Speedway/7-Eleven integration

Post by Alpha8472 »

When you sign up for 7Rewards on the 7-Eleven app on your first 7 trips you get 11 cents off per gallon. After that it is 3 cents off per gallon.
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Re: Speedway/7-Eleven integration

Post by pseudo3d »

storewanderer wrote: July 25th, 2022, 10:00 pm
BillyGr wrote: July 25th, 2022, 12:35 pm

OK, I was saying I remember seeing the free Slurpee or Speedy Freeze deal at Speedway also (at least those that the machines for it), which makes sense.

Many of the Speedway stores do not have a separate iced coffee machine here either (I think the largest one may have some already made, but not sure), but the brewers do have a setting for iced coffee, once you get ice (from the soda machine in the between the pumps store, a separate ice machine in the larger one and a tiny ice machine in the smallest one, looks like something you might have at a home bar, but that is probably all they could fit in there). Works fairly well from what I've seen (some even ask if you want space left for milk on both the hot and iced coffee).
So that works just like the Maverik iced coffee on the single cup hot brewing machines then. The CA Speedways, at least the ones around Placer County, all still have an iced coffee machine that dispenses pre-flavored pre-creamed iced coffee in two flavors. I have noticed those machines disappeared from various other stores (7-Eleven and Maverik) so I was surprised when Speedway still had them recently.

But 7-Elevens, even those recently remodeled in my area, have no such machines. You go over to the 1970 era glass coffee pots sitting on a stove type warmer with a cup full of ice and pour away. Then you deal with the rude clerk who acts like they didn't hear what you said, acts like the system is down when you try to get them to scan the app, and tries to charge you the higher soda price (or currently, you say nothing, since the Big Gulp discounts from 1.49 to .59 with the app- until they pretend to scan the app then don't actually scan it, then you have to say something).
Reno sounds like a disaster what with the lousy execution of fast food.

My experiences with 7-11 aren't perfect but both locations I've visited in the last few years had one of those machines where you select your coffee and size, then it brews it from the grind above.
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Re: Speedway/7-Eleven integration

Post by BillyGr »

storewanderer wrote: November 20th, 2022, 11:47 pm So it appears there is a .07 per gallon fuel discount now with Speedy Rewards at corporate Speedway sites (NOT "Speedway Express"). I have no idea what the terms of this discount are, when it started/ends, or if it varies by fuel grade as the locations in NorCal have no signs up about it and there is zero promotion. This discount also stacks with the cash fuel price that some of these CA Speedway sites have so if you do a cash fuel prepay and use the Speedy Rewards it applies two discounts on your receipt for a total of 0.17 off:
Speedy Rewards .07 Rollback
FUEL DISCOUNT CASH ALL SELECT CA SITE .10

Also on the receipt when the Speedy Rewards was scanned it used to display as a line item on the receipt "Speedy Rewards." Now it just displays as a line item on the receipt "Rewards."

7-Eleven has successfully killed traffic for fountain/coffee in these locations after ending the .89 any size fountain/frozen everyday low price from Speedway and nobody cares about the Slurpee program. The Slurpee machines were broken either all or multiple flavors at the two units I went to. They installed 7-Eleven bakery endcaps but the cases are not stocked and there were just a few thaw and sell crap items in them.

One location still had two urns of "Speedy Tea" iced tea, I guess 7-Eleven doesn't know how to rebrand iced tea brewed.
Ours here has been doing a discount (but only 3 cents) when you scan the card since at least the summer this year. I was getting it there as it was the cheapest spot anyway (even pre-discount), then noticed that the pump was reading 2 cents less than the signs did.

These stores don't have separate pricing for cash, just a 10-cent discount if you use their pay card (which is hooked up to an account of yours). I'd suspect that the 3 cents doesn't add to that, but don't have such a card so I can't be sure.
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