GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The best and most-admired convenience store retailers are those that are willing to take a chance. But being on the cutting edge requires a healthy dose of due diligence and even a willingness to fail.
For Stewart Spinks--the first c-store retailer in South Carolina to move to pay at the pump and the first to offer electric-vehicle charging stations, among other innovations--both those qualities are natural instincts that he relies on every day.
"We're very cautious about doing something where we find resistance from the customer, but we do [image-nocss] sometimes and we have to flex and change," the CEO of The Spinx Co. told CSP Daily News in an exclusive interview.
So how does Spinks know if a new company program is hitting the mark? He said it's a matter of keeping his ear to the ground.
"As soon as I put [credit]-card readers in the pump, I was out on the pump island doing my customer research," he said, offering one example. "A lady ran up to me and hugged me. She had two children in the car, and she said, 'This is the greatest thing ever. I don't have to get my kids out of the car to go in the store and pay.' So I was convinced from then and I never looked back."
Spinks, whose Greenville, S.C.-based chain includes 70 stores, is willing to admit when he misfires, as well, sharing another example.
"I put my own video advertising on the dispensers. I would come on and try to sell you something," he said. "I went out on that pump island again and... I had one gentleman come up to me and say, 'Stewart, I have to buy gasoline, but I do not have to buy it here, and I do not have to listen to your commercials.' Obviously he hadn't had a good day, but it changed my direction and I cut off the ads right then."
Similarly, Spinks has made changes to his biodiesel program, also a local first for the retailer.
"We've found that we have to be sensitive to our truckers because many of them don't want to go all the way to 20% [biodiesel]," he said. "So we'll flex between 5% and 20% biodiesel; we put in additional tanks so that we can fuel our diesel vehicles [whose drivers prefer 20%], as well as the ones that might not want to go over 5%. We've done some things to invest in that."
Spinks admitted that his enthusiasm to innovate can mean slow return on investment, but he's willing to wait it out, if necessary.
"The solar shafts, the more-efficient florescent lighting we've installed--these are small steps to reduce our demand for energy, and we're going to try to get a payback," he said, "but where the payback for most investments is five to seven years, this payback may be 10 to 12 years. Over time, as that cost of water or that cost of energy, goes up, we'll shorten that payback period."
"I would like to think that the customer knows we're listening to them, and that we're taking into consideration their wishes and preferences," he said, "and that that's the kind of company we are."
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