While Cumberland Farms narrowly eeked out a win in this year's CSP/Service Intelligence Mystery Shop, all of the 10 convenience-store retailers included in the study achieved admirable highlights. Here's a look at who fared best in each of the survey categories.
Audits for the 2014 Mystery Shop were conducted from April 24, 2014, to June 4, 2014. All audits were carried out between 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., any day of the week. Mystery shoppers completed a survey following each visit, with each response receiving equal value. What follows is the list of chains shopped, and how often each chain was visited during the mystery shop.
Brands Shopped
| Number of stores | Number of time shopped | |
| Cumberland Farms | 574 | 99 |
| Kwik Trip | 452 | 104 |
| Maverik | 264 | 87 |
| Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes | 78 | 68 |
| Pump N Pantry | 17 | 24 |
| Rutter's Farm Stores | 60 | 59 |
| QuikTrip | 685 | 121 |
| Sheetz | 466 | 98 |
| Speedway | 1,487 | 91 |
| Thorntons | 172 | 86 |
Overall Performance by Brand
For the first time, Cumberland Farms sits at the top of the list overall, edging out four-time winner Kwik Trip by four-tenths of a point.
| Brand | Overall score |
| Cumberland Farms | 95.0% |
| Kwik Trip | 94.6% |
| Maverik | 93.9% |
| Pump N Pantry | 93.6% |
| Rutter's Farm Stores | 92.8% |
Interior and Exterior Cleanliness (Top finishers)
Were the pump island and its pumps clean?
| Kwik Trip | 100% |
| Maverik | 100% |
| QuikTrip | 100% |
Was all exteriorsignage in good condition?
| Kwik Trip | 100% |
| Maverik | 100% |
| QuikTrip | 100% |
Was the restroom clean?
| Pump N Pantry | 100% |
| Rutter's | 100% |
| Cumberland Farms | 100% |
Were all the lights you saw in the store working?
| Nice N Easy | 100% |
| Rutter's | 100% |
| Speedway | 96.7% |
Mystery shoppers say ...
“One pump island had dirt caked on the island. The diesel pumps were filthy.”
“Someone’s undergarments were left in the stall.”
“A nice consideration ... was two immaculate water bowls for canines.”
CONTINUED: Food Combo Deals, Fountain Drinks, More ...
Food Combo Deals
New research was added this year to address that today’s c-stores have embraced foodservice, and that to be taken seriously they must be able to compete against QSRs. A fundamental staple of QSRs is the combo meal. Yet while some offered combos across all stores, others scored only in the 30th percentile.
Did this location have food combo deals?
| Kwik Trip | 100% |
| Maverik | 97.7% |
| Cumberland Farms | 93.9% |
Was there any promotional materials for the food combo deals in the store (e.g., signage, employees waering buttons, etc.)?
| Maverik | 100% |
| Kwik Trip | 99.0% |
| Cumberland Farms | 96.8% |
Dairy Cooler
Were the products in the dairy cooler within their expiration date?
| Rutter's | 100% |
| Speedway | 98.9% |
| Cumberland Farms | 96.0% |
Did this location have a procedure for taking the dairy cooler temperature?
| Cumberland Farms | 100% |
| Kwik Trip | 100% |
| Pump N Pantry | 100% |
| Rutter's | 100% |
| Sheetz | 100% |
Was the temperature within the range of 32°F to 41°F (0°C to 5°C)?
| Kwik Trip | 96.2% |
| Cumberland Farms | 90.0% |
| Pump N Pantry | 90.9% |
| Rutter's | 88.1% |
| Sheetz | 82.7% |
Fountain Drinks
Were all flavors on the fountain-drink machine operational?
| Rutter's | 100% |
| Cumberland Farms | 99.0% |
| Nice N Easy | 98.5% |
Mystery Shoppers Say ...
“Both members of the crew are excellent at multitasking. Between customer runs, they were cleaning the counters, as well as other chores.”
“Sometimes you will have drops of drinks on the counters, but this store stays on top of it. The counters were not sticky. Very nice.”
CONTINUED: Coffee, Sandwich Cooler & Employees
Coffee
Was the coffee machine and area clean?
| Pump N Pantry | 100% |
| Rutter's | 94.9% |
| Maverik | 92.0% |
Was all the coffee equipment operational?
| Pump N Pantry | 100% |
| Maverik | 98.9% |
| Speedway | 98.9% |
Did the location have a working thermometer to test the temperature of the coffee?
| Cumberland Farms | 94.9% |
| Speedway | 91.1% |
| Kwik Trip | 90.4% |
Sandwich Cooler
Were the sandwiches within their expiration date?
| Rutter's | 100% |
| QuikTrip | 99.1% |
| Kwik Trip | 99.0% |
Did the sandwiches look appealing (fresh and attractively presented)?
| Cumberland Farms | 100% |
| Kwik Trip | 100% |
| Nice N Easy | 100% |
| QuikTrip | 100% |
Mystery Shoppers Say ...
“I was very impressed with the sandwich cooler and the amount and variety of sandwiches available. They also had salads, fruit, cheeses, wraps, yogurt, pasta and macaroni salad.”
Employee Focus
How long did you wait in line?
| Pump N Pantry | 93.7% |
| Rutter's | 90.8% |
| Maverik | 88.5% |
Did the cashier greet you?
| Kwik Trip | 98.8% |
| Cumberland Farms | 95.0% |
| Sheetz | 92.5% |
Did the cashier make you feel like a valued customer?
| Rutter's | 89.0% |
| Kwik Trip | 88.1% |
| Pump N Pantry | 85.7% |
Would you recommend this store to others?
| Kwik Trip | 92.8% |
| Pump N Pantry | 91.7% |
| Rutter's | 90.4% |
Were all on-duty employees well-groomed?
| Cumberland Farms | 100% |
| Kwik Trip | 100% |
| Maverik | 100% |
| Nice N Easy | 100% |
| Pump N Pantry | 100% |
| QuikTrip | 100% |
| Sheetz | 100% |
| Speedway | 100% |
Watch for report cards for each Mystery Shop participant on CSPnet.com in the near future.
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