Sitting in his grandfather’s office chair—a chair that embodies the family business’ 100-plus-year history—Scott Hartman and his team at Rutter’s celebrated another 2023 CSP Intouch Insight Mystery Shop win. For the fourth time in six years, the York, Pennsylvania-based chain of 83 stores proved its place on top, this year with a score of 97.9%.
“Everybody tells you that [after three generations a business] must fail,” says Scott Hartman, president and CEO of Rutter’s. “I’m at the tail end of my career here, but I’ve survived being a 10th-generation family member, so that, I’m very proud of.”
- Rutter’s is No. 82 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
The Mystery Shop award is endowed to the best performing chain after months of revealed audits (60% of the overall score), where employees know the store is being assessed, and mystery-shop audits (40% of the overall score), where shoppers evaluate the store covertly. The study was completed by Intouch Insight, an Ottawa, Ontario-based data analysis firm.
“When you’re bringing in a score of almost 98%, everything’s a top area,” says Cameron Watt, president and CEO of Intouch Insight.
Not far behind Rutter’s were High’s and Nouria, second and third place, respectively. In fact, the study was extended two weeks after scores were virtually glued at the hip. Here’s how the results shook out for Rutter's.
Rutter’s: Advancing From Within
In the mystery-shop audit, which measured items like employee friendliness that can only be measured discreetly, Rutter’s earned the top score, 96.7%. Perhaps it’s the chain’s tight grip on internal development that put employee behaviors on top.
“We really do have training at all levels to take people to the next level,” says Desiree Warnken, director of training at Rutter’s. “Assistants become store restaurant managers; store restaurant managers become district managers.”
Internal development week is a quarterly program that allows current assistant managers and assistant restaurant managers to step up into the role of their managers for a whole week. They get the chance to perform managerial functions on a day-to-day basis, says Warnken.
"The executive team truly does not walk ahead of their teams; they walk beside them.”
“If a district manager visits the store while they’re in charge, they’re communicating, and they’re getting to have more face time with those supervisors with the company,” she says. “If myself or my training manager are out in the field, we’re pulling them aside to discuss store visits.”
Having a great management team is critical, says Chris Hartman, vice president of fuels, advertising and development at Rutter’s, and Scott’s son.
Warnken, who began as a restaurant manager seven years ago, credits the executive team for valuing career growth.
“The one thing that really stands out to me about this company is the executive team truly does not walk ahead of their teams,” she says. “They walk beside them, and that is something that a lot of companies strive for but very little succeed with. Every executive that was a part of my interview knew where I wanted to go with this company, what my career goals were.”
Warnken is “one of [Rutter’s] rising stars,” says Chris Hartman, and she was quick to adopt a mindset of career growth for her own employees. She prepares them for becoming district managers, store managers or the position they are striving for in the next year, two years or five years.
As of August, Rutter’s had a 72% internal promotion rate, according to Warnken.
This year, the company added a program called Lunch With the President, where top performers are chosen monthly to have conversations with Scott Hartman.
“They get to have lunch with him at a round table where he sits and listens to their ideas and questions surrounding the company,” says Warnken. “And we really do take away from those suggestions. They do come down to every level.”
“I like being called a coach, not a CEO,” says Scott Hartman. “It’s amazing what you learn. I take all kinds of notes back to senior management, and they answer with ideas.”
Team recognition and an engaging workplace culture goes a long way for Rutter’s.
The chain names a team member of the month, where store and restaurant managers can nominate somebody each month. The selected team member is posted in the company’s weekly newsletter. Sales contests throughout the year also offer managers lucrative bonuses.