At Chillbox, teens are the leading source of applicants to its 33 convenience stores.
It’s a “fantastic” pool, said Fady Bazzi (pictured), operations manager and Chillbox co-owner—and to attract those teens, Bazzi meets them on their terms.
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Gone are the days of paper applications, Bazzi told CSP in a recent interview. “They’re very introverted, and most of them are not willing to say, ‘Hey, can I speak to a manager? I’d like to see if you’re hiring.’”
Because teens are living in a digital world, all Chillbox applications are digital as well, Bazzi said. Chillbox, owned by New Haven, Michigan-based Bazco Oil, recruits and advertises openings on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok—but the top source of applications is referrals.
- Chillbox is No. 191 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of convenience store chains by store count.
“We have a program called the Nifty Fifty where we offer employees $50 for every applicant that we hire that they refer to us,” said Bazzi, adding that the c-store chain is at full staff. “We have employees who are really aggressive trying to recruit because it’s easy for them to recruit because they like their jobs. When you like something, it’s easy to go out there and get people to join your force.”
Chillbox, which has 232 c-store-level employees, is averaging about 50% to 60% more applications than it was receiving before the pandemic, he said, which he attributes in part to government pandemic-related money drying up.
Applications have accelerated in the last few months—about 12 to 15 daily chainwide, Bazzi said. “We made it really easy to apply,” he said.
Name, Phone Number, Address
While some other c-store chains have a difficult application process requiring submitting a lot of information, Bazzi said his is simple, asking for a just a name, phone number and address so Chillbox can decide which store would be the best geographic fit.
The application then gets routed to the appropriate territory manager, who reaches out and screens the applicant and schedules a manager interview, which might be via Zoom, telephone or in person. If the initial interview goes well, the manger gives the applicant a formal, full application.
During the pandemic, Chillbox, like many businesses, suffered with a labor shortage—and, even worse, poaching from other companies. Managers would enter Chillbox locations and offer an employee $2 more an hour.
“We have a program called the Nifty Fifty where we offer employees $50 for every applicant that we hire that they refer to us.”
“Minimum wage kind of was laughed at,” he said. “It was a fraction of what we were paying our average employee. We were forced to operate on skeleton crews. It was stressful for our employees at times. Well, we rewarded them. We made sure that they understood that they are our most valuable assets at the time, and they still are.”
Some of those rewards included increasing the rate of performance reviews, moving from annual to biannual, “then during the tough COVID months or a couple year span, we went to quarterly interviews,” which is now the Chillbox norm, Bazzi said.
“Every three months we’ll do a formal interview and we attach a pay raise to that,” Bazzi said. “We were very aggressive with our reviews and our raises. In one year you could get a $2 raise.”
Secret Shopper
Chillbox also has created monthly secret shopper competitions in each store that include rewards for a cashier who scores perfect. “We would hand them an instant $50 gas card so they can understand how important it is for us to succeed in our secret shopper program,” Bazzi said.
Chillbox every few months rotates secret shopper, sales and loyalty-registration competitions, with stores recruiting the most loyalty members winning a pizza party. In supplier partners, Chillbox has, for example, worked with PepsiCo to award the store that upsells the most Gatorade in a year with a party. “They will shower that store with prizes, like coolers and swag and gear,” Bazzi says. “Our goal is to make it fun.”
Bazzi says ongoing training is important to boost the odds of getting quality talent more likely to stay in the job for longer. Chillbox strives to let its employees know they can improve and work in other areas of the company.
“We make it accessible for them to train to be an assistant manager or manager,” he said. “Once they get through the training process, we will place them at a particular site in the new role.”
“Another thing we do is aggressive pay rates, surveying the local c-store market and offering an average of $1 above the starting wage.”
The odds are also improved with continuous feedback, he said. “There’s a rule in this business,” Bazzi said. “It’s a saying that employees don’t leave jobs, they leave managers.
“They really value and want feedback from their team leaders,” he said. “That’s why we decided to increase the frequency of our performance reviews and provide more formal feedback. But beyond that, we always inspire them to provide informal feedback, have a cooler conversation with each employee, telling them what they’re doing good to boost their morale and make them feel good.”
Bazzi said he even touches base with employees during store visits. “I take the reviews with me just to say, ‘Hey, this is good stuff you guys are accomplishing here.’ I walked through some of the reviews with the particular employees who were at the site so they know upper management is seeing the reviews.”
Other incentives at Chillbox include complimentary beverages and discounts in stores. There also is health insurance, 401(k) plans and paid time off. The compensation package “is very competitive,” he says “Another thing we do is aggressive pay rates, surveying the local c-store market and offering an average of $1 above the starting wage.”
Embracing Technology
Chillbox, which has been at full staff since about March, publicizes its application process via QR codes displayed at cash registers and on TV screens displaying food and beverage specials.
“We put a quick note on the screen, ‘Join our awesome team’ with a QR code” that can be scanned,” Bazzi said. “Chillbox also has a link in its rewards program app to apply for a job.”
Chillbox also is using technology to reduce the demand on employees, and enlisted PDI Enterprise a few years ago to build a back-office system that streamlines ordering supplies and aids with electronic invoicing.
“It’s all about human interaction and making sure that we value our employees as the greatest asset of the company.”
“Back in the day we’d take an invoice and we required the assistant manager or a team leader to log it in manually one item at a time when we got our deliveries,” he said. “Now, with the electronic invoice, it gets uploaded into our database. The task has gone from a half hour to one minute.”
Another tech innovation is launching an automated price book, a once “tedious” process that ensures an advertised prices matches what’s in the register, Bazzi said. “It makes it so much easier to run a store.”
Down the road, Chillbox will install self-checkout lanes to take some pressure off of cashiers.
At Full Staff But Hiring
Even with a full staff, Bazzi said Chillbox still hires applicants, giving weekend shifts or “squeezing them in somewhere to get them some exposure to the stores. We find that managers end up usually expanding the role of that person because they're willing to start out small with us.
“We’re in a comfortable position and a lot of it is a result of my management team and the way they recruit and retain employees,” Bazzi said. “It’s all about human interaction and making sure we value our employees as the greatest asset of the company. If you get in that mindset, you will solve your labor problems.”
Retailers need to let young people apply the way they are applying nowadays, he said. “And knowing that their attention span is very short. Within five to 10 seconds you need to win them over, whether it’s the application process or the introduction to the store,” he said.
To win over a candidate, Chillbox asks the candidate if they want to be a part of a greater experience than just learning how to be a cashier or learning a particular role. “What we build is a real team-oriented environment that provides the best in customer service skills,” Bazzi said.
“What you get out of being a Chillbox team member is a real fun social environment. You become part of something bigger.”
This includes all employees wearing name tags so everyone learns everyone’s names, including regulars, which he says gets some cashiers “out of their shells and the monotonous mindset of a cashier” and teaches them how to engage their audience, ask questions and have conversations with coworkers and customers. “It teaches a lot about how to function in society and be successful.”
“We try to pump music into our stores. We try to create a cool environment,” he said. “Our rewards program is very aggressive. All consumers are always asking questions about it. So, you have to be reward savvy, upsell and ask them how their day is going. At the end of the day, what you get out of being a Chillbox team member is a real fun social environment. You become part of something bigger.
“Ninety percent of our effort is teaching our employees to greet a customer, engage, look them in the eye, and thank them for coming,” Bazzi says. “We create a family outside the home.”