After completing a chainwide interior refresh, ExtraMile is turning its attention to the exterior as part of a multiyear effort to elevate the convenience-store experience. That commitment is already paying off: ExtraMile earned second place in CSP’s 2025 Mystery Shop with a score of 96.8%.
Nouria, Worcester, Massachusetts, is the 2025 CSP Intouch Insight Mystery Shop winner, taking home an overall score of 97.62% in its fourth year participating in the audit, which evaluates participating convenience-store chains' cleanliness, employees and more. York, Pennsylvania-based Rutter’s received the third-place score of 96.53%.
The Mystery Shop audit assesses convenience-store chains with two types of studies: a revealed audit, which accounts for 60%, and a covert audit, which accounts for 40%. A total of 1,000 audits were conducted between April 30 and June 2.
The annual study is completed by Intouch Insight, Ottawa, Ontario, a customer experience solutions and mystery shopping company that specializes in helping multi-location brands achieve operational excellence, in partnership with CSP.
- ExtraMile is No. 8, Nouria is No. 29 and Rutter’s is No. 79 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 U.S. c-store chains by store count.
ExtraMile Convenience Stores, Pleasanton, California, is a joint venture of 1,123 stores owned by Houston-based Chevron and Meridian, Idaho-based Jacksons Food Stores.
The chain spent 2021-2024 updating the interiors of its stores, with refreshments that include modernized paint schemes, graphics, category identifiers, refrigeration floor equipment, reconfigured layouts and subway tiles in the dispensed beverage area.
ExtraMile received 98.7% in the interior category of the Mystery Shop revealed audit, second only to Nouria.
As it wrapped up its interior refresh, ExtraMile launched an exterior update, which has been under way for about a year and a half. The company aims to complete this transformation by 2027, said Dennis Francis, director of operations at ExtraMile. The chain’s exterior received a score of 97.3% in the Mystery Shop revealed audit, a tie for fourth place.
“Every store will have a brand-new exterior with new trade dress, color palettes and a whole new logo,” Francis said.
The updated logo is more legible and will be featured across all advertising vehicles, private-label products, coffee cups and more, he added.
Elsewhere in the revealed portion of the audit, ExtraMile’s scored well in employees, 99%, and coffee, 98.6%.
“Every store will have a brand-new exterior with new trade dress, color palettes and a whole new logo.” —Dennis Francis, ExtraMile
Because ExtraMile stores are owned by independent contractors and employees report to their franchisee manager, passing standards down from corporate to store-level employees isn’t so cut and dried, Francis said. To stay connected, senior leadership teams visit stores frequently.
“This gives managers and store employees accessibility to senior leadership exposure and consideration for future strategy,” Francis said. “Our consulting, standards and programs are what drives a culture where we try to communicate, educate and teach how important it is to be friendly to our customers, to each other, to be in proper uniform and to greet.”
These programs include its own mystery shop, ExtraMile Stars, which happens six times a year, focusing on customer service, foodservice, dispensed beverages, tobacco, center store and restrooms. Chevron performs two evaluations. Its Customer First mystery shop assesses the forecourt and backcourt four times a year, while its Customer Image evaluation entails announced visits for each category two times per year. The programs are conducted in partnership with Ipsos, a market research company based in Paris.
“Those programs are reinforced by ExtraMile franchise business consultants and Chevron retail business consultants, which is a great partnership driving the same message,” Francis said.
This commitment to enhancing the brand extends to ExtraMile’s coffee program.
ExtraMile, which received 98.6% on the revealed coffee audit in CSP’s Mystery Shop audit, has been broadening its assortment, Francis said.
The chain now serves a variety of options, including bean-to-cup, nitro brew, iced coffee, frozen coffee and seasonal flavors. ExtraMile also has improved its customization station, refining both its design and the range of syrups and flavors available, said Francis.
Francis said the company regularly visits competitors to stay ahead of industry trends. Another factor contributing to ExtraMile’s competitive edge is its franchise owners, many of whom also own stores from other brands.
“Some of them [own stores under] all the brands we compete with,” Francis said. “I love to have conversations with them. We can talk very transparent and honest to each other.”
In the mystery shop portion of the audit, ExtraMile earned top scores for clean restrooms, 100%, and well-stocked stores, 99%.
He added that Chevron’s emphasis on cleanliness has influenced ExtraMile’s operations, with the company’s cleanliness culture being reinforced through its own mystery shop programs.
ExtraMile takes a positive approach to employee evaluations during store mystery shops. Instead of penalizing workers for scoring below 96%, the focus is on encouraging continuous improvement. Employees are given the opportunity to correct issues, like cleanliness or stock levels, during the evaluation and still earn full points. This shifts the system from punitive to supportive, Francis said.
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