TULSA, Okla. -- "Let it begin." With those words, lifelong QuikTrip fan Albert Endrizzi opened the doors to the convenience store retailer's 70th location in its Tulsa Division on March 26, reported The Tulsa World.
For QuikTrip executives, the opening had special significance, said the report: They made Endrizzi, who has Down syndrome, an honorary employee, allowing him to complete the new store's first transaction.
"My wife, Sally, met Albert 25 years ago at [the University of Tulsa] in a Best Buddy program," Stuart Sullivan, QuikTrip's CFO, told the newspaper.
"He mentioned to my wife that he wanted to come to the grand opening, and I came up with the idea of him potentially being the first customer. And then our division manager said, 'Wouldn't it be cool if he could actually ring up the first customer?'."
QuikTrip spokesperson Mike Thornbrugh said the company surprised Endrizzi with the news when he arrived at the store that night.
The company routinely receives requests from the public to be the first customer at a new QuikTrip location, Thornbrugh told the paper, adding that it was fun to make Endrizzi an honorary employee instead--complete with an official uniform T-shirt and black jacket.
Marc Delametter, who will retire from QuikTrip next month as the company's controller and vice president of accounting, was Endrizzi's customer, said the report.
QuikTrip, a privately held corporation, owns and operates approximately 675 retail outlets in 11 states.
Click here to view the full Tulsa World report.
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