Jeff Leedy, senior vice president of marketing and chief customer officer of Rutter's, said, "The new-and-improved rutters.com will cement the bond that we [image-nocss] have with our busy, mobile customers in between their store visits."
Rutters.comnow has mini websites personalized for each Rutter's store. Each of the store sites lists GasBuddy-observed gasoline prices, store hours and amenities, promotions and job openings. Customers can provide feedback and review any store based on six criteria.
Scott Hartman, president and CEO of Rutter's Farm Stores, said that he expects that gasoline-price information will be a big draw. That component was developed through a relationship with GasBuddy Retail Solutions Inc., Houston. GasBuddy operates more than 180 regional websites in the United States and Canada that gather gasoline prices through a network of volunteer price spotters. One of the newest of those sites is YorkGasPrices.com.
For iPhone users, the free Rutter's application by GasBuddy helps them locate the nearest Rutter's stores and store-observed gasoline prices.
Rutter's is the first major client of GasBuddy's OpenStore Social Network Marketing Platform, said GasBuddy co-CEO Dustin Coupal.
With a tagline of "See the Icon, Buy the Product, Earn the Reward!," the new Rutter's Rewards program allows customers to earn cents off gasoline every time they purchase any of hundreds of everyday items bearing a special display icon. All grades of gasoline, plus diesel and kerosene, are eligible for cents-off rewards. A customer who buys a Rutter's breakfast sandwich and a coffee every morning for a week could earn a discount of 10 cents per gallon on the next fillup. Most items will carry a 1-cent reward: buy five of an item with a 1-cent reward and customers will earn a 5-cent-per-gallon reward.
Customers also can win prizes when they register their cards. For four weeks starting September 25, each day, one registered customer will win a $100 Rutter's gift card. At the end of the four weeks, one registered customer will win free gasoline for one year.
It's free to participate in Rutter's Rewards, and there is no limit to the dollar amount that customers can earn. Rewards are good for 60 days from the date on which they are earned. Customers can pick up a Rutter's Rewards card and brochure at any Rutter's store. They can register their cards online atRuttersRewards.com or by returning the application to any Rutter's store.
When they join Rutter's Rewards, customers will receive two key chain cards and one magnetic stripe card. To earn rewards, they simply present any one of the cards when they purchase a qualifying item. The magnetic stripe card (not the key chain cards) must be used at the pump or at the cash register to redeem the accumulated awards. They can check their cents-off balances on rutters.com or ruttersrewards.com.
"We've seen from the tremendous response to our gas giveaways and from rising gas prices in recent years that making fillups as affordable as possible is really important to our customers," said Hartman. "Rutter's Rewards will provide savings year-round whenever customers use their cards on items they would buy anyway. It's our way of thanking them for being loyal to Rutter's."
In other company news, Rutter's has broken ground on a second location in Stewartstown, Pa. According to a Facebook posting, it will be the chain's biggest and most environmentally friendly store yet. The 5,750-square-foot store is expected to open in December and will create 40 jobs. It will have 20 fuel dispensers, four with diesel and two dedicated diesel pumps in the rear; two car washes; 19 sky lights to provide natural lighting during the day; and 15-person seating.
Also, Rutter's Children's Charities has announced donations totaling $56,500 to 11 central Pennsylvania organizations: York County Food Bank; God's Meal Barrel, Hanover; Hanover Area Council of Churches; Waynesboro Area Human Services Council; First United Methodist Church, Chambersburg; BOPIC Inc., Chambersburg; King's Kettle Food Pantry, Shippensburg; Project Share, Carlisle; Salvation Army, Carlisle; Central Pennsylvania Food Bank; and Bethesda Mission. Including 2009 contributions, Rutter's charitable giving will top $2 million over the past seven years.
Rutter's Children's Charities is the charitable arm of the Rutter's companiesRutter's Farm Stores, Rutter's Dairy and M&G Realty, a real estate development company. Family-owned and third-generation managed, York, Pa.-based Rutter's Farm Stores operates 56 convenience stores in York, Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin and Lancaster counties in Pennsylvania.
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