SYED FAIZAN ANWER

Q1)- The three policies that played a major role in increasing and sustaning sales productivity: 1. The first
policy was taking customer feedback seriously and regularly which led to better understanding of
customer expectations which were translated into standardized processes and consistency in terms of
layout and prioritizing consumer preferences and shopping patterns to make the customers trips easy
amd truly quick! 2. The three to one standard which called for no more than three customers in POS
terminal, and a wait time of less than one minute. In case the customer waiting at a POS terminal
increased the number of three, employees were to engage more into customer service. Processing speed
was ensured by using shortcut keys for running items instead of scanners. This was effective because
most of the customer base was on the go shoppers. 3. QuikTrip had five important policies that were
emphasized and inculcated in employee training and the culture, the most important one being focusing
on the long term. This was translated and implemented through operations by working on a low cost high
volume model which had costs low enough to be competitive even with Walmart. Streamlining their
supply chain and value chain also had a part to play in this efficiency.

Q2)- • Employees were hired after going through a rigorous process of tests,interviews and videos on
RJP. They had very strict and streamlined processes and policies that ensured that the right candidate
was chosen for the job,people whos values were in line with that of the organization and would stay there
for the long run. Additionally, thye had a policy of promoting people from within instead of hiring people
from the outside which kept the employees motivated. • They paid twice as much as the industry average
along with loyalty benefits. So being amongst the highest paying employers who took care of their
employees and offered additional benefits and job security motivated the employees to stay with the
company for longer. • Employees were encouraged and put into hands on training which made
employees work to the fullest of their abilities and explore their potential to cope with their competitive JDs
over the long run. Control mechanisms to keep employee performance sutained included: • One of their
prominent control was the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) that they had heavily invested in. this program
was designed to log and keep track of shifts and activities independently for each completed task. this
helped the employees to keep track of and plan theor activities efficiently and effectively. • Mystery
shopping was used as a tool to evaluate each store’s service levels. Also, employee incentives were tied
to theam’s performance along with individual performace. The benchmark score for efficiency evaluation
was maintained at an average of 94%, and in case it fell below 85%, strict disciplinary action was taken
against the individual or team as required.

Q3)- It is a good idea to expand into new markets once your current markets have matured in terms of
customer base and capturing new audience. Although new entrants and sustaining market share are
alwatys threats to any business at any point in their life cycle, but QuikTrip is now at a point where
exploring a new, diverse market will be a way more profitable deal and opportunity to miss. They can
utilize the same supplychain channels because it is very close to Atlanta which is their distribution
hub.this means they will be able to sustain their low cost model by saving on logistics and procurement
expenses. They can use their loyal, exoerienced wirkforce as a major advantage by employing existing
employees at higher positions at the new location and ensure that startup operations related issues are
minimized by the experienced staff. Since the new location is close to the older ones, it wont be much of a
challenge for the employees to relocate. Two risks: Attaining enough operational efficiency and sales
volumes to sustain the low cost high volume model by prove to be a challenge because that will require a
large,loyal customer base as was in the older locations which might take up more time than anticipated. If
launched correctly,however, using their brand equity built over the years and proving the promise of the
best service that they stand for, this risk can be greatly mitigated and even avoided. In the past, it took the
company upto seven ears to breakeven in its new stores. Hence not keeping a check on timelines and
opening too many stores simultaneously or too close together in terms of time might prove to be
financially straining for the company, but this too is a short term risk which can be managed or avoided.

SALMAN MALIK

Q1)- Quick Trip (QT), was no ordinary chain of convenience stores. Coupled with its outclass customer
service, QT had adopted many policies which enabled it to achieve exceptional sales volumes. These
include adopting a standardized layout for all stores and by providing the same types of products across
all stores, allowing for economies of sales and overall costs which were much lower than the competition.
By adopting this level of standardization, QT customers were able to find products much easily even
when they visited different stores for the first time. In addition, QT’s “Three to One Standard” meant that
there should not be more than three customers at one cash register at a given time and customers should
not have to wait in line for more than a minute. Another policy adopted by QT was ensuring that the
location chosen for each store was ideal. This includes QT’s provision for ample parking so as to provide
non-stop services. For QT, stores the location was selected through their own internally designed
statistical model which factored in dynamics such as demographics, safety and vehicle flow before
finalization of the location. QT’s newly designed Generation 3stores were both bigger in size (by 20%)
and offered a wider range of products to their customers, which included freshly cooked meals and an
assortment of hot and cold beverages. Another policy adopted by QT was based on high investment and
high sales volumes model of business. From starting its own kitchens for freshly cooked meals to
enabling stores to restock themselves in a decentralized manner, QT was able to achieve great success,
so much so that revenue from its retail business shadowed its gasoline sales. By constantly adapting to
the customer’s needs, QT was able to gauge consumer’s eating habits and cater to them by providing,
freshly cooked, on-the-go meals.

Q2)- QT had extremely low employee turnover and it had never lain off employees. This was firstly due to
the compensation and benefits provided to the employees. QT provided its employees sufficient chances
to score bonuses, thereby allowing them to earning as much as double than what the industry paid. Other
motivational factors such as training, constant feed-back, insurance and job security added to the overall
high morale at QT. QT also had a policy of allowing employees to grow from the grass root i.e.
promotions from within as compared to lateral hiring, thus making working at QT, a career job. Old
employees knew that they had high chances of being promoted because all employees were required to
join from the entry level. In addition, QT invoked a feeling of ownership through their rigorous and well
planned training regime. QT ensured that employees quickly adopted the company approach to doing
business and felt personally responsible for upholding the ideology of providing unprecedented customer
service. The superiors were major contributors in the training as they transferred their valuable
experience in a mentoring manner. The two control measures used at QT to maintain employee
performance were the daily activity worksheet (DAW) and mystery shoppers. The DAW was divided into
register time, tasks and upkeeps and helped to ensure that all the tasks were completed. The second
control measure consisted of mystery shoppers visiting a QT store and evaluating every element of
customer services. These mystery shoppers, hired centrally, had anonymous identities and frequently
visited the stores to check things such as turnover time, employee appearance, cleanliness and overall
standards. The mystery shoppers were terminated if discovered. The bonus of employees were based on
the mystery shoppers’ evaluation.

Q3)- The convincing points for expanding in to North Carolina are as follows: - Since it is an expanding
market and an emerging economic powerhouse zone, which offers low interest rates and favorable real
estate development, it would be an excellent opportunity for QT to move in and lay a strong foundation. -
North Carolina has a distribution center and Quick Trip Kitchen (QTK) which are only 3 hours away. This
coupled with with the availability of a pool of approx. 1000 experienced which are eager to relocate for
growth prospects may result in career growth for the existing QT's employees. -QT’s high investment and
high volume business model, standardized layouts, generation three stores, frequent innovations
stemming from customer demands, three to one standard and control mechanisms has proven to be a
highly successful business model and should translate in to a successful establishment in North Carolina,
based on historical data. However, the move to North Carolina is also outlined with risks. Not being able
to break even and incurring losses for the initial years is one likely risk. Further, in order to continue the
stream of high customer service, more experience employees shall need to be relocated to the region,
which may result in standards falling in existing stores as well as low morale in new employees hired from
North Carolina since their chances of promotion, will decrease. The foremost advantage of fast store
openings is the increased chances of existing employees in saturated markets to grow further in their
careers. Due to their willingness to relocate, these experienced employees such as assistant managers
will have a real chance of becoming store managers in fewer years. Additionally, time required for the
newer stores to breakeven, will be shorter, as having multiple presences in an area is one of the best
recall strategies.

ZOHAIB QURESHI

Q1)- The first customer service policy ingrained in the system at QuikTrip is their consistency coupled
with quality products available at highly competitive prices (such as their fuel business). By making
aspects such as store layouts, pricing, products offered, and service provided consistent the consumer
associates a sense of reliability. This keeps them coming back for that consistent and relatively better
shopping experience (such as their fresh food). This consistency is achieved by ensuring that the focus of
private-label products is on quality and efficiency of production (hence reduced costs) rather than a
haphazard variety that compromises on quality which might not even be a kind of product the average
shopper is looking for in QuikTrip. The second factor is the company policy of a long term outlook and
planning. It is for this reason that time, effort, and money is spent on Store Managers taking time out to
interview customers and rewarding them with gas cards for their time. This direct interaction consumes
the actual labour content of the managers from other jobs and costs the store the participation fee.
However, the wealth of knowledge attained from directly asking large samples of customers their opinions
of the store, services, and products is in itself an investment that will definitely pay off in sales
productivity. This is because it will ensure that the store focuses on the actual needs their consumers are
looking to get satisfied. Lastly, it is important to note how much importance the management gives to fast
service of customers. By having familiar store layouts that ensure the customer navigates directly to
where they want to go (cutting down their flow time), mentally calculating change, and their 3-to-1
standard of teller service; they are ensuring that the customer saves whatever time they can.

Q2)- Low employee turnover is possible due to the wide range of benefits the company offers. 10% of the
total employee salary was the distribution of operating profits and 401k plans are based around giving
employees shares of the company. With such a stake in the company an employee will tend to not only
stay with an organization, but also help it prosper. QuikTrip does not believe in laying off people, rather
they focus on their further improvement. They also provide a range of medical and other benefits that are
very competitive in the market. Secondly, the hiring process is based on a referral system that rewards
the referees on recommending applicants that plan to build a long term career with the company. The
applicants are also shown the “unsavory” parts of the job before the actual interview. This is an effective
method for screening out workers that quit once a job falls below their expectations. Thirdly, the support
structure and job descriptions promote employee loyalty. The senior management keeps an open door
policy. The job descriptions within a store itself has many common aspects. For example, a manager may
have other responsibilities but is also required to clean toilets if needed. This ensures that employee
satisfaction is high when they see that even a manager performs the same tasks they do. One method of
control is the 360-degree performance reviews that is given from superiors, peers, and juniors to ensure
reliability. This controls work place culture in that incongruous characters are soon pointed out. Secondly,
the standard of customer service is controlled by “mystery shopping”. These “shoppers” are anonymous
company employees that act as regular customers and then rate their servers and the store experience.
High scoring stores are rewarded and vice versa.

Q3)- The most convincing argument for QuikTrip to enter North Carolina (NC) is that regions that they
already operate in are all either at or nearing saturation. Any new branches being too close together
means that they will start competing against each other rather than the actual competitors (for the market
share). Secondly, NC has a growing economy which means developing infrastructure and thus increasing
fuel consumption. Moreover, a growing population will also mean that establishing a presence now will
mean that will be better poised to capture market share in the future. Lastly, due to the fact that the
proposed plan is expansion at double the usual rate employed by QuikTrip, it is very important for such an
investment to start at the time when NC has relatively low construction and real estate costs. The risk of
the proposed plan is certainly the historically long break even periods for new stores being established.
So for 1.5 years all 20 stores will probably be posting losses. Since the company relies on demand
forecasting before deciding store locations, it might be possible that some locations might not perform up
to expectations; delaying their break-even points even further. Secondly, the company wants this
expansion to ensure their employees are provided sufficient growth opportunities. But this is assuming
that senior employees will be willing to relocate for growth rather than looking at options other than
QuikTrip in their own vicinity. Such a quick roll-out carries the risk of falling short of trained manpower for
their new locations. A faster expansion plan will, however, ensure that a brand presence is established
faster geographically, as well as psychologically within consumers. That means, theoretically, target
market shares may be captured in 2-3 years which historically took five years.

MUHAMMAD AHSAN MIRZA

Q1)- 1. Low pricing: Combined with supreme customer service and satisfaction levels, QuikTrip’s biggest
attraction was their lower-end prices, which helped them achieve high sales numbers. QT offered its
hottest-selling items at lower prices than those of its competitors. Service and products were prioritized to
have the highest quality with lowest prices. Moreover, QuikTrip’s values were sacredly hammered into
their employees over time, with a strict hiring process focusing on recruiting only high-functioning
individuals who understood the company’s values. One of the key values within QT was to focus on long-
term goals, regardless of them being loss-making in the short-term. 2. Three-to-One standard: QuikTrip
had a lot of varying customers – many were on the go, some visited once a day, some visited for
breakfast or lunch, while some stopped by for gas – so it needed to provide fast but friendly customer
service to all. To implement such a customer service, the three-to-one standard was introduced, which
meant that no more than three customers should be present at the checkout counter, and the customer
must not wait for more than one minute at the counter. If the number of customers waiting at the counter
increased (to more than three customers), other employees were to leave their stations/positions and
serve the waiting customers. 3. Process standardization: QuikTrip ensured consistency in processes
across all of its stores, including standardizing store layouts. It was a standard practice for managers and
supervisors to frequently take feedback from customers walking into stores, and others who stopped for
gas, and even irregular customers, paying them in forms of gift cards, to recognize their expectations of
the store and to improve their operating procedures accordingly. Attention to detail, recognizing the needs
of the masses before their competition, and paying attention to customer’s mobility also allowed for
quicker turnaround times and inventory turnover.

Q2)- 1. Hiring policy: Strict hiring and internal promotions: QuikTrip had a stringent policy pertaining to
hiring new employees, focusing firmly on recruiting sharp individuals who understood QT’s values, and
who were willing to take up QuikTrip as their careers. The strict hiring process included mathematical
tests, videos on the work required, followed by tough interviews. Moreover, QT emphasized significantly
on the policy of promoting employees from within, which allowed for higher employee motivation levels. 2.
Employee satisfaction: QuikTrip, being one of the best employers in the country, paid handsome money
to its employees, with pay scales being two times more than the industry average, in addition to loyalty
and referral bonuses. Presenting employees with a high job security, in terms of safety of job and the
finances involved allowed for low employee turnover and high job satisfaction. 3. On-job training:
QuikTrip, after hiring, trained part-timers for 40 hours, and full-timers for two weeks, to ensure that
employees motivation and efficiency levels were up. Employees were trained by their colleagues, and
receiving training was an on-going process for each employee up till the store manager level. Control
measures: 1. The Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) technology was used by QT to track all tasks,
activities, and resources independently for each activity to ensure proper tracking and logging of all tasks
along with their completion statuses, which aided in staffing plans for the following shift(s). 2. Mystery
shoppers: Each one of QT’’s store’s services was evaluated based on QT’s specially-hired mystery
shoppers. To ensure efficient functioning of employees, the management tied bonuses with the evaluation
of individual employee in tandem with the team’s performance. Strict disciplinary action was meant to be
taken against low-performing individuals or teams, whose performance was judged based on previous
benchmarks of efficiency (average of minimum 85% to 94%).

Q3)- 1. Growing market: QuikTrip’s current markets of Dallas/Fort Worth and Phoenix-areas were close to
reaching maturity, possibly signaling towards an end to the growth, in terms of sales and attracting new
customers. On the other hand, North Carolina was an expanding market with diverse demographics and a
growing economy, which pointed towards a profitable future. 2. Lower set-up costs: Construction and real
estate prices/costs in North Carolina were low, and they presented potential new avenues for continued
growth and high profitability at comparatively lower set-up costs. 3. Shifting/promoting employees: It
would be easier for QuikTrip to make use of the experienced employees from the Atlanta (with close
proximity to North Carolina) distribution center, by shifting them to newly-built North Carolina store(s).
This will allow QT to have experienced personnel to run the new stores without the added hiring/training
costs, whilst allowing employees to get ample room for growth. The risks include the following: 1. Long
breakeven period: Attaining breakeven of new stores in new markets took up to seven years for QT, a
trend that is likely to continue in North Carolina. Moreover, building new stores too quickly puts QT at a
risk of heavily straining its finances for a few years, resulting in the owners to be more patient for a longer
period. 2. QuikTrip would need a customer base large enough to be recognized as a brand and to make
its business at North Carolina operationally feasible, something that requires fifty stores or five years to
achieve, which would be a steep task considering that North Carolina is a new market, with different
dynamics to those of Dallas/Phoenix. Fast store openings would have allowed QuikTrip to make home in
the minds of its customers, and allowed it to stand out as a brand rather than an average convenience
store.

MUHAMMAD RAMISH KHAN

Q1)- The three policies rooted deep into the exceptional customer service culture at QuikTrip are as
follows: 1) Consistency in Speed QuikTrip followed the policy of “Three to One Standard” according to
which there should never be more than three customers per employee waiting at a cash register and
customers should never have to stand in line for more than one minute. Available employees are
expected to drop everything and help at the registers if more than three customers were in line. 2)
Cleanliness Cleanliness offers a perception of respect, consideration and pride. Having a tidy and clean
environment shows the stores values. To ensure the overall customer experience is positive and
memorable; QuikTrip found it is essential to maintain a clean, tidy and professional space. A positive
customer experience will be influenced by the overall retail environment and has a direct impact on the
purchasing behaviour of clientele. 3) Product Offering QuikTrip offered products which were either similar
or better off than its competitors like Seven-Eleven or even Walmart. It is ingrained within the culture of
Quik Trip to offer the product to consumers having the best price. The price a firm set for a product or
service has a very significant effect on how the consumer behaves. If consumers believe that the price
you’re charging is lower than competitors it could cause a major spike in sales. But if the price you set is
significantly higher than expected, the response can be disappointing. In either case a change in price
could produce unexpected results when it comes to consumer buying behavior.

Q2)- The three policies of QuikTrip (QT) responsible for the extremely low employee turnover are as
follows:

1) Compensation and Benefits

QT offered decent market competitive salary along with tangible/intangible benefits as well as job stability
and a deep commitment to employee appreciation, development and well being. Employees who reached
important milestones were rewarded with bonuses and personal recognition thus aiding in low employee
turnover.

2) Job design and Support

The number one reason for QT employees to stay with the company is not the money rather because
their managers will do the same job as they do. QT’s employees had a low turnover and were primarily
motivated by pride in job well done and saw continuous feedback they received evident that the company
cared about their personal development

3) Internal Promotion

Internal advancement was a major driver of employee performance and QT worked hard to develop its
employees. Promotion could be within a store with more responsibility or to a new store that had
customer traffic and sales and therefore the opportunity for a larger operating profit bonus. To keep
employee performance up to the standard, QuikTrip used two of the following “control” measures: -

1) Daily Activity Worksheet (DAW)

The DAW was a tool that helped managers in each shift to ensure that everything got done. It
was divided into three sections: i. Register Time ii. Tasks iii. Upkeeps Managers could assign
jobs to specific employees or simply post the DAW and trust that employees would complete all
jobs at their own pace.

2) Mystery Shopper Visits

Mystery shoppers were hired by the QuickTrip’s corporate office and they would visit each store once a
week. They would evaluate every element of customer service – employee appearance, store cleanliness
and merchandise based on standards developed from customer feedback.

Q3)- Upon being consulted by Chet my three convincing points to expand into North Carolina would have
been the following: - 1) Fast growing economy 2) Expanding Population 3) Fall of the construction and
real estate cost in the several years prior to 2011 Considering the points mentioned above, I still would
state that opening stores in North Carolina at double the usual QT speed might be risky because creating
brand awareness in the new market is difficult. Experience had shown QuikTrip that it took up to five
years or about 50 stores to establish a brand presence in a new market and stand out in consumers’
minds. Secondly, turning a profit took even longer. New stores in existing markets took 1.5 years after
operating and reached peak performance in 8 to 12 years. Stores in new markets took 7 years to
breakeven. In every new market QuikTrip entered, it lost millions of dollars per month for the first several
years and its construction cost was quite high than those of its competitors. The advantage associated to
opening the store here in North Carolina would have been the decrease in construction cost. Unlike many
other markets QuikTrip had entered the cost of construction was high which as a multiplier effect caused
delay in breakeven stage. Here, however the manufacturing cost was quite low. This benefit would
ultimately had decrease the overall cost for QuikTrip and so would help in achieving breakeven closer to
1.5 years. Moreover opening 10 stores per year in a new market was the proven formula that had helped
QuikTrip develop a loyal customer base while maintaining sustainable growth.

KAMRAN KAMIL

Q1)- There are multiple factors behind the growth of QuikTrip, some of these are: 1. QuikTrip has been
the company that focuses on long term growth rather than the short term benefits, even in the conditions
where they have to incur some losses on short term. For example Pornographic magazines, drugs and
other such unethical products are highly profitable products, but QuikTrip to maintain her family friendly
image refrained from buying and selling such products. 2. To elevate the standards of customer
satisfaction they involved customer in rejuvenating their process and offered those customers $50 fuel
card as a sign of thankfulness to them for their help. This way they get the response right from the people
they want to serve. 3. Worked for the shopping experience of their customers and tried to make it quick,
affordable, clean with great customer service. They designed all their store in almost the same way, as to
make it convenient for their regular customers to shop from any store. Ensured that there should not be
more than three customers in a que at payment counters and each of them should get free within on
minute. They ensured high quality of products on competitive prices. Made a mechanism where all
employees share the workload, e.g. when an additional resource is required at the registers, someone
from staff stops his/her work to assist on registers.

Q2)- It is quite evident from their purpose statement ‘QuikTrip’s purpose is to provide an opportunity for
employees to grow and succeed’ how much QuikTrip vales her customer. And it was not just theoretical,
through their policies they ensure that the interest of their employee lies above all. Following are some of
their strategies that helped them in employee turnover. 1. They select the right person against their
requirement after rigorous selection process and relevant trainings. They ensure that the preference for
promotion to be given to the existing employees, which motivates employees to give their best at work. 2.
They give their employee salaries that are roughly the double of what their competitors pay. Also, they
give them job security and respect and appreciation they deserve. 3. Documented and well
communicated job descriptions. Daily Activity Worksheet was one of their measure that proves how
seriously they take optimization of their resources. The employees were reviewed by their managers and
on their performance. Also the company introduced the concept of “Mystery Shoppers’, an employee with
hidden identity inspects the conduct, discipline of employees, their dressing and all such parameters, and
they are rewarded if they get good scores.

Q3)- North Carolina is a fast growing market with respect to population and economy, which will get
saturated at a very faster rate. Real estate has large financial impact on opening a new outlet, since the
real estate prices has fallen to a considerable level, it’s about time to penetrate into North Carolina market
to get the minimum store setup cost. The QuikTrip Kitchen was also not that far, only three hours’ drive
from North Carolina, which could also help in reducing the transportation charges to deliver food items to
QT stores. The employees that are willing to relocate ca be transferred to the newly opened outlets. This
will also help QT in higher employee retention and these employee can also contribute in maintaining the
required service level. The stores in North Carolina would be 3G stores, which require more investment
and thus more time for ROI. For QT, employee are the ones who helped them achieve all this, as said by
their CEO. For new store if they hire the resources without spending the due time and scrutinizing the
employees through all their evaluation procedures they may compromise on quality of human resource
which may impact their service level.

NIAZ AHMED

Q1)- QT provided exceptional customer service through speed, friendliness, product offerings and
cleanliness. To ensure the aforementioned QT developed policies/ protocols, a few of which are
mentioned below: Daily Activity Worksheet (DAW): DAW was a tool that helped managers ensure
everything gets done. DAW listed time, tasks and upkeeps which was then initialed by employees when a
particular task/upkeep got completed. It helped manager ensure timely completion of jobs including
cleaning, bathroom duties and restocking. It also helped in determining staffing requirement based on
time taken per transaction (as registered in the DAW) and staff availability combined with forecasted
traffic. Additionally, tasks on DAW reflected customer-service evaluation hence it helped QT improve on
the issue highlighted by customer and instill exceptional customer service in its culture. Mystery Shopper
Visits: QT embedded customer view-point in its policies by introducing mystery shoppers program.
Independent personals (mystery shoppers) visited the store and evaluated every element of customer
service i.e. employee appearances, store cleanliness and merchandise based on standards developed
from customer feedback. To capture changing requirements of customers, evaluation criteria was revised
every two to five years. As certain percentage of store employees were linked to score provided by the
mystery shopper, employees worked hard to ensure a higher scores by providing exceptional customer
services. Speedy check-out: QT offered speedy service to its customers by introducing shared cash
registers and speed keys. Furthermore, QT also introduced “Three to One Standard” policy, which
ensured that not more than three customers waited at one cash register at any given time.

Q2)- QT had been named one of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work for” each year since 2003 and
had the lowest employee turnover rate as compared to its competitors. This was due to certain employee
centric policies introduced by QT which are as follows: Compensation and benefits: QT offered lucrative
compensation packages, with employees being paid double the industry average. In addition to bonus
and salary, employees (based on seniority or ranking) also received tangible benefits i.e. insurance,
vacations, financial benefits among others and intangible benefits i.e. job security, employee appreciation,
visibility within ranks and development opportunities among others. Job design and support: QT trained
its employees to perform all upkeeps and some tasks, hence managers also got involved in day to day
upkeep tasks. This helped QT in developing a culture where other employees believed that they have
high self-esteem and helped reduce employee turnover. Furthermore, continuous feedback was provided
to employees which conveyed a message across employees that QT cares about their personal
development. Additionally, employees were never micromanaged and were expected to manage
themselves. This gave employees an opportunity to grow. Internal promotion: For new positions,
experienced local staff was promoted instead external hiring. This drove employees to perform better as
the wage jump was significant in higher up positions. In addition to keeping low employee turnover, QT
ensured high employee performance standards by introducing the following policies: Hiring process: New
candidates went through a stringent and rigorous hiring process covering different fronts in order to
ensure longevity in employee’s career at QT. Additionally, referral system encouraged current employees
to recommend suitable potential hire as they were awarded bonuses if the referred hire achieved certain
milestones. Training: QT practiced a holistic and strategic just-in-time training approach to help
employees’ successfully complete job at hand.

Q3)- In North Carolina, businesses focusing mainly on consumer goods will be profitable, as population
growth stimulates higher consumption. This will allow QT to achieve a healthy sales volume to justify the
high initial investment in a shorter period of time compared to other regions. The higher sales volume will
also increase the inventory turnover, resulting in lower inventory holding costs, thereby increasing the
gross profit. Furthermore, the construction and real estate prices have been declining in this region; thus,
the cost of setting up a convenience store will be considerably lower. As the economy grows and new
businesses roll in, real estate prices will increase, resulting in a high capital gain reducing the overall loss
if QT wants to divest. The existing employees of QT are also willing to relocate due to growth
opportunities; this will result in lower costs of employee training and also ensure that an experienced
workforce will be in-charge of the new region. QT historically has rigorous training sessions in-store and
at the division office. Moreover, hiring is only done centrally by the division office, studying closely the
predictors of high performance for shortlisting, followed by a test and an interview. Therefore, fast
openings might compromise these meticulous hiring and training procedures of employees. As all the
stores in North Carolina would be Gen3, fast openings would result in high initial costs, and the company
would lose a huge sum of money till QT breaks even in the new market. However, at the same time, rapid
store openings in North Carolina will establish the brand image in the new market and in the consumers’
minds more quickly; it will also relieve the pressure of giving more opportunities for growth to their existing
employees. Hence, in my opinion, QT should expand into North Carolina

MUHAMMAD SAAD KHALIL

Q1)- Speedy service policy at Quick Trip was the main reason for exceptional customer service. Quick trip
made sure that customers got in and out of the store as soon as possible. Spacious parking, optimized
store layouts and speedy keys techniques were used in order to achieve this goal. Furthermore, strict
policy of ‘Three to One Standard’ where by no customer waited for more than a minute and no more than
three customers waited at the cash register made the customer journey smooth and tension free. All store
layouts had this policy and cleanliness was considered highly essential. The daily activity worksheet
(DAW) focused on completeness of all tasks at each store which also helped in improving customer
service. This helped managers in efficient task and staff management through scheduling tasks based on
hourly basis data. The company developed a mystery shopping program which made sure that customer
feedback was incorporated in store layouts and customer service practices were in line with the customer
feedback too. All of the above policies were instrumental in QT’s success and helped QT achieve
customer generation and customer loyalty. QT, inevitably, was rewarded with high sales as a result of
these policies.

Q2)- Employees at QT were considered a real asset which was a part of their policy. The benefit structure
at QT was far better that that prevalent in the industry. Furthermore, QT paid its employees almost double
than the industry average. Furthermore, there were performance based bonuses linked to mystery
shopping performance coupled with profit sharing and shareholding in the company. This led to high
employee morale and each individual was motivated to work for the progress of the company which led to
their success. Furthermore, there were also longevity bonuses for the committed employees. Top
management was actively involved with the employees of the company. The company had an open
culture where by employees could approach the CEO Chet anytime. The chief executive officer also had
a habit of visiting all the stores at least once a year. This helped bridge the gap between the employees
and CEO as the CEO was not only able to pay his gratitude to the employees but also receive valuable
feedback from them. There was emphasis on training of the employees too. Employees were helped to
overcome issues relating to performances. QT implemented the mechanism of mystery shopping visits.
These visits happened on weekly basis and provided constructive feedback to all the employees. In case
of a score falling below 85%, corrective actions were taken against that store. The employees could also
see their performance scores as opposed to other employees which helped them improve performances.
Another control was the audit of inventory and cash. In case of irregularities, corrective actions were
taken.

Q3)- • Rapid population and economic growth • Lower setting cost due to a decrease in real estate prices
• Being one of the oldest players in the area as compared to competitors, QT would easily win customer
loyalty and trust • Employees that are expecting promotions could be moved in such a region as this
would improve the morale of the employees The risk of opening several stores was that the stores took
almost 1.5 years to break even and reach their maximum in 8th year. During this time period, the stores
would incur losses and higher stores meant lesser overall profit for the company. The construction cost
pertaining to QT store was very high as opposed to other competitors. Gen3 stores would cost even a
higher amount and might shrink company cash flow. One advantage associated with fast opening of
stores could be quick saturation of markets. By opening stores, QT would be easily accessible for more
users which would mean higher growth for the company. Furthermore, this would lead to more
opportunities of internal promotions.

OMAR TARIQ

Q1)- a) Quiktrip started to standardize its processes, and brought in consistency, in order to maintain
several of the outlets efficiently. In order to understand the customers, and their expectations well,
Quiktrip started taking feedback from them, and incorporating it positively into the system. To ensure
faster turnaround times, they maintained level of consistency all across their stores, by focusing on the
need, and flexibility of the customers. b) In order to bring in exceptional customer service culture, a faster
customer service was needed. They reduced the wait time to less than one minute which was very
efficient and highly required. This was done by the implementation of three-to-one standard, in which
there can’t be any more than three customers in the POS terminal. More employees were engaging and
getting involved in the customer service, in case the customers waiting in the POS terminal increased by
three. QuikTrip ensured fast processing by implementing several shortcut keys for detecting items,
instead of the scanners that need to be run on the items. c) The one policy that brought in high sales
productivity was the lost cost methods applied by Quiktrip. They were benefitting from low price but larger
volumes of sales, some hot selling items were at so low prices that competitors like Wal Mart, had a tough
competition. Cost were reduced without compromising their quality by improving the supply chain
network. QuikTrip has deep rooted in their employees their five important values. In addition to this
company had a long term broad perpective, they were ready to bear short term losses, in order to enjoy
with long term high profits.

Q2)- a) QuikTrips’s policy for hiring was very stringent, they focused on candidates who were talented
and had a will to stay at the company for a long duration of time, having higher goals in line with the
company strategy. They had a process which was good enough to ensure that the right candidate is
hired, which include tests, RJP videos and difficult interviews. The greatest element which brought in
motivation was the promotions of employees from within the company, instead of bringing in people from
outside of the company. b) Quiktrip was paying well to its employees, compared to the industry. The pay
here was double of what was the average in the industry. In addition to this, there were several other
loyalty benefits. These benefits were motivating the employees, to stick to the company for long. Also
employees were provided with a good job security. c) They had a deep focus on the on job training for
employees. Due to this the employees who had high hopes and were highly motivated, remained with the
company for the long term. Control Measures. a) DAW which is known as the Digital Audio Workstation,
is used to track the tasks of an activity, shifts for all the completed activities. All tasks could be tracked,
and logged. The completion status of all tasks was monitored. This also helped in making shift plans for
the staff. b) Bonuses were tied to the employee’s performance, in order to ensure efficiency in the system.
The score of 94% was maintained on average which was considered a benchmark. If the score falls down
below 85%, strict actions were taken depending on the case. The stores service was also monitored
through the use of mystery shoppers.

Q3)- a) At the time, QuikTrip, growth potential is very limited, because most of its markets are at the level
of maturity. Also, gathering new customers for the same markets is difficult. But the North Carolina is a
market which is expanding, and has varied demographics, therefore it will provide us an opportunity to
earn high profits. b) An efficient supply chain is necessary to win in the market. Atlanta the major
distribution location for Quicktrip, is very near to North Carolina. Therefore, QuikTrip can benefit from
using the existing supply network. This was also help in maintaining the competitive prices for hot selling
products. c) The Atlanta Outlet advantage, will also help in terms of Human resources. As the company
focuses on promoting from within the company, it can take advantage of existing trained employees from
Atlanta. The relocation will not be an issue for the employees. It will benefit from the experience. Risks: 1.
Patience is an important key here, because opening of new stores will give a hit to the financials of the
company for years. In the past many of the stores took years to break even. 2. QuikTrip has a high
dependency on high number of customers, as its main focus is on earning through high volumes,
because margins are low. As North Carolina is a new market it will take enough time to build a base of
loyal customers. Fast store openings can mitigate the risk by leveraging on exisiting equity to build a new
customer base.

HAMMAD SHUAIB

Q1)- QuikTrip had an exceptional customer service culture which was one of the reasons for the very high
sales productivity there, QT gave more importance to its customers than it did to its sales or the products
that were there. Firstly, QT took the restructuring initiative in which the team spoke with thousands of
customers to understand what they valued most and then structured their policies accordingly, in the
same way QT wanted to promote a clean and hygienic environment, so they renovated all their
washrooms and stores at a huge cost (12 million) so the customers can have a better and clean
experience and they also avoided keeping products that even though were profitable but would have went
against having a family environment. Secondly QT keep its products to be reasonably priced and of good
quality, in comparison with its competitors like Wal-mart QT provided the best price deals which were at
the same quality. E.g. the gasoline at QT was one of the cheapest in the market but also very high quality
(considered by big brands like BMW etc.) The food was fresh from the QT Kitchens and only the core
products were sold which the customers wanted. This feature further attracted the customer resulting in
increased productivity of sales. And thirdly, the main objective of the store staff was to process a
customer in the shortest amount of time. These policies included the “Three to one standard” which
meant that there would not be more than three customers waiting in a queue for their turn, if there is other
employees would help out and make sure the customers don’t wait for long. Speed keys would be used
instead of scanning each and every product separately to save time and on top of that there was always a
standard store layout everywhere so the customers are always familiar with the setting and can get what
they want in the shortest possible time.

Q2)- QT had an extremely low employee turnover as it treated its employees to the best of their abilities.
There were several policies that led to employees being very happy with their working environment and
were extremely motivated. Firstly, QT paid almost double of what was paid on average in the industry.
Employees were given bonuses which amounted to almost 20% of their wages, these bonuses included
mystery shoppers bonus which was given on the evaluation of the mystery shoppers, then there were
bonuses given as a percentage of the operating profits made by the store. Apart from the bonuses there
were other benefits which could be counted as part of their salaries e.g. vacations, medical insurances
etc. Secondly the employees were motivated by the fact that the higher management was a part of their
day to day operations, all the managers would do each and every kind of work that the lower level
employees did (cleaning washrooms etc.), this made the employees feel valued as well. Also the
employees could approach the CEO at any time and he would welcome that Chet made sure to reply to
all the employee emails so they don’t feel left out. And lastly, QT had a fantastic policy about internal
promotions and trainings i.e. QT invested a lot on them and made sure the employees were well versed
with their roles. Internal promotions were always a way forward for the employees and if the employees
were not promoted despite being good at their jobs they would be transferred to areas with higher profits
so they can earn more being at the same level. Control mechanisms put in place by QT were the mystery
shopper’s visit which would rate the stores they visited, and if the ratings went below the standard set
corrective measures were taken by the management. The other measure was the cash and inventory
audit that was performed regularly and action was taken against discrepancies.

Q3)- There are solid reasons for entering into North Carolina for Chet to consider. First being QTs
Distribution Center and the Kitchen Facility are in Atlanta which is at a short distance from North Carolina
this expansion would lead to lower inventory and transportation cost, the kitchen facility might even be
better utilized in the future as it is currently underutilized. Secondly, as mentioned QTs existing market
has saturated and there is very slow growth in the existing markets expanding into North Carolina would
accelerate growth as it is a rapidly growing economy. Real estate prices are also favorable to expand into
North Carolina. And lastly, there is a need for promotion and growth opportunities at the organization and
this expansion would lead to opportunities being available for employees, as it is in close proximity with
Atlanta as already mentioned, this would give a lot of employees the chance to relocate if they want to
and start new, which in to self is a very good leaning opportunity for them. North Caroline being a very
attractive opportunity for growth expanding in it with double the pace as it was previously done anywhere
can have its repercussions: 1. As already mentioned it takes time for a store to breakeven i.e. about 1.5
years and opening them up at double the pace would lead to very high investments in a very short span
of time leading to very high payback for the company and as the stores will all be Gen3 so the cost will
already be very high compared to the past. 2. Expanding at such a pace would also mean hiring at the
same pace which might lead to a fall in the standard of employees plus less might be put into staff training
as the focus would be more on expanding the organization and trying to make that work. But in the same
way expanding at double the pace would lead to the brand being established faster in the area and might
even excel profits in the near future.

SYED SALMAN HASAN RIZVI

Q1)- Quicktrip was a highly customer centric organization which based its work policies around customer
service. Firstly, QuickTrip became a price leader and provided high quality goods and services at the
lowest prices. They achieved this by offering the core products their customers wanted and in high
volumes. The highly efficient supply chain enabled them to further lower their costs and pass those lower
costs as lower prices to customers. Secondly, they developed a culture of prioritizing customers and
valuing their time by serving their customers faster. For instance, under their “Three to One Standard
Policy”, no more than three customers per employees were to wait in line at a cash register and
customers should not have to stand in line for their turn for more than a minute. They ensured this by
having any other available employee to drop everything else and make themselves available at the cash
register as soon as more than three customers were in line. The speed of service was also improved by
using speed keys to speed up the checkout and mentally calculate the change to give back rather than
scanning each product and letting the cash register calculate the amount of change. Furthermore, same
layout of all Quicktrip stores and same merchandise allowed customers to find products faster. Thirdly,
QT highly valued customer feedback and took important reengineering initiatives such as establishing
new policies regarding customer service, standardizing store appearance and layout, employees’
appearance based on their feedback. The daily activities worksheet (DAW) and the mystery shopping
questionnaire were initiatives the company took because of the feedback the customers provided, in order
to provide them superior service. All these policies led to an increase in customer loyalty and an
exceptionally high sales productivity.

Q2)- Good organizations treat their employees well and consider them their most valuable assets and that
is exactly what Quick Trip did. The low employee turnover was a result of the following policies. Firstly,
the compensation and bonus plan at Quicktrip was unmatched. The employees at QuickTrip were paid
significantly higher wages in comparison to other stores. In addition to being paid twice the industry
average, the employees were also offered bonuses based on the mystery shoppers’ reviews. The profit
sharing mechanism was also an added motivation for the employees. Secondly, the company made a
significant amount of effort to train the employees with the necessary skills required to do their jobs. They
provided just in time training to their new hires which meant that employees only received training which
was relevant to their jobs. Thirdly, the senior management took personal interest in the growth of their
employees. Chet, CEO of QT, paid visits to all stores at least once a year. He personally thanked the
employees for their hard work and paid attention to the feedback they give for the betterment of QT.
Employee engagement and higher involvement led to greater levels of job satisfaction for QT’s
employees. The control mechanism included the use of Daily Activity Worksheets which enabled division
of work load among staff. Once a task had been completed by an employee he would update the DAW to
inform others of the task which had been completed and at what time. The second measure included
conducting the mystery shopping visits which served as a measure of the store’s customer service and a
way to give feedback to the employees on how they were performing as a team. A score of less than 85%
for a store led to disciplinary action being taken against the store.

Q3)- QT should expand into North Carolina for the following reasons: 1) The growing population of North
Carolina and economic growth in the region present an opportunity for Chet to enter and capture a
significant portion of the new market. The real estate and construction costs have come down which
make North Carolina more attractive to QT. Furthermore, the places where QT is currently operating are
highly saturated and offer very little chance of market growth so expanding into North Carolina would be a
good option. 2) QT could use the already established distribution center and kitchen facilities at the
Atlanta division which is only three hours away. Furthermore, proximity to the Atlanta division would lead
to lower storage, inventory and transportation costs. 3) The employees at the Atlanta division who are
awaiting promotions could move to the newly set up stores at North Carolina. Several employees who are
working in the Atlanta division are facing difficulties in career progression and are most likely to quit and
move elsewhere. These employees would have better career scope if they relocate to the new stores in
North Carolina. Opening the stores at double the usual QT speed might be risky because firstly they are
going to set up Gen 3 stores which cost more than the regular stores thus it would lead to increased
short-term variable costs which may put significant pressure on the company’s cash flows and
profitability. Secondly, rapid expansion may lead to quality and management issues since more staff
would need to be hired and trained quickly which may also result in compromises made on merit. An
advantage would be that QT would be able to create its brand’s presence in the market at a rapid pace
thus absorbing a greater market share compared to its competition.

MUHAMMAD MUSTAFA SARWAR

Q1)- 1. QuikTrip benefited from low value but high volume sales by focusing on its running items and
keeping their prices competitive to Wal-Mart. They had reduced their cost by improving upon their supply
chain / value chain without any compromise on quality. Apart from that, QuikTrip has five essential values
which were deep-rooted in their employees; focusing on long term being the most important. They were
choosing long term profitability areas over short term losses ones. QuikTrip’s customer base were on the
go, which is why, they needed to provide fastest customer service. The policy of three-to-one standard
which means no greater than three customers in POS terminal, and wait time less than one minute. In
case, where the customer count becomes greater than 3, then employees were asked to engage more
into customer service. Faster processing at POS was ensured by using shortcut keys for running items
instead of scanners. QuikTrip maintained consistency and standardized its processes. The company
focused on a customer centric approach which mainly comprised of taking feedback from customers and
then it implemented the findings into their operations. To ensure quicker turnarounds, they maintained
consistency throughout all operations and catered to customer needs and wants based on feedback
information.

Q2)- The employee turnover was low mainly because they had a hiring process which searched for only
talented candidates who are willing to stay at QuikTrip for a longer period of time. Their process included
tests, videos on RJP and rigorous interviews. They had an internal process for promoting, instead of
hiring externals. Another reason is that its pay scale is extremely high, perhaps, its twice the industry
average with loyalty benefits. The benefits of loyalty persuaded the employees to stay longer at the
company, which was further reinforced by providing high job security. Also QuickTrip placed emphasis on
extensive on job training which ensured that employees who wanted to grow and cope up with their
expertise and JD remained with the company for long term. One of the control measures was that
QuikTrip invested heavily in Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) technology to track all tasks and assigned
resources. This helped to keep track of shifts and activities independently for each completed activity.
This guaranteed the tracking and logging of all tasks and their completion status, compiled with aiding in
staffing plan for next shift and / or for future. Another measure of control was to obtain the performance of
each store services through the help of mystery shoppers. The bonuses were based on individual
performance of the employees with the teams performance. The evaluation efficiency was kept at 94%,
with 85% being the minimum bench mark, if any individuals performance rating falls below, then strict
actions are to be taken against him.

Q3)- I think expanding in North Carolina would be an advantage because of it being an expanding market
and diverse demographics, which will offer greater profitability. Moreover, in order to grow and expand a
new customer base, it has to try a different market, since the current markets of Dallas and Phoenix have
already reached their maturity level. So there is high potential for profitability. The location of Atlanta
(distribution center for QuikTrip) can be efficiently utilized and benefitted from, if QuickTrip expands to
North Carolina. Their existing supply chain and value chain would add more value and will help them in
their strategy of competitive prices for running products. Moreover, transportation cost would also be
feasible if they expand. This expansion can also not be a problem for employees. Given the fact that
QuickTrip does internal promotion, the employees will feel motivated as they will be promoted to a new
store, also new store would also be run by experienced employees, posing no threat to the operations.
Closeness of location would also not be a barrier for relocation of employees. In the past, QuickTrip took
many years to reach breakeven for its store, opening new stores would add further burden on the
company.. Another possible risk is about the Quick Trip’s model. Currently it is working on higher volumes
and not margins. So at a new location, it would first need to capture a large customer base to make the
operations feasible and to transfer the price benefits to customers. However, it may take some time for
consumers to adjust themselves to be their loyal customers. An advantage with fast openings of QT
stores, would be the awareness that would be generated by consumers and marketing, which would help
in building brand loyalty and customer base setup.

SYED MUHAMMAD HANI ATHER

Q1)- The three policies rooted deep into the exceptional service culture at Quiktrip ultimately leading to
exceptionally high sales productivity are as follows : • Speed of the service : QT emphasized on the fact
that cycle time of customers coming in and out of the store should be fast and quick . They used
techniques like spacious parking leading to smooth flow of operations, Consistency in store layouts so
that the customers are aware as to where they can find the desired stock and speedy keys as well. •
Three to One Policy: QT has a focused approach regarding customers waiting in lines . The applied a
strict customer policy of 3 to 1 where not more than 3 customers will wait in lines at the cashier and that
no customer will wait for more than 1 minute making it hassle free. This increased the speediness of the
process leading to customer delight. • Daily Activity Worksheet: This worksheet was used as a KPI for
managers to monitor operational excellence, deploy effective staffing, through scheduling each task as
per the data achieved on hourly basis, which kept the customer services best practices in line with the
changing customer buying patterns. QT also had a MSP (Mystery Shopping Program) through which they
ensured that all their activities were as per the customer requirements and expectations. Even their
layouts will designed accordingly. These policies helped QT to beat their competitors in terms of handling
customers and customer satisfaction. It was this focus towards customers that lead to increase sales and
high customer loyalty.

Q2)- The three policies responsible for the extremely low employee turnover at QuikTrip are as follows. •
Career Growth: The career growth cycle at QuickTrip was considered one of the best. The employees
were given proper and advanced trainings before the work started. They had promotion policies in place
too where people Managers are required to make a list of employees working under them who are ready
and deserve a promotion. The promotions can either be higher in the hierarchy or lateral into another
department or area where the operating profits are higher. • Bonuses: The employees enjoyed regular
bonuses based on their performances. Mystery shopping bonus scheme was in place where employees
were offered bonuses based on the review and evaluation of a mystery shopper. Bonuses were also
given as a percentage of operating profits. Other benefits also included Medical insurance, financial
benefits , company sponsored vacations, job security , appreciation from managers and free coffee
throughout the day. • Hierarchy: The hierarchy at Quicktrip was such that their was less difference
between managers and employees. Managers used to conduct activities like cleaning bathrooms and
their areas alongside the employees removing any differences exist between them. This made the
employees and subordinates feel good about themselves and respect the work they do QuickTrip’s
policies highlighted above had a very clear understanding and performance measuring criteria for its
employees. Initiatives like 360 performance reviews, bonuses, career growth, mystery shopper reviews
daily activity sheets ensured a clear career path and that is why the turnover was low.

Q3)- If I were consulted by Chet on whether or not to expand into North Carolina. I would’ve have
suggested below 3 points: 1. North Carolina is considered as an emerging market and economic hub with
increased number of population . It has low interest rates which will prove beneficial in finances . It also
has lower and appropriate interest rates which is of acute importance to expand.. 2. The Atlanta division,
Quicktrip facility and distribution center are within short range to the south with more than 1000
experienced employees willing to relocate for career growth, hence career growth for the existing
QuickTrip's employees and employment opportunities for others. 3. By establishing its brand with its
Unique Selling Proposition which is lower prices, three to one rule, unique and efficient stores, QuickTrip
will be able to differentiate itself very easily from the convenient store chains already operating there and
hence will make North Carolina a profitable venture for QuickTrip. The two risks on opening the stores at
double the usual speed are; 1. QuickTrip stores cost $4.2 Million more than an average convenient store
and as all new stores would be Generation 3, so naturally they are going to cost even more than the ones
already being used. Therefore, QuickTrip might incur millions in expenses for the first few years, and to
achieve breakeven, it might take QuickTrip a lot longer than the average breakeven duration of 1.5 years.
2. Growing stores at double the usual speed might result in a decline in the quality standard as QT would
require time to train local employees and hence experienced employees might get overburdened which in
turn might cause job dissatisfaction. As far as the advantage associated with fast opening store is
concerned, this would be beneficial for the store economically as they will be able to tap this market .
Another advantage associated will be the increased number of promotions within the company.

SAUBAN AHMED

Q1)- Quick Trip core values encompasses “to strive for excellence in Customer Services”. 1) Quick
Service: As the name “Quick Trip” implies, QT ensures Quick Services to customer. QT equipped its
employees to provide fast services to its customers. Quick service was not only achieved by serving the
customers as fast as possible, but it was also covered through the simple layout of its stores to provide
the customer easy access to the required product. QT adopt “Three to One Standard” which states that
there should never be more than 3 customers at one cash register so that he would not have to stand for
more than 1 min in line, if such thing happens then any available employee would handle that cash
register. 2) Consistency: QuikTrip learnt how to provide consistent experience to all its customers. This
was a result of its well trained and skilled staff providing exceptional services to the customer every time.
QT delivers same level of service to Customer irrespective of the store location or its management. This
contributed to the higher sales volume, as the customers chosen to go their nearest QT store wherever
they were; close to home, office or somewhere else and enjoy the same level of service, atmosphere and
prices. QT had developed number of protocols to ensure consistency in operations such as Mystery
Shopping Program. 3) Friendly Attitude: Employee behavior towards the customer played a major part in
QT's incomparable customer service. QT gives special importance to employee attitude in addition to the
employee skill level and experience. As a result QT was able to create an atmosphere to satisfy customer
in a friendly and clean environment and have the best prices. Other than employees’ behavior, store
layout was designed to provide friendly shopping experience to customers. This helped in establishing a
long term relationship with them led to massive sales revenue.

Q2)- 3 policies responsible for extremely low employee turnover are, Employee Care: QT gives equal
importance to employee care as it focuses on customer care. An employee ask for good job security, QT
in addition to that gives 12% of total company’s stock to employees which meant that employees were
owners of the company as well. QT’s higher management always listen to the problems/suggestions from
employees. Employees used to get constant feedback on personal development, all this not only
motivates them but also it boosts up employees’ confidence. Hiring and Promotions: QT’s interview and
training process ensured that the hired employee is the best match for the organization. This resulted in
the extremely low turnover for employees. QT’s management makes promotion list of outstanding
employees and whenever a vacancy comes, they promotes one of them instead of external hiring, they
also used to transfer high performing employees from saturated markets to growing ones, so there is
always a room for progress. High Incentives & Benefits: QT’s employee salaries are almost double than
industry average and on top of that they also get percentage share from store’s operating profit (upto 10%
of his pay). Employees who achieved some milestone get bonuses, shields etc. QT also offered other
benefits such as insurance and vacation benefits. Control Mechanisms for keeping employee
performance up to the standards are, a) Mystery Shopper Programs: QT developed a mystery shopper
program which used to evaluate each store’s performance in every aspect as per the standard checklist.
Employee gets bonus/disciplinary action based on mystery shopper score, because of that employees
always try to maintain their customer-service level high. So average mystery shopper score for QT was
more than its competitors. b) Audits: Regular Audits for inventory shrink has planned. Auditors took a full
inventory at each store every 90 days and an inventory of major items every 45 days. Moreover a cash
audit is performed before every shift to avoid any cash imbalance.

Q3)- QT should expand its convenience store range to North Carolina because 1) North Carolina has a
fast-growing economy & population growth is also on high side. Construction and real estate costs
declined dramatically, so it might be a best time to enter into a region. The prospects for profitable growth
for QT in North Carolina are good. 2) Low transportation costs from QT distribution center and QT kitchen
facilities, as they are in Atlanta division which is just three hour drive from North Carolina and moreover
material will reach in QT stores more fast & fresh. 3) Third and the most important point is Employee care,
by going into a new market QT wants to provide some good career advancement opportunities to its
employees especially for Atlanta division which has saturated with time and entered into
maturity/declining phase and there are number of employees who are waiting for promotions and North
Carolina market would be ideal for them If Chet opens its store with twice speed in North Carolina there
would be risk of 1) high investment costs, both for construction/real estate as all stores will be “Gen3”
(high capacity stores) and for transferring employee from other stores to new store with promotions. 2)
Since stores in new markets often took more than seven years to breakeven, therefore the company
would have to be very patient to become profitable with such high capital investments. i.e. an average of
$ 4.2 Million per store, one more advantage QT will have by fast opening in North Carolina is that, they
will be able to establish a brand presence in new market with rapid pace having first mover advantage
with a large network of stores and same is also suggested by “Experience and Market research”.

JUNAID ULLAH KHAN

Q1)- Firstly Quiktrip brought consistency & standardization to its process, it had also established a system
of rigorous feedback from customers which it incorporated into its operations . To Ensure Quick
turnaround its maintained high level of standardization across all stores by monitoring customers needs &
their paths. Secondly , most of their customers had an on the go shopping mission which meant speed of
service was absolutely critical. For this they implemented Three to One Standard - No More than three
customers at the POS terminal & wait time less than one minute . If a POS terminal has more than three
customers , more people were engaged in customer service to help out . Thirdly their business model
benefitted from the low value & high voliume sales , which allowed them to offer competitive rates .
Supply Chain Excellence helped them keep the costs low. The FIVE Essential values were upheld by all
employees - One of them - Focusing on the long-term meant that they could incur short term losses for
long term profitability

Q2)- 1. The Recruitment process at QuikTrip was an extremely rigorous one, which ensured hiring of the
"right" Candidate , focusing on competent & talented individuals willing to stay with the company for long
term, Also QuikTrip had a strong succession planning mechanism ensuring frequent Promotions from
within which kept people motivated at all times 2. Quiktrip was one of the best employers interms of
Compensation & Loyalty benefits , with pay scale twice the industry average coupled with loyalty benefits.
The benefits of loyalty motivated the employees to stay longer at the company. High Job Security was
also a key ingredient in retention. 3.Intensive hands-on job training ensured that employees who believed
in their abilities to cope up with the competitive JD remained with the company for long term. Control
mechanisms 1. Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) Technology to track all tasks and assigned resources. It
was designed to keep track of shifts and activities independently for each completed activity. This
ensured the tracking and logging of all tasks and their completion status, along with aiding in staffing plan
for next shift. 2. Mystery shoppers & Efficiency Evaluations /Team Rewards In order to ensure efficient
work among employees, bonuses were tied with the evaluation (Customer Service Survey by Mystery
Shoppers) of individual employee along with team’s performance. The benchmarked score of efficiency
evaluation was maintained at average of 94%, and in case it fell below 85%, strict disciplinary action was
taken against the individual or the team.

Q3)- Arguments in favor of entering North Carolina 1. North Carolina being an expanding market with
diverse demographics, provides an opportunity of recruiting new customers . Existing Markets like Dallas
and Pheonix, were becoming increasingly stagnant interms of growth & new customers 2. Close proximity
with Atlanta which was a major distribution center for QuikTrip was a big plus .Efficiently utilizing the
existing supply chain / value chain would be easy. QuikTrip’s strategy of competitive prices for running
products will greatly benefit from this integration. 3.QuikTrip could also leverage the experienced
employees from Atlanta center in the new North Carolina store. Due to close proximity of the two states,
relocation of employees will not be an issue. Not only will QuikTrip have experienced personal to run the
new stores & will also subsequently get more career growth opportunities . Risks 1. Financial Risk, Quik
Trip's business model was long term & hence QuikTrip took up to seven years to attain breakeven in its
new stores. Opening new stores too quickly may put an additional burden on the financials of the
company for few years.Low Margins meant higher volumes i.e. it will need a large customer base for
feasibility . Developing a Loyal Customer Base will take time. 2. Dilution of QT Brand & Compromise on
development of its people. By going too fast QT Risks spoiling its culture , brand & its people because it
will not be able to integrate quality & standardization in all of its processes with that pace. An Advantage
associated with fast store openings would certainly enhance the promotion opportunities in the company
& take the pressure off the management was quite some time with regards to career management of a lot
of employees.

FAHAD HABIB (FOUR HOURS LATE)

Q1)- Following are the three cutomer centric policies that are responsible for its exceptional productivity
and high sales: 1. QuikTrip standardized its processes to ensure consistency in delivery. For this, the
company gathered feedback from directly from its customers to better understand their expectations, for
process improvement. QuickTrip ensure that service level at all its stores was consistent, paying attention
to customers’ needs and their mobility, to ensure quicker turnaround times. 2. QuikTrip’s invested
extensively in understanding its customer base and realized that majority of them were on-the-go
convenient store goers, who needed fast customer service. The company ensured it by implementing
three-to-one standard; i.e. no more than three customers in POS terminal, so that customer’s waiting time
is less than one minute. In case the customer awaiting at POS terminal increased the number of three,
employees were to engage more into customer service. Fast processing at POS was ensured by using
shortcut keys for running items instead of scanners. 3. Over the years, QuikTrip benefited from low value
but high volume sales. It offered its most running items at prices which were competitive to even Wal-
Mart. Cost reduction was ensured by improving upon their supply chain / value chain without any
compromise on quality. Furthermore, QuikTrip has five essential values which were entrenched in their
culture and employees’ capability building agenda. The company’s focus is on long term benefits and
therefore are willing to take short term losses in areas where there was high long term profitability.

Q2)- 1. QuikTrip boasts a thorough talent acquisition and management system. The policies focus
developing its talent pipeline which focuses on talented candidates who are willing to have a long term
employment at QuikTrip. The recruitment process at QuickTrip covers thorough candidate screening
through employment tests, videos on RJP and rigorous interview sessions that ensure that the right
person is hired for the job. Another, policy that has helped QuickTrip retain its talent is of internal
promotion where talented employees from within are promoted to the next level instead of acquiring talent
externally for vacancies. This internal hiring policy serves as a great motivation to its employees for they
trust that they will be considered for better opportunities within the company and they will develop and
grow in the company if they stay for the long haul. 2. QuikTrip boasts a progressive and competitive
compensation and benefits structure for its employees, with pay scale twice the industry average coupled
with loyalty benefits. The benefits of loyalty motivated the employees to stay longer at the company.
Another factor that has contributed to low attrition and high employee loyalty at QuickTrip is job security.
3. Capability development is one of the top most priority at QuikTrip with much emphasis on on-the-job
training. This has helped the company retain its talent pipeline because the employees who believed that
company was investing in developing them to cope up with the competitive JD remained with the
company for long term. Control mechanisms: 1. To keep a track on all assigned projects and tasks to its
resources, QuikTrip invested heavily in Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) technology. DAW was designed
to keep track of shifts and activities independently for each completed activity. This ensured the tracking
and logging of all tasks and their completion status, along with aiding in staffing plan for next shift and / or
for future. 2. Each store’s service was evaluated using QuikTrip’s own mystery shoppers. In order to
ensure efficient work among employees, bonuses were tied with the evaluation of individual employee
alone with team’s performance. The benchmarked score of efficiency evaluation was maintained at
average of 94%, and in case it fell below 85%, strict disciplinary action was taken against the individual or
team; as the case may be.

Q3)- Entering North Carolina market: 1. The current markets such as Dallas, TXS and Pheonix, AZ, of
QuikTrip have reached a maturity stage. Therefore, the growth potential in these markets is limited and
acquiring new customers is getting difficult. However, North Carolina is a relatively less charted and an
expanding market with diverse demographics. It has the potential to be exploited for opportunities that
offer high profitability. 2. Atlanta is major distribution center for QuikTrip, and its close proximity to North
Carolina will benefit it in terms of efficiently utilizing the existing supply chain / value chain. QuikTrip’s
strategy of competitive prices for running products will greatly benefit from this chain. 3. Considering the
policy of internal promotion, QuikTrip can also leverage the experienced employees from Atlanta center in
the new North Carolina store(s). Because of close proximity of the two states, relocation of employees will
not pose as a barrier. Not only will QuikTrip have experienced personal to run the new stores, but the
employees will also get a potential growth room. Risks to be considered: 1. In the past, QuikTrip took up
to seven years to attain breakeven its new stores. Opening new stores too quickly may put a heavy strain
on the financials of the company for few years. This may result in dilution of owner’s value, for which they
will have to be patient. 2. Since QuikTrip plays on high volumes instead of margins to transfer the price
benefits to their customers. However, since North Carolina is a new market, with different dynamics, it will
take longer for QuikTrip to develop and sustain a loyal customer base to achieve the required volumes.
This risk can be mitigated by opening number of stores at multiple locations and leveraging the existing
brand equity to capture the new market base.