Summer is quickly approaching, and with its arrival will come an increase in travelers visiting your convenience store on the way to their final destinations. Some may be excited about their journeys; others may be frustrated by the long hours in the car. Either way, you want to make sure your employees are providing summer travelers with the best experience possible, so they’ll choose your store again the next time they’re passing through.
Schedule Summer Refresher Training
Sometimes even the best convenience store employees could use a little reminder when it comes to certain training topics. For example, customer service is crucial this time of year and your employees should also be taking advantage of the increased traffic to work on their suggestive selling techniques. Refresh their memories by scheduling time to review relevant topics to improve your business this summer.
Now is also a good time to have employees brush up on these sales and safety training topics:
Fuel Pump Procedures
Do your employees know what to do in the case of a fuel spill? What about your breakaway pump procedures? An increased number of summer travelers visiting your convenience store brings an increased risk of things going wrong at the pump, so make sure your employees are prepared. Now is also a great time to review the importance of exterior facility care. Many of your traveling customers may never make it into the store, but you still want to make a good impression. Make sure your employees are keeping the fuel islands clean and well-stocked.
Skimming Prevention & Detection
Skimming has become a widespread issue for convenience stores over the last few years, and thieves see summer travelers as easy targets. To protect all your customers, it’s important that your employees are aware of what they should be looking for. Remind them to check all card readers regularly, and review how to recognize skimming devices as well as the steps to take if they find one.
Heat Illness Prevention
If you have employees who spend a lot of time working outdoors or in a hot food service area during the summer, heat illness prevention is a priority for their safety. However, just knowing how to prevent heat illness isn’t enough. Make sure your employees also know how to recognize the signs and symptoms of heat illness and what to do if one of their coworkers begins to display symptoms.
Propane Sales
Summer means BBQ season and if your store sells propane, this is most likely your busiest time of year for the product. Now is the best time for refresher training on the procedures for safely handling tanks and selling propane, as well as safety tips to provide your customers for the safe transport of their propane tanks.
First Aid & Emergency Preparedness
How well would your employees handle themselves in an emergency? Accidents and emergencies could happen at any time of the year, but it doesn’t hurt to set annual refresher training so your employees are prepared before the summer tourist season is in full swing. In many areas of the US, late summer is an especially dangerous time when it comes to severe weather as well. Make sure your employees know the basics of first aid and what to do in the case of an emergency.
Put It All Together!
This may seem like a lot to keep track of… because it is! Employees operate best when well-versed in all aspects of their job, and convenience store employees do a lot. Fortunately, a learning management system can help you organize your training. trainingGrid® LMS can help you track your team’s training completion, build out learning paths, and make sure everyone gets the same great training experience!
Request a guided demonstration of trainingGrid® today!
