Every other day or so I stop in on the way to the office to pick up a gallon of water and maybe a chocolate milk. You’re right, I can’t remember ever walking in and they don’t say hello or good morning. It’s the simplest thing but it made an impression on me, which is hard to do. Rarely do I find a drink or something I want out of stock nor can I remember seeing empty racks in the refrigerators. If you’re into pop, they have a ton of stuff on tap and if you like coffee they have about 20 flavors all ready to go, not to mention the fresh doughnuts, hotdogs, burritos, taquitos, etc etc that are always fresh it seems. Circle K’s have those good Diamond dogs but good luck finding one that has them on the cooker or that aren’t super over cooked because they’ve been rolling all day.

And you mentioned the large bays and the construction trucks and RV’s always there. True and true. My dad always told me when I was a kid in Chicago – “eat where the cops eat and go where all the construction guys go” (not in those exact words). But to this day it makes sense, even in the not-so-city of our valley here. The guys that are on the streets all the time working and eat out all the time tend to flock to the good food, the quick in and out places, and the friendliest neighborhood places. With all those guys at QT in the morning it makes me feel like I’m in the right spot. There’s an AM/PM across the street and a Circle K a half block east but I see the same guys, same cop or two, and same company trucks getting coffee and gas at the same QT every morning. Coincidence? I think not. They’re there for the same reasons you and I are, for that unknown draw and like of the place that is the QT. (even though I always call it quicktime – yeah I’m a geek).

I do look at gas prices, and basically QT is always a few pennies cheaper than Circle-K. They do cost more than AM/PM / Arco, but arco’s are not clean, don’t have as much of a selection, and on average I’ve heard of more people having problems with ARCO gas. QT has a gaurantee on their gas that if there is ever a problem with your car, injectors, etc (anything gas related) They will cover the costs. I’ll bet because of their quality standards this never happens, but helps to build brand loyalty.

Drinks… You didn’t even talk about the drinks! Some convenience stores use nasty city water, or run it through a filter (which they probably only change once every 6 months.) At QT they have a good filtration system, so their fountain drinks do not taste like chlorine, or minerals often associated with city water.

Thanks for the great post.

PS: Now I get all the “hello’s @ QT” via Twitter.