6 minute read
Fuel Up and Feel Good
Fuel Up and Feel Good
HOW KWIK STAR FOUND SUCCESS IN THE MIDWEST.
By April Pearson
Kwik Star has developed somewhat of a cult following in the past several years, and there’s no mystery why. Promising excellent service, exceptional cleanliness and tasty food, Kwik Star is a favorite stop on road trips throughout the Midwest.
“We pride ourselves on two things,” says Ben Leibl, public relations specialist for Kwik Star. “First is superior guest service. Second is clean stores and restrooms. And I’ll also throw in our great food program. When you’re on the road traveling, you know exactly what you’re going to get.”
What started as a neighborhood grocery store in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 1965 has grown into a convenience store empire with 39,000 coworkers serving 12 million guests per week at more than 880 locations across six states.
Known as “Kwik Trip” in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, and “Kwik Star” in Iowa, Illinois and South Dakota (to avoid confusion with a competitor), the company is still run by the Zietlow family, with corporate headquarters in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Founder Don Zietlow knew from the start he wanted to prioritize the employee-customer relationship — or “coworkers” and “guests” as they’re called at Kwik Star. When his son Scott took over as CEO, he continued the people-centric practice.
A Culture of Compassion
“We believe in taking care of our coworkers so our coworkers can take care of our guests,” says Leibl. “I think there’s truly something to be said about human interaction. For us, it’s creating that culture of compassion.”
The official Kwik Star mission says, “Make a difference in someone’s life,” and it’s a phrase coworkers take seriously. The talent operations team goes to great lengths to ensure they hire people who live the company’s intrinsic values. Kwik Star then empowers coworkers to do what they think is right.
Whether it’s finding tools to fix a guest’s car, helping older adults fill their tires or simply greeting regulars by name, Kwik Star coworkers are known for going out of their way to take care of guests.
Leibl remembers one particularly touching story: “We once had a situation where a young coworker — a high schooler — took the socks off his feet to give to a boy whose shoes were full of snow. He could see the kid was struggling and just did something about it. We don’t train for stuff like that; it was just his nature to go above and beyond.”
That positive work culture extends to coworker benefits, too. Kwik Star gives coworkers autonomy to make decisions, solve problems and help others, resulting in a lower turnover rate than the industry average. Added perks include health benefits, a fourweek paid sabbatical on one’s 20th work anniversary and yearly bonuses. Kwik Star shares 40% of pre-tax profits with all 39,000 coworkers. In 2023, that was $208 million.
“Once people get here, they don’t want to leave,” says Leibl, “and I think that really speaks to our culture.”
Kwik Star’s mission of making a positive difference in the lives of others extends to several programs designed to benefit local communities. Neighbors Helping Neighbors and Kwik Trip Kares are donation programs that help provide medical payments, disaster relief, safe water, food stability and more. Kwik Star also sponsors youth sports teams and offers fundraising opportunities via discounted gift cards and concession stand options.
Bright and Shiny
Walk into any Kwik Star, and you’ll immediately notice an open and welcoming atmosphere. Consistency is key when it comes to repeat business, so every Kwik Star is held to a high standard in terms of cheerful lighting, well-organized products and cleanliness.
In the past several years, Kwik Star has made it a point to upgrade restrooms to make them easier to clean — from installing washable wall tiles to sleek new fixtures. GasBuddy — one of the highest-rated apps in the history of the Apple App Store — has rated Kwik Star restrooms among the best-kept, cleanest restrooms in the U.S. (and among the best in customer service, but who’s counting?).
Beyond the restroom, Kwik Star’s retail sanitation checklist contains more than 40 surfaces to disinfect every hour, including door handles, PIN pads, countertops, trash lids and drink dispenser buttons. It’s a great source of pride with Kwik Star coworkers.
With a store this clean, the food’s got to be good, right?
Fast, Fresh Flavor
“People are looking for quality food at a reasonable price — and they can find it for breakfast, lunch and dinner when they come to our stores,” says Leibl. Kwik Star has its own dairy, bakery and kitchen operations at its corporate headquarters in La Crosse. The 140-acre campus has several buildings and thousands of employees churning out ice cream and milk; bread, donuts and muffins; and hot-spot and fresh-case items for all Kwik Star and Kwik Trip locations.
“The technology in our production facilities is second to none,” says Leibl. “Our coworkers are still there to monitor everything and ensure it’s going on the line as it should be. But technology has really allowed us to push out more quality products more consistently to more stores.” Kwik Star bottles every gallon of milk within 24 hours of reaching its dairy — 65 million jugs annually. It produces 350 Glazer donuts, 223 cookies, 114 cinnamon rolls, 92 muffins and 54 bagels per minute. And, it creates delicious hot and cold ready-to-eat meals, from sandwiches and burritos to salads and soups.
Kwik Star also has its own distribution department to deliver fresh food items daily to all locations across the Midwest. This vertical integration means more savings for guests and more profit sharing for coworkers. “The model our company has is phenomenal when it comes to cutting out the middleman to save on costs,” says Leibl.
See You Next Time
Considering Kwik Star’s unique qualities, is it any wonder it was voted Favorite Road Trip Convenience Store in Iowa at the Iowa Food & Family Project booth during the 2023 Iowa State Fair? Leibl was pleasantly surprised by the honor, but he shouldn’t be. He says, “When you look at the Midwest, the people are genuine. And I think that’s a part of our fabric at Kwik Star; at the end of every transaction, our coworkers say, ‘See you next time!’ That’s not some schtick. We want people to know they’re always welcome in our stores. So having our company in the Midwest just fits our personality.”
