Convenience stores showed their employees how much they’re valued by boosting pay and other incentives amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a sample roundup of salary increases throughout the industry (as of April 7):
Casey’s gave an additional $2 per hour for its part-time and full-time store employees. Managers, trainers and supervisors earned an extra $100 a week.
All North American hourly store workers at Circle K stores received an additional $2.50 an hour, effective March 20.
Enmarket increased pay by $2 per hour for all non-salaried store employees, and salaried managers were guaranteed 100% of their bonus potential for March and April. Hourly employees received a one-time check equivalent to $2 per hour for all hours worked from March 26 through April 15.
Global Partners LP’s convenience store brands, Alltown Fresh, Alltown, Jiffy Mart, XtraMart, T-Bird and Honey Farms, also temporarily increased compensation for retail store employees by $2 an hour and is providing $50 monthly gift cards for each store employee. Store managers will receive a one-time bonus payment of $600.
Kum & Go gave temporary $2 per hour raises retroactive from March 16 until May 3. General managers, district supervisors and staff who lead COVID-19 sanitation efforts also received bonuses, and all employees received one free prepared food item during each shift they worked.
Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores gave hourly store employees a $2 per hour pay increase and a $100 bonus.
At Nouria, every store employee, car wash employee and field maintenance technician received an hourly pay raise of $1 from March 22 to April 25.
Pilot announced “Thank You Pay” for all store hourly team members for an additional $2 per hour, retroactive back to March 19 and extended through April 29 (applied to regular and overtime hours worked). Flying J increased hourly pay by $2 retroactive to March 19 for all team members in travel centers until the end of April and provided them with free meals.
RaceTrac announced a $3 per hour pay increase to hourly store team members, while salaried employees at stores received an additional $150 per week through April 2020.
Rutter’s gave team members a $2 per hour wage boost starting March 25, while salaried restaurant and store managers received a $100 weekly bonus.
Sheetz paid store employees an additional $3 per hour from March 13 to April 23.
VERC Enterprises gave all full-time employees $500 bonus checks, and part-time employees received $200. On March 23, the company increased the hourly pay of store employees by $2, while raising the salaries of each store manager by $100 per week.
Wawa said it is recognizing the hard work of its associates “with additional pay and by continuing to review and update our paid time off policies to be more flexible and supportive, and to minimize the impact to [employees] should they be affected by COVID-19.”
Many retailers also announced additional in-store safety measures, such as installing plexiglass protective barriers at the register to minimize employee-customer contact. Retailers also installed social distancing cues and signage throughout stores to maintain a six-foot separation, and retailers like Family Express in Indiana installed dispensers filled with disposable wax tissues at each location so people wouldn’t need to touch any hard surfaces.
Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus news and industry resources at www.convenience.org/coronavirus.
IN THE COMMUNITY
Dash In, a Wills Group company, announced $200,000 in grants to four food banks operating across the Mid-Atlantic region: Food Bank of Delaware, Maryland Food Bank, Feed More and Capital Area Food Bank.
The Goods Mart in New York City started sending Surprise Snack Boxes to residents, who also could donate a snack box to the medical staff at Memorial Sloan Kettering, Mount Sinai and NYU Langone, or to the Food Bank for New York, all while supporting the Restaurant Worker’s Relief Fund.
Marathon Petroleum Corporation donated 575,000 N95 respirator masks to 45 health-care facilities, while the Marathon Petroleum Foundation Inc. gave $1 million to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief.
7‑Eleven Inc. donated one million masks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to aid the medical community battling the coronavirus pandemic. 7‑Eleven provided all stores and franchisees with a supply of masks for employees as they serve customers in their stores and donated all remaining inventory to FEMA.
Sheetz announced a new Kidz Meal Bagz program that provides free food to help children and families in need as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meal Bagz include a turkey sandwich, chips and a drink. Families will be offered one bag per child. Meals will be available daily while supplies last.
Speedway donated 7,000 N95 masks and 3,000 surgical masks to 11 children’s hospitals located in hotspot areas to help provide protection when treating members of the community.
As of April 7, Wawa Foundation approved $21,500 for 16 food banks and non-profits, which brings the Wawa Foundation Emergency Food Distribution Fund contribution total to $141,000.