A little food for thought…
How are y’all feeling about “gas station food” now? 🤔
In years past, convenience stores have had a bad rap when it comes to food service. I think people are discovering more and more the high quality food available inside the stores. You can now fill up both your car and yourself with confidence. Given the recent turn of events, there have been many more opportunities for folks to give it a try, that may not have ventured out previously. The disasters of COVID-19, last week’s Hurricane Laura and the tornado we suffered on Easter have had people in our area reeling this year, but in these desperate situations, stability and comfort have remained in your local gas stations. Times have definitely changed. But please realize something…..
Since February, convenience store owners, workers, and their suppliers have labored tirelessly to stock the shelves, coolers and hot food cases, so that consumers can have what they need, when they need it, at a fair price….to the very best of their ability. They have had to turn on a dime and adapt to the critical challenges that have been thrown their way. Many of these workers show up at 4:00 in the morning, or before, to get your coffee ready, bake your biscuits and are still there frying your chicken for lunch. They scrub restrooms so you’ll have a clean place to change your child’s diaper and sanitize like crazy to keep you safe from Covid. They have been up all night getting generators running for you to access the fuel pumps outside, as well as hot meals and cold drinks inside.
They endure abusive behavior from angry customers that don’t care about the fact that manufacturers are in short supply right now of many of their favorite items or that you’ll need to wear a face mask to try to keep everyone as safe as possible. They’re working overtime, running on skeleton crews, because they can’t find people that will show up to work. There’s not a job shortage, there’s a willing worker shortage.
The delivery drivers supplying them work all night, and even weekends, so that the stores are stocked with all of your essentials. They push themselves every day, working all the way up to the time limits required by law. The wholesaler and manufacturing warehouses are doing everything in their power to outsource products to fill the trucks. The sales people are taking a beating from frustrated customers, who demand that we provide them a silk purse from a sow’s ear. The supply chain list goes on and on….But it’s hard to remember or to even realize all of that when you’re just standing at the register making a purchase.
So today, while you contemplate grumbling about the lines for fuel, the price of hand sanitizer, the brand of available toilet paper, the shortage of your favorite drinks…. maybe stop for a moment of gratitude and appreciation for all those behind-the-scenes people who are the helpers in your community stores. Imagine what it would be like without those places of business to turn to….Then, tell them “thanks” for showing up each morning to make your life a little bit better, one convenient item at a time. 🤗❤️
