Quiktrip Company Case Study

Abstract:

QuikTrip is a company that has been going strong for 50 years. They pride themselves on how much they value their employees as well as their customers. Employees who work for QuikTrip are instilled with a sense of job security and job satisfaction that is rarely found in the retail industry. President and CEO of QuikTrip, Chester Cadieux has spent decades perfecting his approach to company reform and standardization. His company has endured through economic highs and lows because of his approach to problem solving and growth. He has been willing to sustain financial loss for company gain, and his business ethic is something to be admired by other companies. As a company that has never had a layoff for fifty years and that has been on the top ten list of best companies to work for for ten straight years, it appears QuikTrip has the right recipe for success.

QuikTrip was founded in 1958 in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Chester Cadieux and Burt Holmes. When QuikTrip began its rapid expansion in the 1960's, Cadieux realized that while employees were receiving rapid promotions, it also meant that inexperienced employees were holding very important positions. Cadieux's solution to this problem was to close many of the company's smaller market stores in order to allow for larger growth in the future. QuikTrip began selling gasoline in the 1970's, but it wasn't until the mid 1990's that the company got its reputation for having quality gasoline at competitive prices. According to Chet Cadieux, Chester's son:

"My father worked mercilessly to get better supply-chain advantage, quality, branding, and prices to become the best at selling gasoline. Our branded gasoline is now recognized as top tier

by companies like BMW and Audi. Our customers perceive us having both great quality

and the lowest price. And we're confident about the future of our business because our

breakeven on gas is lower than any of our competitors. That means that, if, someday, people

quit buying gasoline, all of our competitors will go out of business before we do." (Ton, 2001)

QuikTrip currently employs over 11,000 people and prides itself on having a "super friendly culture." The company has been on Fortune magazine's list of top ten best companies to work for a whopping ten years in a row (World Synergy, 2012). QuikTrip encourages its employees by offering above average wages, health benefits, and opportunities for advancement all of which help the company to remain staffed with happy, content employees which increases employee retention. The fact that the company has never had a layoff in over 50 years of business also provides its employees job security that many retail stores do not offer (Hanna, 2011).

The typical QuikTrip employee is an extrovert who likes people and who is also very intelligent. The employees of this company have a strong work ethic and a will to work hard as well as the ability to work in teams and learn from others (Quick, 2013). QuikTrip practices five core values and instills these values to all of its employees: (1) be the best, (2) Never be satisfied, (3) focus long-term, (4) do what's right for QuikTrip, and (5) do the right thing. In addition to these five principles, QuikTrip defines its purpose as "...to provide an opportunity for employees to grow and succeed." (Ton, 2001) Most QuikTrip employees view their employment as a long term career rather than a temporary job, and the reason for this is because of how well they are treated by the company (Hanna, 2011).

Chester Cadieux places the satisfaction and success of all QuikTrip employees as a top priority within the company. He was even willing to take a major loss for the good of his employees stating:

"When I became the CEO, I realized that there were hundreds of employees who had been

working for us for many years and who were working until midnight many days of the week.

That made it very difficult to have a normal life with a family. The only way to change that

was to add a full-time person in every store. It cost us $10 million a year for the rest of the

company's history. I believe that it reduced