Who We Are
Ed Staub Petroleum was founded in Northern California over 60 years ago. Today in addition to their core business, the company operates approximately 20 convenience stores that include food service operations as well as 1 full blown restaurant location.
Why DTiQ?
When we were initially introduced to DTiQ, we were looking for a system that would help us increase upselling and improve customer service; video surveillance happened to be an added benefit. Although we did consider a few other companies, after speaking with some existing DTiQ customers, it was an easy choice. We had some very antiquated systems in place at our stores and some other newer systems that were limited, so DTiQ has been an incredible upgrade.
“Although we did consider a few other companies, after speaking with some existing DTiQ customers, it was an easy choice.”
Operational Impact
Since installing the system we’ve experienced a number of benefits – far more than I ever would have imagined in fact. We have been able to combat worker’s comp claims and mitigate theft. Theft was actually not on my radar at all when we were looking at systems but within a couple weeks of implementation, we caught 2 people stealing. Within another month we found 2 more. It really caught me off guard. I realize I was a little too trusting.
Just this morning I set up one of my team members on the MyDTT™ portal to look at overrides and over rings. We now know to keep a close eye on those.
The SmartAudit™ reports have also been far more useful than we expected. Combined with the POS integration it became very apparent to us that we had a theft issue. Video helps us verify whether or not transactions are legitimate. We noticed employees voiding transactions and pocketing the excess cash and now have a way to do something about it.
Plus, from a food service standpoint, viewing live or recorded video to confirm that hot cases are stocked and food handling procedures are being followed means I don’t have to physically be at all stores all the time and can focus on other areas instead.
In addition to cameras and POS integration, we have taken advantage of DTiQ’s audio module and various triggers. The audio has enabled us to confirm that customers are being greeted and thanked. Plus, when we are running promotions on items, we can make sure employees are notifying customers about the offers. There’s an audio kit installed at every POS register at our stores.
The cooler triggers tell us if anything is failing. So far we haven’t had any issues but it’s good to know that we’ll be notified about any surge or drop in temperature. The safe and backdoor triggers tell us if there are openings during off hours. We want to know if employees are going in and out of the store through the backdoor when they shouldn’t be. We want to know if the safe door is open when the store is closed.
Another tool I love is RISA. It’s so helpful to contact DTiQ’s Support team directly and request a copy of video footage rather than having to take the time to find and download it myself. The fact that they can mail a watermarked copy of video footage to directly is so valuable.
Incidents
We receive several misfuel claims from our gas pumps and the video allows us to understand what really happened. We can review the interaction between employees and customers and determine if we communicated accurately with customers. We can also verify drive-offs and keep proof of those incidents on hand.
Recently we caught some folks talking about a drug deal at one of our locations! We submitted the video and audio footage to the sheriff’s department for investigation. So, considering incidents like that, DTiQ has helped us play a bigger part in our community also.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the system gives me data that I can access when I need it. With DTiQ, the luxury of time is on our side; we are not limited when it comes to accessing information. My managers and RMs are using MyDTT™ daily, looking for anomalies.
It’s hard to quantify the results we’ve seen at our stores since installed the DTiQ system but I know our cash flow has increased as a result of letting go of some folks. I think the most important benefit though has been customer service and upselling. Our stores are doing better, employees are doing better, and are sales are up.
The DTiQ team has been so great to work with. Everyone seems to go out of their way to help us. I’m really happy with the system and so impressed with the number of benefits we’ve seen.
