Truck Stops

There is no fuel consistancy krishanleong. They are all very competitive with each other and the market changes everyday. Most trucking companies get on fuel programs where they are offered .03-06 off the pump price. So what a driver see's is not neccessarily what the company pays. The company will get a monthly statement with the discounts on it. Cash paying customers pay the pump price.
Points don't buy what they use to ten years ago. That's not an attraction any more. I'll fuel where the company tells me to. Most companies have fuel software that will find the cheapest fuel on his route. Pilot and Love's are known to offer the best company fuel programs. TA's are known for their fleet shop service. Petro offers the best of the worst food available. The majority of companies I worked for favor fueling at Pilots with Love's as a secondary. The only time I fuel at a TA or Petro is convenience topping my reefer tank off.

 

Fuel prices range from region to region. If I go into Knoxville, TN.... All the truck stops are going to be close on their pump prices. I choose to go to the TA at exit 374 because the carrier I'm leased to has negotiated with them to where I can normally get my fuel for a quarter or more cheaper then pump price. But the TA 5 miles down the road at exit 369 does not negotiate. They say take it or leave it. So Why would I go to the 369 TA and pay $3.40 a gallon when I can go to the 374 TA and get the same fuel for $3.15 a gallon? Pennies add up to dollars quick when your pumping 200 or more gallons of fuel.

No. There is no brand consider high end. As for the retail store merchandise.... Most trucks stops mark their prices up at lease 25% or more over suggested retail prices. They do this because they know that we can only access cetain areas because of the size of out vehicles.

A pancake & egg breakfast at a truck stop resturaunt with a glass of OJ will normally run $10 to $13 without the tip.

You are correct. Company driver go where they are told to fuel. Although, some drivers do prefer the ammenities of other stops. So if they have to fuel at a Love's, they will do that & then move across the street to the Flying J or down the road to the Petro.

All TA & Petro's do have repair shops. Some Loves have tire shops. Some Pilots have contracted with I think it is Wingfoot Tire to have shops at select locations. A few flying J's did have shops. But after the Merger, Bosselmans took those shops over. Then ofcourse most Bosselmans have shops. Then for oil changes there are Speedco's & other speedy lube places located close to truck stops.

Once again, company driver's go where they are told to go when they need repairs.

as for repair shops & needing to find one on the fly.... www.nttsbreakdown.com is a great tool.

YES!

Some only offer fast food. Some offer only full service resturants. While others offer both or nothing at all other then a rubber hot dog on a rotisserie.

Showers may be cleaner at the truck stop across the road versus this Flying J I'm am. Some have TV rooms, some don't. Some offer wifi, some don't. TA & Petro have movie rooms/theaters & have started offering fitness rooms in select locations....

Amenities.....

I'm not speaking for him, but myself.

I fuel primarily at TA's. Vaquero & I are leased to the same carrier. Our carrier generally has negotiated fuel prices with most of the truck stops. I find that TA is the one that gives up the biggest discount plus they have decent ammenities.

I will fuel at other locations. But I rarely top off my 300 gallon tanks. I'll normally calculate roughly how much fuel I will need to get myself to a TA or Petro (they are the same company... Just differenbt name) then top off when I get there or pump just enough fuel to get me to the next TA or Petro if they offer a cheaper price.

 

At one time I used Flying J almost exclusively. There were a couple of reasons for that choice. They had lower fuel prices than most of the other chains, a sit down restaurant with decent food and a drivers lounge where I could sit and relax if I had extra time or was stuck for the weekend. That changed with the Pilot merger. Flying J started to deteriorate when the founder, Jan McCall, died. Before his passing, Flying J was more oriented toward owner operators and smaller carriers. After the merger or acquisition, Pilot began making changes to make Flying J more like Pilot. Fuel was usually on par with Pilot prices. Pilot began getting rid of the restaurants in Flying J and replaced them with Denny's. Other changes were made and non to the benefit of their primary customer base. Many of their regular customers left. I will now only stop at a Flying J if I need a shower and nothing else is close where I do have a shower. I had been a Flying J customer for many years.

I have never liked Pilot. They cater more to the major fleets who want drivers to fuel, grab a McDonald's burger and hit the road. There are NO driver amenities, such as a drivers lounge or place to rest outside of the truck. Parking is limited and spaces are narrow. Fuel has NEVER been cheap at Pilot.

I prefer Petro for their restaurants. The food is usually good and they have wider parking spaces and they are more plentiful than some of the other truck stops. They have larger showers than some of their competitors.

TA merged with Petro about a year or so ago. They were smart enough to leave them alone. I usually do business with TA, Petro or Love's unless I can find a good independent. I prefer doing business with independents. They appreciate my business, usually have better food, ample parking and need the business. TA is more like the old truck stops. They all have restaurants and most have shops. Fuel is a little high unless you lease to one of the major carriers who receive fuel discounts. TA offers substantial discounts to many of the larger carriers. Both TA and Petro have drivers lounges where you can relax, watch a movie or TV.

The only advantage to doing business with one of the major chains is that you can take your showers with you. When you buy fuel at an independent, you usually need to use their facilities. For me, that is the only advantage.

Flying J did lose a lot of business after the merger. Neither Pilot or Flying J are customer friendly. They apparently have not done any market research to see what customers need and want. They throw their offerings out and you either take it or leave it. I chose to leave it. Flying J did pick up some business when they began taking Comdata. From what I have observed, they are more than likely only moving business around from Pilot to Flying J. Given the choice, Flying J would be a better selection. I would love to see the sales figures from Pilot and Flying J, before and after the merger. My guess is that sales are flat. I would expect that had it not been for Flying J taking Comdata, their sales would have dropped significantly. One other change that I noticed with the merger is that prices in their convenience store went up.

Love's is very similar to Pilot. They do tend to have a little more parking at some facilities. I have mainly gone to TA and Love's because I don't care for Pilot or what they have done to Flying J. You can call it my little protest.

One other thing that I will mention. Flying J also owned Transportation Alliance Bank before the bankruptcy and merger. Prior to Pilot getting involved, it was much easier to do your banking at the Flying J if you had an account with their bank. All of that changed with the merger. I understand that there are some changes that they are making where it may be a little easier to do business with them, but they really messed things up for customers. The bank was supposed to have been spun off into a separate division. Since that time, additional fees and other changes have been made in the way they do business. If I need fuel or a shower and need to stop at Flying J, I only buy the minimum to get a shower, which is 50 gallons. Prior to the merger I would fill up. I would usually purchase at least 120 gallons or more.

I can't speak for others, but I have a very good friend who also runs his own authority. He has changed his spending habits similar to mine. Before the merger he spent most of his money with Flying J. He now only goes in when he needs a shower or can't get to a TA or Love's.

Most of the chains have similar offerings as far as their convenience stores are concerned. That is about the only similarity. Restaurants are different as are amenities.

 

Fitness rooms? Really? Where where? (Serious question)

 

They started popping up a few weeks ago. Select TA & Petro locations I believe across I-40 corridor at first.

They may have a directory on their website.

 

http://investor.shareholder.com/ta/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=536447

 

Actually, they continue to do market research (my current field), but they use regular customers, not truckers, to do it. I haven't seen customer intercepts (interviews with truckers), although it's possible they're out there. Instead, they use four-wheelers to go in, check the amenities, and make reports. This is true for all the major truck stops. Silly way to do it, but that's what's there.

 

That's where they're screwing up then. They aren't talking to the people that really matter. They are talking to Joe Public instead. No wonder they are losing trucker business.

 

Most of the time it is the price but also location and amenities. I've bought most of my fuel from Loves and T/A over the last 2 years. Keep in mind I don't pay pump price. As Redd said they give us the biggest discount on fuel. I prefer T/A because of amenities.