NACS

The public policy issues that NACS eventually chooses to put front and center on the agenda in defense of the convenience and fuel retailing industry aren’t chosen randomly from a hat â€" they’re identified by NACS lobbyists and brought to the attention of the NACS Legislative Committee. The NACS Board of Directors then approves the next course of action, which is whether to support or fight the policy issue.

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How We Kicked Butt...And How You Can, Too

So long as there is a government and a U.S. Congress, the process of grass­roots engagement will be never ending â€" and it’s never too late to get involved. Whether your company is already high­ly engaged in the political process or just starting to test the waters, opportunities always exist around the corner to step up and make your voice heard.

At the height of the swipe fee debate earlier this year, no NACS retail member could hide from the emails, letters, NACS Daily pieces, Action Alerts and articles in this magazine calling for a grassroots army to communicate the industry’s position before Congress.

As a result, thousands of NACS mem­bers proved that grassroots advocacy ef­forts make a difference. Among those voices were NACS Treasurer Dave Car­penter, Chairman Jeff Miller and In­coming Chairman Tom Robinson, who shared how they inspired and mobilized their teams â€" across their companies â€" to take grassroots action during the re­cent swipe fee reform debate.

Mobilizing the Troops

Dave Carpenter, president and CEO of J.D. Carpenter Companies Inc., readily admits that until swipe fees, he had nev­er asked others in his company to take action. Much to his surprise, the results were outstanding.

"I’ve always done something myself, sending letters to my congressmen and responding to the NACS calls to action, but I never thought that the people Âwithin my organization would care, or that they would realize how it would affect them," he said, admitting that his assumption was quickly proven wrong.

"I sent an email to each store manager and the people in the office, asking for their help and [letting them know] how they could respond. By the end of the day, 57 people responded to me saying they sent emails and called their mem­bers of Congress," he said. "Here’s a small company, which had been sending only one letter to Congress from me, now sending 57 letters in just one day. I really was kind of shocked. What if every company did that?"

For Tom Robinson, president of Rob­inson Oil Corporation, who over the years has grown accustomed to differ­ing points of view with his two state sen­ators, the tide had actually turned. "In California, we usually go under the as­sumption that it doesn’t matter with our senators, but in this case it was just the opposite," he said, noting that on the swipe fees issue, his company didn’t have to do a lot of heavy lifting to "con­vince" his senators. "They were very supportive…which is a strange situa­tion."

Whenever Jeff Miller, president of Miller Oil Co., received NACS Action Alerts, he hit the forward button. "Every time I got a call to action I forwarded it to everyone in the company with simple instructions on what to do and the link they needed to follow," he said, noting that he also followed up those emails with updates on the debate and votes, as well as notices to be on the lookout for more calls to action.

"When we won, I sent out emails to everybody in the office," said Miller, adding that although he didn’t keep tabs on who actually reached out to members of Congress, he could gauge who got involved by the high amount of positive email responses he received.

Building Relationships

A large portion of grassroots engage­ment is responding to calls to action, but one key component â€" perhaps the most important â€" is building relationships.

"I think one of the most important ways to do grassroots is when you don’t have an issue," said Robinson, adding that retailers should take the opportu­nity to get to know their legislators and build some sort of a relationship with them "so that you’re not only talking to them when you want something." Set up meetings with state and local legislators in your hometown when you can.

Along those lines, Carpenter suggest­ed that members of Congress might ap­preciate hearing directly from frontline employees, such as store managers who are immersed in the convenience store industry 24/7. "Let’s not only tell a mem­ber how issues affect us from 30,000 feet," he said. "Let your store manager say how last year, after credit card fees, her store only made 2 cents a gallon while the federal government made 43 cents a gallon."

Keep It Simple

A key learning taken from the swipe fee grassroots efforts, noted all three retail­ers, is to make the process for getting en­gaged as simple as possible.

Store managers at Carpenter’s sites made phone calls. Miller ensured that all of his company’s email and fax corre­spondences to legislators were sent on company letterhead.

"Grassroots is, quite frankly, as easy as you want to make it," commented Robinson, noting that the entire process for getting engaged is much easier than it used to be. "You used to have to handwrite the letters yourself, and it was much more work."

Robinson also stressed strength in numbers, noting that congressional of­fices often determine the level of impor­tance an issue has based on the sheer amount of phone calls, emails, faxes and letters a member receives, rather than the merits of the argument.

"Numbers matter," he said, "And we have numbers on our side. It’s important that we take advantage of this."

Get Off the Fence

If grassroots isn’t your thing, or politics makes you want to stick your head un­der a giant boulder, consider this: return on investment.

Because of our industry’s collective grassroots mobilization on swipe fees, beginning October 1 debit card fees will be cut in half. "What kind of ROI is that on the time it took for me to send a letter or make a phone call to my congress­man? That’s a hell of a return â€" it’s in­calculable," said Miller.

And if grassroots engagement isn’t a priority, Carpenter said, one only has to look beyond swipe fees to other issues on the horizon, threatening the health and profitability of the industry. "I think it’s scary what’s coming down the pipe. There are so many things like obesity, health, food, cigarettes and alternative fuels â€" everything we touch has huge risks to it in the future. We better all hold hands and organize from that stand­point, because it’s going to continue to get ugly."