Good Neighbors in Bad Weather
by Susan Reese

Snowstorms that would bring other cities to a grinding halt are usually taken in stride in Buffalo, New York, but a strong October 2006 storm brought the city to its knees. Because the storm struck when leaves were still on the trees, the heavy, wet snow ripped off branches and downed trees, leading to parts of the Buffalo area losing power for almost two weeks. What added to the problem was that forecasters had not accurately predicted the weather.  The storm became known as "the October surprise."

Although taken by surprise like everyone else, local convenience stores did their best to respond to the needs of their community as quickly as possible. Nick Gallegos, vice president of sales and marketing at Wilson Farms, said that some of their stores were without power, so it was important to move the perishable products — a task that was made difficult by the road closures. Most of the businesses in those hard-hit areas were closed, but Gallegos said Wilson Farms kept their stores open because their customers needed them.

"We brought generators in," he explained. "We also operated some stores without power, and in some cases customers actually got products without paying for them. That's not something we can do on a normal basis, but it's more a matter of, we have the product and they need it. We took IOUs, we took notes, and we took care of the customers."

The weather may not have been cooperating, but for Wilson Farms, what they needed to do for their community was clear — and Gallegos believes there will be a lasting goodwill from their customers in return.

"Whether it is our involvement with the community in terms of disaster recovery or whether it is charitable events that we do, it's important to the community, and it's important to the public to see the care and concern that we have," he said.

NOCO Express also found it difficult to open all of its 30-plus Buffalo area stores due to the October surprise, but according to NOCO's executive vice president, Michael Newman, they tried to open the stores that were centrally located in bigger markets so that they could serve as many people as possible. Those stores became gathering places for people who had no power at home. As Newman explained, "It was dark and cold, and people were scared and lonely, so they came into the store and stayed."

In the stores without power, rather than letting all the ice melt and the milk spoil, managers took the ice, dumped it in a bin, placed all of the milk in the ice and just let people take it. They also gave away ice cream, something that helped calm down and cheer up anxious children.

"People had no access to ATMs. They had no access to cash," Newman said. "So we let them have things. And that's how you build a customer."

While giving away a few gallons of milk was not an issue for NOCO, the company was concerned that there were people who needed it and had no other way of getting it. Newman has praise for everyone in the NOCO organization — from in-store employees to fuel truck drivers — who put in long hours in difficult conditions to make sure that the local community's needs were met. NOCO's fleet fueling team assisted workers who were restoring the power grid by refueling their trucks at night and between shifts.

Being a good neighbor in a bad time has helped NOCO build a stronger customer base and gain more business locally, noted Newman.

In Northwood, North Dakota, Co-op Oil's Cenex convenience store was more than a good neighbor following a deadly tornado in August 2007. The store became the center for rescue and recovery efforts. Fortunately, since it was on a different power line than most of the town, the store didn't lose power.

"That night we had about 200 to 250 people who came to our store," said General Manager Tom Haahr.

Haahr is also on the ambulance and fire crew for the small town, so he not only kept his store open, but also participated in the recovery efforts. Although the normal hours of the Northwood Cenex store are 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., the store stayed open 24 hours a day for about a week after the tornado hit. Haahr was determined to keep the store open around the clock for as long as it was needed.

Although he tries to downplay his and his employees' efforts, saying that anyone in their position would have done the same, he admitted that, "Most people are very appreciative."

They are still rebuilding their small town, and Haahr said that completing the process will take awhile, adding, "The community really came together."

While Northwood's residents will not soon forget the devastating tornado that hit their town, they will also not forget the convenience store that was such a good neighbor in such a difficult time.