Author: Roy Strasburger

As we all know, the last month has brought devastation to various parts of our country. Hurricanes in Texas and Florida. Wildfires […]

As we’ve expanded our operations over the last few months (we are currently operating sites in 9 states), I’ve been reminded how […]

Everyone knows that theft is a major issue in the convenience store industry.   The general public hears about robberies in the media […]

There is not a more analog job than driving a long haul truck.  In this profession, everything is rooted in the real […]

A few weeks ago I attended the NACS Leadership Assembly in Miami (which I highly recommend, by the way, if you can […]

My apologies for my absence from the site over the last few months. 2015 was a very busy year for us.   We […]

During this cycle of posts I’ve been writing about the need to stay competitive to survive in the retail world.  In the […]

In retail, every day is a new day.  With each sunrise, your competitors are thinking of ways to steal your customers and […]

When you think about customer service and the retail experience, what are your memories?  I would venture to guess that in ninety […]

We are in the middle of a set of posts that talk about how listening can help a retailer stay competitive in […]

Over the last few posts we’ve been exploring the idea of being competitive in today’s retail market.  One of the ways be […]

In my last post I wrote about how “compete is a verb” is one of my favorite business sayings.  The bottom line […]

In my last blog I wrote about the sharing community – how technology is allowing us to share or borrow under-utilized things […]

Over the last few years I’ve often heard how recent technology is causing society to break down.  Although social media is allowing […]

Over the last two weeks I’ve posted thoughts about how the smart phone is creating a revolution in retail transactions and ways […]

We are in the middle of a series of posts on how smart phones may affect your business.  My last blog was […]

Over the next few blogs I’d like to share some thoughts on smart phones and how they may affect the convenience industry.  […]

I must admit that I’m not much of a professional basketball fan.  But, being a native Texan, I couldn’t ignore the NBA […]

Over the last four weeks you have indulged us by letting us tell you about our new suite of programs.  We find […]

Summer is upon us.  The sun is out, summer vacations have started, and the American dream of swimming, bar-b-ques, and outdoor fun […]

We are pleased to introduce the fourth new CMSI program that we have added to our suite of retail solutions.  This tool […]

About three weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the 2014 NACS SOI Summit held in Chicago.  It is an event […]

I attended the NACS SOI conference two weeks ago (more about that in next week’s blog).  While there I had a conversation […]

If you have been kind enough to have read my postings over the last year you will be well aware that customer […]

I was in a convenience store in an economically depressed part of Houston recently.  It was well run store  – a wide […]

I recently read an article called “How junk food can end obesity” by David Freedman (published in the July/August 2013 issue of […]

With the recent legalization by Colorado of the retail sale of marijuana and the upcoming legalization in the state of Washington, the […]

The Economist magazine (January 18th edition) recently had a major article about whether new technology will replace workers.  We’ve all heard the […]

Recently, I’ve been writing about what it is going to take to help keep people employed in the post technology revolution economy […]

Over my last few blog posts I’ve been musing on the technology revolution that is currently taking place and how it may […]

Okay – I will admit right up front that I have never met Nelson Mandela. As you no doubt know, Nelson Mandela […]

Recently, I mentioned that one of the trends in the convenience store industry is that total fuel sales are falling.  We are […]

It’s hard to believe that it is already Thanksgiving again.  It was about this time last year that I started down the […]

A common theme through most of the convenience store conferences that I have been to this year is that the total amount […]

As you may be aware, the FAA recently ruled that personal electronic devices such as e-readers, mp3 players, tablets, computers and smart […]

Over the last two posts I have been exploring the idea of convenience stores offering healthier alternatives to their customers.  The basic […]

In my previous post, I opined about the trends towards healthy eating and whether they are really having an impact.  It has […]

Good eating habits.  Obesity epidemic.  Healthy lifestyles.  Fresh foods. It’s in all of the media:  How Americans are wanting to move to […]

As I am writing this post I am sitting in a downtown coffee shop.  I’ve been reading lately that the background noise […]

Think back to the last time that walked into a museum.  As you walked through the gallery you were surrounded by pieces […]

“A nation of shopkeepers” is how Napoleon referred to the United Kingdom in the early 19th century.  Many have cited it as […]

Almost every time I’ve been in a conversation and the subject of customer loyalty come up it inevitably focuses on making customers […]

The biggest disappoint that I ever face is when someone betrays the trust that I have put in them.  It happens, not […]

As I write this I am on a plane returning from London.  I’ve spent the first part of the flight reading the […]

We have recently been involved with the take over and operation of a ten store chain in the Midwest.  As usual, when […]

In my last post I wrote about the stress and anxiety that store staff go through when CMSI is brought in to […]

It takes a special kind of person to work as a CMSI transition crew. What typically happens is that we get a […]

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the NACS Leadership Forum in Miami.  I think the Forum is […]

In my last post I mentioned that I had attended the 2013 NACS Leadership Forum in Miami a couple of weeks ago.  […]

My last post was about the ethical and moral obligations of retailers during natural disasters.  My view is that it is wrong […]

The battering that that northeastern part of the United States has been taking over the last few months (Hurricane Sandy, the recent […]

Happy 2013!  Welcome to the new year.  It is the time, as everyone who has ever had a media outlet will tell […]

Thanksgiving is a time for us to slow down and focus on those things for which we are grateful – family, friends, […]

It is my pleasure to post the initial entry on the CMSI blog.  We are a company that has been around for […]

I want to take some time to talk about who we are and what we do.  I know that you can find […]