Drive cover art

Drive

Drive

By: C-Store Center
Listen for free

About this listen

This podcast is for multi-unit managers, new and tenured. You're always on the road between stores and cities. Why not put your critical thinking and creativity to work during this time? Let's drive down this road together.© 2026 C-Store Center Career Success Economics Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • SHIFT CHANGE WARFARE (SYSTEMIC OVERTIME)
    Mar 6 2026

    Show Notes (Drive Version)

    Episode Title: Shift Change Warfare: Systemic Overtime (Episode 77)

    Episode Description: "Removing the planned overlap just creates unplanned overtime, which is always more expensive."

    For a District Manager, chaotic shift changes aren't just annoying; they are a systemic drain on the territory's labor budget. In this episode of Drive, Mike Hernandez explains how micro-punches and 20-minute delays during the 3:00 PM handoff can destroy a district's P&L.

    What You Will Learn:

    The Hidden Leak: How 20 minutes of unplanned overtime per shift destroys a territory's labor budget.

    The False Economy: Why cutting planned overlap scheduling actually costs the company more money.

    The Systemic Audit: How to use time-punch reports to identify which stores have toxic shift change cultures.

    Resources & Links:

    Download the Territory Handoff Benchmark: Text the word LEAKS to 956-897-9192.

    Recommended Listen: Arrive: Episode 87 (Hear the Owner's perspective on how shift change turnover damages asset valuation).

    Show More Show Less
    3 mins
  • THE BATHROOM TEST (TERRITORY BENCHMARKS)
    Feb 28 2026

    Show Notes (Drive Version)

    Episode Title: The Bathroom Test: Territory Benchmarks (Episode 76)

    Episode Description: "What you walk past is what you accept."

    For a District Manager, a dirty restroom during a store visit is never just a missed sweep—it is a glaring indicator that the Store Manager has lost control of the operation. In this episode of Drive, Mike Hernandez explains how to audit your territory for consistency and why the first five minutes of your visit dictate the culture of the entire store.

    What You Will Learn:

    The Inconsistency Trap: Why having one spotless store and one dirty store is a failure of district leadership.

    The Customer Path Audit: How to grade your stores exactly how the customer grades them, before you ever look at a spreadsheet.

    Setting the Benchmark: Mike shares the hard truth he learned as a District Manager: if you ignore a dirty facility, you are actively giving your team permission to lower their standards.

    Resources & Links:

    Download the Territory Facility Scorecard: Text the word STANDARD to 956-897-9192.

    Recommended Listen: Arrive: Episode 85 (Hear the Owner's perspective on how dirty stores destroy asset valuation).

    Show More Show Less
    3 mins
  • THE STING (SYSTEMIC RISK & BENCHMARKS)
    Feb 21 2026

    Show Notes (Drive Version)

    Episode Title: The Sting: Systemic Risk & Benchmarks (Episode 75)

    Episode Description: "One failure is a bad clerk. Three failures is a broken district."

    When a store fails a police sting, the Store Manager deals with the HR nightmare. But when multiple stores fail, the District Manager deals with a systemic liability that threatens the entire company's operating licenses.

    In this episode of Drive, Mike Hernandez explains how to audit your territory for compliance leaks before the police find them. We discuss how to trend manual ID overrides, how to hold Store Managers accountable for active coaching, and why setting a community-level benchmark changes everything.

    What You Will Learn:

    • Systemic Risk: How to identify which stores are "Sting Risks" using your back-office data.
    • The Override Trend: Why manual DOB entries are the ultimate red flag for a lazy store culture.
    • The Manager Audit: How to verify that your Store Managers are actually conducting compliance training, not just having employees sign day-one paperwork.
    • The Navajo Reservation Story: Mike shares his experience volunteering on the Tsaille Community College Advisory Board Council—and how it inspired him to set a new benchmark for industry education.

    Resources & Links:

    • 📲 Download the Territory Compliance Scorecard: Text the word BENCHMARK to 956-897-9192.
    • 🎧 Recommended Listen: Arrive: Episode 85 (Hear how the Owner views the legal and financial exposure of negligent sales).
    Show More Show Less
    4 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.