A fool thinks he needs no advice, but a wise man listens to
others. When I first met John Dix on a trip to evaluate potential car wash
sites for QuikTrip’s first venture into the express tunnel industry, I spent a
lot more time listening than talking. Operating in nine states, Tulsa-based
QuikTrip Corp. recently celebrated both its 50th year in business
and the opening of its 500th location. The company sells
approximately 1.7 percent of all the gasoline in the U.S. , employs 10,500 people, and
sales last year totaled $8.3 billion dollars. They are masterful marketers with
a famous reputation for picking winning sites to grow their business. Before
his retirement earlier this year after 36 years with the company, John Dix was
the man in charge of all site selection for all eight markets in which the
company operated.
John is a true competitor. He is one of those people who can
see through problems and create success with decisive action. While talking to
him recently regarding site selection, he agreed to do an interview on the
topic for this article. Even if you’re not looking to build a new location, I
urge you to read John’s insights on competition. He outlines the qualities of an
incumbent business that would lead him to avoid competing with them and look
elsewhere. These are exactly the qualities each of us must refine in our
service offering as car wash operators to ensure the success of our businesses.
I want to thank John for sharing his knowledge; excerpts from our conversation
are below.
