My job title is a console operator as I work at a site that sells fuel.
Happy to answer anything. Pay, details about products, stories, app stuff, POS stuff.
The only things I won’t answer is where I work and things I don’t know the answer to.
[AMA] I Am a 7-Eleven Employee. Ask Me Anything!
Employeestickyfingers @ 7-Eleven on 23/08/2023 - 16:20
Last edited 24/08/2023 - 09:07 by 1 other user
Last edited 24/08/2023 - 09:07 by 1 other user
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If they were getting fuel I’d have to just do it so my effort was witnessed on the cameras. If not, I’d appreciate if you came in and politely held me up. I’m broke and a bit of workers comp would go a long way.
I'm inclined to thing this might actually officially be a OH&S requirement.
Are we (and the kids) gonna wear shoes? Nah mate. It's Australia.
Maybe OP knows what's what?I would tend to think that any OH&S requirements are more geared towards employees rather than customers.
It could be, but I’ve never been told about it. I also don’t look at customers feet, it’s just not my thing.
If it was an OH&S thing I’d say it would be for the pumps.
HA that's what i do to
Why would you stand outside barefoot at a servo on the dirty ground where other people walk with dirty shoes and drop petrol on the ground?? I seriously don't understand the mentality of people who do this. At the very least, wear some thongs.
Barefoot at a servo boggles my mind.
It's filthy, especially around the diesel pumps.
Because barefoot feels good as I drive barefoot mostly. Dirt can be washed off the feet, but how many ppl wash their shoes
@kyle: No issues driving barefeet, but just wear some thongs at the servo.
No real need to wash the soles of my shoes as I don't wear shoes inside my house.
Just feels good going barefoot.
Even at the servo where they spill diesel and oil?
Are you able to lift the ban on my account? I haven't been given a clear answer on why I was banned but I'm a pilot and often lock in at the best location I'm flying to that day. I've heard rumors that some people were pretending to be pilots in order to get the same prices as me but as a genuine pilot it is very hurtful to be painted with the same brush as these degenerates.
But that's not possible because air traffic said I was the only pilot in the sky that day.
Is that you Pete? I was second officer that day.
We have nothing to do with the app. Corporate is a soulless entity that doesn’t really exist to anyone in store.
Did you get full back pay?
Not sure what this means, sorry
I didn’t work there back then, but I can tell you that all stores now have cameras, different to the security cameras pointed at the registers.
I’m not sure exactly how they work, but from what I remember they use AI to ensure the employees are not made to work when they are clocked on. We use a KRONOS system like a lot of big companies where you need a fingerprint to clock in and out.
@stickyfingers: "to ensure the employees are not made to work when they are clocked on"
You must not work when clocked on?
Petrol, diesel or electric?
Electric ⚡️
You're just a humble mamsir, but is electric the future?
I think it is.
This'll be one of our and our kids big ones i reckon. "Back in the day you used to put a liquid called 'petrol' in the car"Electric car go fast
How often do you see someone steal something and what do you do then?
Almost never. It’s not really my problem at the end of the day. It’s a bad attitude I know. If I see them doing it I just ask if they want me to put that Cherry Ripe or whatever through for them. I almost exclusively do overnights and the door is locked so I think people are too intimidated to steal. I hear it’s mostly school kids though.
School kids, little sheets.
Adults, Ok maybe they're in a tough spot, also kinda little sheets though.I think a lot of people steal coffee when it’s busy.
With the free coffee with fuel promo this month I’ve noticed a lot of people will pay for their fuel then go and get a coffee and walk out. This is annoying as it’s not put through the POS so the owner isn’t reimbursed for it.
I also can’t put it through after the transaction is finalised, and many customers don’t mention they want one until they’ve paid, so I often have to write it down and put it in a future transaction where a customer doesn’t want one.
I should be asking if they want one, but on an overnight I have so much to get done that I’d rather not encourage a customer to stand at the machine for 3 - 5 minutes. I really wanna eat my dinner. Plus, during the morning when I see a lot of people just get one without asking there is already a line out the door for the machine and a line down the isle for the register so I don’t ask then either as many are in a big rush and don’t want to talk anyway.
Do you consider the coffee machines and slurpee machines to be hygenic and cleaned often enough and do you have any reservations about drinking/eating something sold in the servo?
Very. There are dedicated technicians who come in for the Slurpee machines. The coffee machines clean themselves several times an hour and we have to use a special cleaning tablet and flush tubs during the day to clean the machine out.
The smoothie machine also has a similar process.
I’d avoid the fresh fruit (bananas are fine) as it isn’t date stamped and the way we check if it’s still okay is just to look at and squeeze it lol.
I know of some staff who touch the Krispy Kreme’s with bare hands when packing the case and plenty of customers don’t use the tongs and put them back, so it’s something to be cautious of.
Oftentimes I’ll see cups dropped on the floor by staff or customers which are picked up and placed back on the rack which is gross. Wipe the rims of your cups if you’re concerned.
It all depends on the store really. I’m lucky to have an incredible manager who cares so much about the safety of the customers as well as their team.
The only other thing is the hot food. It’s just straight up gross and I don’t like it, but it’s time stamped for 6 hours. I mentioned in another comment that we temp check a product in the warmer twice a day which is then discarded. Sure, employees could fake it, but we have to keep the books for a certain amount of months, maybe years, I can’t remember, and I’ve heard council has checked cameras at stores before to ensure the times weren’t fudged.
Some staff mark it for 7 hours too. If it expires at 7 pm don’t buy it after 3 pm IMO.
I’ll see cups dropped on the floor by staff or customers which are picked up and placed back on the rack which is gross.
Eww mofo's. Who does that? Look, at home, sure. We all pretend we don't wash the dishes, wipe the counter, and wipe that little spill on the floor with the same sponge, that might have been here a week and needs to get swapped out? But in the big world? Mofo it's probably a 2c, throw it out. Almost certain staff dgaf.
I know of some staff who touch the Krispy Kreme’s with bare hands
Gotta be against OH&S right?
The only other thing is the hot food. It’s just straight up gross and I don’t like it, but it’s time stamped for 6 hours.
Not an expert, but above a certain temperature bacteria growth/'spoilage' really slows down. Do i think 7-11 has that? Probably not. Just enough like that food you packed that morning, yeah, you'll eat it that night easily enough.
It’s because of the stupid Slurpee and coffee cup holders. They are terrible at holding the cups in place and can push out a snakes length.
I throw them out but have been discouraged. It’s like this at other food places I’ve worked at. I can see why from a cost perspective, but it’s gross and they need to put the money into making better cup dispensers.
I don’t know about other employees, but kids are a no go. Straight into the bin. They are also irritating as they easily stick together.
The Krispy Kreme thing is totally against OH&S and is mega gross. We have QSR gloves there. It isn’t a hard thing to do.
Always wash your can lids by the way. They are touched when packing and when facing up the cans by turning them so the logos are at the front.With the hot food, you’re right, but it’s long compared to other (non servo) hot food serving places I have friends working at. They start to get real hard by the 6 hour point. I offered sausage rolls as they were about to expire to a customer I like and he took them for his dog. Supposedly the dog was stoked.
I forgot to mention here as I did in another comment that the “No Sugar” Slurpee barrels are strictly to be used for no sugar flavours. If they are ever used for anything more they have to be fully flushed out and cleaned so there is not a trace of sugar in them.
Okay, why did you use “an” in front of a consonant?
Good catch. I copied the example title from the Wiki and wasn’t paying attention that it was used in a different context.
What's the policy on mobile phone use while filling up? I'm trying to save time by getting the app ready for when I pay instead of fumbling and waiting for it to load with a long line of customers behind me.
The policy is don’t use it outside of the car.
I don’t care, my manager doesn’t care unless you’re clearly distracted, and most of the time I’m too busy to pay attention to you filling up because I’m stocking at night or serving in the day. I’m supposed to look at you and assess if it seems safe to turn the pump on (do you look old enough to drive, would a 16 year old actually own a Ferrari, does the car have plates, is the nozzle in your mouth, those sorts of things.
In reality, I just tap the button and keep doing my thing until I hear the pump hang up.
That’s when I’d rather you just come straight to the counter and not stand around on your phone, because when I hear that sound I start walking back to the console or stop eating my dinner to go to the counter and oftentimes I’ll see a customer sit in their car for 3 - 5 minutes. Then I either have to wait or go back to what I was doing until I hear them at the door. And when you have a full fridge it’s not much fun trying to climb back and fourth through a pile of boxes.
I heard rumours that the feedback tablets are setup on the counter with the camera always on - to take photos of customers for facial recognition. To your knowledge, is any of that true?
I've actually never seen a customer even touch it.
I've thought about giving myself a smiley every now and again but I'm suspicious of it too.
I'lI see what I can find out. Comment back here mid next week if I haven't replied as I might forget.
I've tried using one of those tablets. The counter staff said not to bother with it, but I had already tapped the thing. It's like the newer IKEA rating tablets with a large list of questions. Sadly we can't just give a happy.
Dunno if they spy on people. A Umart sales clerk once told me their payment tablets watch everything. I don't know if he was joking..
Not true
@stickyfingers: That site seems to be broken. I believe you about the spying tablets, it seems very unlikely. :)
Whats the profit margin for the fuel sale, and how much is the station making per day on average from the fuel sale and retail?
Do you think it's a good business model, considering the high start up cost and franchise fee? Does the business owner owns multiple site, or have other business, jobs to finance this venture at the begining? And lastly why most 7 eleven are owned by a certain demographic, is it easier for them to get the franchise? Or its just reallly popular in the community?This is one that shocked me.
Corporate takes a 50% cut on all profits. Everything.
From memory the store makes $0.15c per litre on fuel. Corporate then takes a 50% cut on that too.
On a suburban store the owner will take home around $2000 from fuel.Corporate basically own and control the entire fuel side of the business. The franchisees opt in to have it installed on their site. The benefit to it for the owners is that it brings customers into the store, where they can make money on the in-store products.
In fact, the store has so little to do with it that corporate control the ordering, pricing (we get an alert on the POS that says pricing update available and we have to tap it to accept it and see the sign change). The only thing we do is clean the pumps down, empty the bins and top up the water cans and windscreen wiper buckets (it’s just water), when the pumps on when lifted, clean up spills, accept payment, and (if you are unlucky enough to work at a store without an automated tank system or a customer reports dodgy fuel) do tank dips.
My franchisee owns multiple sites. I don’t know their finances, but I can tell you they just pop in occasionally and check in on the business, what they do behind the scenes I’m not sure about, but mine takes great pride in the upkeep of their stores. They will treat you fairly and don’t penny pinch on paying you for the time you spend working, but they make sure if they are paying you that you are always doing something while you are on the clock.
It is rumoured that they are rich af though. And there are great margins on many products (not smokes though, as much as you’d think)The managers are also paid hardly any more than us so the labour cost (especially with only one no one penalty rate (at least on weekdays) staff member doing the majority of the night) is low.
They don’t own any other businesses. I’ve heard that they purchased their first store though rather than building it.
My store owner is not Indian (I’m assuming this is the demographic you’re referring to), but also not Australian. I work with a lot of Indians though; I’ve been told it’s because they’re hard working and willing to work the jobs and shifts Australians don’t want to.
I can’t remember margins off the top of my head but if you want to know any in particular let me know and I can check on my next shift. But I can tell you from what I see, our best selling products by far (at least in the early mornings) are:
- Ice Break (by far)
- Red Bull (by far)
- V
- Dare
- 2L milk
- Coffee
- Banana bread
- Hot food
- Sandwiches
- Random chocolate bars under the counter that people impulse buy when they are paying for something else.
- LightersWhen you say $2000 from fuel, is that per day? And is that after corporate cut or before? TIA
Per month after corporate’s cut. That’s the information I was given from my manager.
@stickyfingers: I am in research of buying independent petrol station as business, most of the time in range between 150.000-200.000l per month in which they should take profit about $22.500-$30.000 after 50% corporate it should be $11.250-$15.000 profit. I thought being 7-11 it should get more traffic and profit.
@stickyfingers: There's no way the fuel profit at an average 7/11 is only 4k a month (so 2k after giving corp half).
$130/day profit on 24 hours of fuel sales. That's only about 7000l of fuel at the commonly reported 2c/litre profit
You either work at the quietest petrol station in the country, or that's a daily profit figure :)
@SBOB: /day figure would be pumping 800.000 litre / month which is doable but not with 1 employee at night or 2 on the day which is stated by OP.
@SBOB: The value I stated is what corporate give the franchisee. They then take half of that again.
The real profit would be much higher, but corporate take all of that.
The franchisees purely get the fuel service installed to sell more convenience items. And it works. I’d say 90% of fill ups but stuff in store. Usually upwards of $15, sometimes $70.
Who is the most famous person you ever served
I served some people who were music journalists for a magazine. That’s probably it. Likely much more famous people but I’m not really paying attention and only have a good chat to them when it’s quiet.
With the fuel price so high, do u get alot of fuel thefts?
About 2 drive offs a week
About 10000000 complaints though haha
How quickly do you know someone has stolen fuel? What are the steps do you take… How often is it just a simple brain fart/mistake not paying?
Very quickly. Up the top of the POS we have a list of all the pumps. It will flash yellow and beep a tone when it requires activation.
We double tap the pump to enable it. It then turns green and we can see the dollar value going up.
Once the pump is hung up we hear a long tone and it changes to purple or blue (I can’t remember) and we can see the fuel type and final dollar anount.
When it comes time to pay we tap the pump and then tap “Pay $xxx.xx” and it adds the fuel to the transaction (basically adds it as an item to the cart).
The pump will sit there unable to be activated until the we put it in a transaction and it is paid for.
A pump can be authorised one more time so the customer can do two lots of fuel (say the pump was hung up early, they have a jerry can too, or another customer wants to use the pump). It will appear as a seperate dollar value on the same pump icon.
So it’s very obvious that a drive off has happened when the pump is still sitting there unpaid for after a while.
Most drive offs are either kids with stolen cars late at night or customers around 3 - 5 pm.
There is a button on the POS that prints off a drive off receipt and records it in the system. The manager then files it as needed.
If you forgot your wallet, for example, we can let the manager know what happened and when you said you’d come back and they’ll usually be chill about it and not file the report for a while.
A cop comes in once a week and collects all the surveillance footage for the incidents.
It goes through a whole legal process that I heard takes months if not years to be resolved and for them to maybe get their money back.
The franchisee is out of pocket for the fuel, not corporate.
OP, does 7-11 98 fuel worth it compare to other petrol stations? eg 7-11 vs BP.
I wouldn’t know sorry, but I can tell you that it definitely comes from Mobil as seen on the delivery invoice. The delivery drivers have told me they do deliver to other fuel station brands.
It actually takes them over an hour to fill the tanks usually too which surprised me. We have to provide them with a print out of the tank status before and after filling so they can verify everything went well and they put the right fuel in. It’s a huge process for them.
All I’m aware of is that different companies add different additives. Each fuel type at 7-Eleven has its own tank too (and they are massive!) I have heard some places add in ethanol at the pump, but I might be wrong.
I checked a delivery docket and the fuel we received was sourced from a BP storage site. Not sure if they just store the fuel for Mobil (it was still a Mobil docket) or they manufacture it though.
How bad are your customer toilets? I've only had to use my local 7 Eleven once and the counter staff straight up said something like "No you don't want to do that, use our staff toilet instead.
I didn't think to ask why as I needed to pee now.
We don’t have one as it is behind our locked area. Anything behind the locked doors does not have a lock, which means if we let you into the hallway where the bathroom is you can go into the office or the console.
We don’t clean the bathroom either, cleaners come in and do that. I have seen some really bad bathrooms before though, so I’d take their word for it.
i thought you was subways ?
My partner was
Why is 711 the only service station that don't have toiltets?
Do our choppers get banned after we use them? Any insights on chopper crackdowns?
No idea. I’m trying to figure it out myself.
I can tell you though that nobody in store gives a damn. If we’re impressed with how much you save, we are genuinely happy for you.
The owners don’t care either. I wrote a bit more above about how the whole fuel operation works.
Do you care at all if customers take the fresher sandwiches from the back of the shelf?
I don’t (except that you ruin my display), but the managers don’t like it as the sandwiches only last 2 days and they’re obviously losing money marking them down or binning them.
I'm just here for the responses from stickfingers.
stay sticky ❤️
why are the slurpie machines always busted?
Usually it’s because we’re out of syrup for it and waiting for more to come in. The light on the right hand side will indicate that.
Otherwise it’s actually just not working. None of the staff know anything about it so we have to log a job and wait for a tech to come out.
If they’re all broken it’s probably because of an idiot who forgot to order gas.
What's your opinion about cops coming to the store late at night? I've seen at some servos they let cops in the store despite it being closed for everyone else.
We don’t have a night pay window, but I think it would be fine if they were in a patrol car and in uniform.
I still stay behind the console when they are here however.
- Do you procure fuel from various suppliers based on pricing fluctuations, or do you maintain a contract with a single supplier?
- Are there particular days of the week when fuel prices tend to be lower on a regular basis?
- What are the ways to get a discount from 7/11?
No, always Mobil and my store is always delivered by JL Pierce.
I don’t actually know. It doesn’t even show us the price in store so I’d have to go outside to look at the sign. Corporate set the prices and we get an alert to accept the change and update the signs when they change it.
For fuel, fuel lock or the DiDi or Uber or whatever it is discount.
For food, the app, sandwiches, cookies, etc that are marked down as they expire that day. Clearance rack food which is usually just a deleted line or some packaging defect like a broken hanger hole.
Otherwise you can get free donuts and hot food if you’re nice to a staff member and it’s just before midnight for donuts or just before the hot food is marked to expire. Not all will do this, we’re usually not supposed to but some just don’t care haha
I posted this above a minute ago but it’s relevant to your comment:
I checked a delivery docket and the fuel we received was sourced from a BP storage site. Not sure if they just store the fuel for Mobil (it was still a Mobil docket) or they manufacture it though.
- Why do freebie items are not stocked/hidden? (I have heard rumours that staff don't stock it or deliberately keep it in the back)
- Are you supposed to rush out and stop somebody from driving away with fuel as I have seen the 7/11 near home do….even if it's just to move to the air area, the owner used to tell the person you are not supposed to move away from the pump after filling in petrol
I heard (and previously experienced) that too. We don’t at my store. Usually if it’s a promo we’ll order way more.
Just walk into the cold room and look for yourself if the staff are occupied. Some stores will let you go into the fridge for a cold pallet of water anyway, and there are no cameras in the cold room.
There isn’t any point in us keeping them for ourselves. If it’s about to expire a staff member might more it to the back so it doesn’t get seen and they write it off as expired, but that’s it. They’re probably just lazy or the manager didn’t order enough. New stock comes in every night and will be unpacked by 5 am.
Nope. Just like shoplifting we’re just supposed to log it down and the manager will process as needed. Same with a robbery, just give them what they want. Your life is more valuable than anything in the store.
I dunno why they’d try to look like a hero, but some staff are just weird and take too much pride in the job.
What time does your food such as Onigiri's get marked down usually?
We don’t have onigiri’s at our store, but food will usually get marked down when the new delivery comes before we put the new stock in its place.
Check the dates otherwise, if it’s going off that day it’ll be marked down, or it’s around 11 pm and it expires the next day and the staff member isn’t a dick they’ll mark it down.
It’s usually around 30% off. We mark all sandwiches and wraps down to $4 or $5 though. It’s really up to our discretion.
A lot of things in the store are like that, and it’s nice. We’re left to make our own sensible decisions.
What has been the best chopper prices you have seen? I think my record saving was $23.50 something
Over $30. Maybe $40 I think.
I was talking on my mobile while filling up and the worker remotely stopped the pump saying it’s dangerous to use a phone next to the pump. Is that still the rule?
The rule is that you shouldn’t be distracted, so talking on the phone is a bit much.
In saying that, I never pay attention but I do hate people being on their phone when I serve them.
I’ve had a worker at another 7-Eleven refuse to turn the pump on because I left my headlights on.
Some workers just get off on being dicks. Dunno why, it’s a servo job lol
What is the biggest fuel lock saving you have seen?
Around $40 I think.
If anyone wants to know the cost price of any items let me know and I’ll pop them in here when I’m on next.
Yes very interested.
Write a list here and I’ll let you know tonight as long as my store ranges them.
Do you know the profit margins on fuel? 91, 95, 98 and diesel if possible!
I know what the franchisee makes, I posted it in a comment earlier. What corporate makes? No idea.
Can you see prices of fuel in other 7 eleven and predict if it will go down based on that?
Nope to both. We have nothing to do with the fuel except for authorising the pump, cleaning the area, and taking payments.
We also stamp the delivery dockets but that’s about it.
@stickyfingers What about balaclavas?