Blog: Jim Argiro

If you live in Carrollton or Rowlett you've almost certainly noticed our two little construction projects. The next RaceTrac to open in North Texas will be at 4788 N. Josey Ln. in Carrollton. That's at the intersection of Josey Ln. and Parker Rd.

Hot on the heels of that store will be a new RaceTrac in Rowlett at 7401 Lakeview Parkway, at Lakeview Parkway and Chiesa Rd. This store is another one that makes me feel a little old. I can remember when a lot of the neighborhoods around there were just fields with newly-paved streets running through them.

When we bring a new RaceTrac to a community we bring everything you expect from RaceTrac: Smiling, friendly faces; A huge selection of fresh, convenient foods; Cold beverage selections including beer, sodas, fountain and frozen drinks; Eight different blends of fresh-brewed coffee including iced coffee, cappuccinos and hot chocolate; Huge gasoline islands with some of the best fuel prices around; and, of course, GREAT jobs!

We are very pleased to have been recognized by the Dallas Business Journal as one of the Best Places to Work in North Texas. As we continue to build new stores (and we are going to keep building - Plano, Duncanville, Lake Worth ... keep your eyes open) we will continue to create new career opportunities in the communities we serve. We offer a competitive wage, outstanding benefits (our Associates are eligible for health coverage from day one of their employment), opportunities for growth and advancement and a chance to work for an industry leader that serves the best guests in the business!

Jobs at RaceTrac are not seasonal jobs or temporary jobs. There are a lot of retailers attempting to attract "part-time, seasonal" help right now. In other words, those jobs will be going away right after Christmas, if they even last that long. Not RaceTrac jobs. We're not looking for "seasonal" help. We are growing and we're looking for outstanding talent to help drive that growth. RaceTrac Store Associates are the front line of our ongoing guest service promise. Energy, teamwork and a winning attitude create the friendly face of RaceTrac that our guests expect and depend on when they shop with us.

If you believe you have what it takes to work for one of the best companies of its kind in the country, we invite you to Click Here to apply with RaceTrac.

If you're one of our loyal "Trac Fanatics", thank you for the opportunity to serve you. It is our mission to earn your business every single day.

If you haven't shopped with us before, let me invite you to visit your nearest RaceTrac. We have 75 stores in North Texas, so there's bound to be one on your way, and we love having new guests in our stores!

This past Friday The Dallas Business Journal recognized RaceTrac Petroleum as one of the Best Places to Work in Dallas-Fort Worth for 2009. In a year that has seen the Dallas-Fort Worth region of RaceTrac celebrate the company's 75th anniversary with the opening of our 75th North Texas store, this designation is a testament to the hard-working Associates and Managers whose commitment to making RaceTrac a great place to shop has made us one of the Best Places to Work!!

We are especially proud of the fact that this designation is based not on some outside view of the Company, but on an actual survey, administered by an independent research firm, of our actual Associates and Managers.

As we continue to grow in North Texas RaceTrac will continue to seek the best talent available. Whether you are interested in a position as an Associate or a Manager, RaceTrac offers a competitive compensation package, outstanding benefits and the opportunity to work for a growing company that is one of the Best Places to Work in town.

If you're not a RaceTrac customer now, let me invite you to visit a store near you today. We offer a full line of fresh and fast foods, including four value combo meals for under $5. We want you to see what one of the best workplaces in town looks like.

If you're already a RaceTrac customer, we want to say "Thanks!" for letting us serve you every day. It's easy to come to work when you're taking care of the best customers in the business! If you haven't already done so, why not take a minute to become a RaceTrac Rewards member? Once or twice a month we'll send you an email asking you a few brief questions along with a coupon you can use in the store. It's a great way to let us know how we're doing.

If you're interested in employment with RaceTrac, simply point your browser to www.RaceTrac.com/careers and explore the opportunities in our stores or in our Store Support Centers, and see if you have what it takes to work in one of the Best Places to Work!

We look forward to seeing you all very soon!!

RaceTrac Petroleum's 75th anniversary year will see more than one milestone:  In just a couple of weeks we will open the 75th RaceTrac store in north Texas.  The newest RaceTrac will be at 1355 Hwy 66 in Garland. 

We still have room on the team at this new store.  RaceTrac is very pleased to bring great products, great service and quality jobs to the communities we serve.  If you think you have what it takes to be a part of an industry leader there are two ways to start the application process with us.  You can go to www.racetrac.com/careers and follow the links to get pre-screened; or you can come see us when we're interviewing in your area. 

Our next open interviews are set for Tuesday, 6/9 at 7 p.m. at the RaceTrac store at 2646 S. Jupiter Rd. in Garland.  After that, we will have open interviews on Thursday, 6/11 at 5 p.m. at the RaceTrac store at 4214 Forest Lane in Garland.

RaceTrac has a very exciting summer planned.  Besides the great new stores, we have 32-ounce fountain drinks for 48 cents and 32-ounce frozen drinks for 68 cents in ALL our stores and we have all SORTS of family fun planned with your first-place Texas Rangers.

If you want a quick lunch or dinner, stop by and Get Fresh for Under $5.  Choose from four value combo meals each under five dollars.

Whether you're shopping, filling up your tank or exploring a new career, we look forward to seeing you at RaceTrac very soon!!

We will be holding a job fair in conjunction with our new store opening in Irving. 

Date:  Monday 4/13/2009

Time: 10 a.m. - Noon

Location: 8400 N. Beltline Rd. in Irving, site of the new RaceTrac.  That's at Beltline and Regent, just south of LBJ and a stone's throw from the north entry/exit of DFW.

We will be accepting applications for both Management and Associate positions.  If you feel you have what it takes to become a part of an industry leader, please come see us next Monday.  You can apply and interview on-the-spot.

If you are unable to attend the job fair you can start the employment process online at www.RaceTrac.com/careers.

We look forward to seeing you all on Monday!

Depending on which way you're headed, you might be able to see the newest RaceTrac store from a window seat on planes in and out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.   That's because the next RaceTrac to open in north Texas will be at 8400 N. Beltline Rd. in Irving.  That's at Beltline and Regent, just south of LBJ and a stone's throw from the north entry/exit of DFW.

When the store opens at the end of this month it will have everything you love about RaceTrac: Eight different blends of fresh-brewed coffee; delicious fountain and frozen drinks; Hot To Go breakfast and lunch taquitos, hot dogs and sausages; baked fresh donuts, pastries and cookies and fresh sandwiches, salads and fruits; and a full line of 99-cent Tasty Recession Busters, all at the convenience and low price you expect from RaceTrac.  And don't forget plenty of gas pumps with their own low prices.

We are already selecting the team of Associates that will staff this new store.  One of the most common answers I get when I ask applicants why they chose to apply with us is "I come to RaceTrac all the time and I love the environment."  What a tremendous compliment to the men and women of RaceTrac that people see us at work and want to be a part of something exciting.  Few things are as exciting as the opening of a new store.

If you would like to learn more about the opportunities at our new RaceTrac in Irving or at any of the other 73 RaceTrac stores in north Texas please visit our Career Opportunities page at www.RaceTrac.com/careers.  There you can see the job duties and benefits available for Management and Associate positions.  You can even start the application process online.

In the meantime, we'd love for everyone to come see us at your local RaceTrac.  You can find the store nearest you by clicking this link.  We can't wait to see you for breakfast, lunch, dinner, a quick snack or a quick fill-up.  We're here for you.

One more note - You can now follow the Dallas-Fort Worth RaceTrac stores at Twitter.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Dallas, Irving, Murphy and Rowlett.  These are the home cities of the next four RaceTrac stores to open in North Texas.  The first of these will be our new-from-the-ground-up store at 7057 Greenville Avenue, just north of Park Lane.  This store is just south of the Presbyterian Hospital-Dallas campus and the American Heart Association's National Center.  Crews are working around-the-clock to finish and the store should be open by next weekend. 

We're not slowing down after that.  While our friends in Washington are wringing their hands trying to decide on "shovel-ready projects", RaceTrac already has shovels in the ground.  This summer RaceTrac will open new stores in Irving (8400 N. Belt Line, just south of LBJ), Rowlett (on Hwy 66) and in Murphy (on Hwy 544).

How's that for "shovel-ready projects"?

Everyone talks about the job situation and the economy, but RaceTrac is doing something about it.  These stores will bring new jobs AND increased tax revenue to these communities.

By the time the summer is over RaceTrac Petroleum will have 75 stores in north Texas, and we think that is a GREAT way to celebrate our 75th Anniversary!

Now, if you're asking how to GET one of those jobs ... I'm glad you asked.  We created a much simpler way for potential candidates to get to our Careers page.  Just point your browser to www.RaceTrac.com/careers and you'll be there.  You can see the opportunities for Associates, Managers, and also see job postings for our Store Support Centers. 

Whether you're a retail or customer service professional, an experienced retail manager, or just an outgoing, energetic, friendly face that wants a chance to work for a great company, we want you to come see what RaceTrac has to offer. 

If you're in the neighborhood of one of our stores and you're looking for a quick, fresh meal, a hot cup of coffee, a cold drink or competitive gas prices, stop in to RaceTrac. Try some of our Tasty Recession Busters today.  We can't wait to see you.

The new RaceTrac store at 18599 Marsh Lane in Dallas will be open next Tuesday. The store is at Marsh and Timberglen, just north of the Bush Turnpike, and just across from Rosemeade Park.  We invite EVERYONE to come see the newest RaceTrac next week.

And as long as we're thinking "new" and "RaceTrac" I want to use this space to welcome to our company the 15 new RaceTrac associates starting their careers today.  For 75 years RaceTrac has provided value AND opportunity to the communities we serve, and we're not going to stop now.  We are proud to serve our neighbors and excited about the new stores we will open later in the spring and summer.

We all know times are tough, especially in the job market.  Companies are laying workers off.  They are closing stores.  I was told yesterday that a major American retailer has ordered their stores to lower their entry-level pay to the minimum wage and they have already begun scaling back benefits. 

At RaceTrac we are building stores.  We are hiring new associates.  We offer a competitive wage and benefits, work locations close to home and a chance to work for the best customers a store could have. 

Visit us at our new store on Marsh Lane or at RaceTrac.com and see what we have to offer!

What a week we've seen in the economy.  As I predicted in a previous blog post, national retailers, almost all of which have a major presence in North Texas, have now announced they are laying MORE workers off.  Some of them are just shutting their doors altogether.

At RaceTrac we are growing.  We are not laying employees off.  We are not closing stores, we are building stores.  In the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area RaceTrac has six stores currently under construction.   The positions we have to fill are full-time positions.

By the end of 2009, RaceTrac will have over 75 stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and not by accident.  We have accomplished what we have over the last 75 years by staying true to our Core Values and our Brand Promise. 

If you are a retail customer service professional that has been or will be impacted by layoffs, let me invite you now to come see what RaceTrac can offer.  Our stores are state-of-the-industry, we believe in developing talent from within and we are well-positioned to continue our growth.

And if you aren't a customer of RaceTrac yet, why not take the time to come by one of our stores and see why we're growing.  You're about to need a new place to get your coffee, anyway.  Our stores serve 7 blends of coffee brewed fresh all day.  And there's no waiting on Decaf.   

As RaceTrac celebrates our 75th anniversary this year, the Dallas/Fort Worth group of stores is experiencing growth that would be the envy of almost any business out there. Our next new store to open will be at 18599 Marsh Lane in Dallas. That's at Marsh and Timberglen, just north of the Bush Turnpike, and just across from Rosemeade Park.

In our 75th anniversary year we are approaching 75 stores in north Texas. We could not enjoy the success we do without the efforts of our store associates, the hardest-working men and women in the industry. To continue to support our growth we are always on the lookout for talented, energetic, outgoing people to join us.

I invite you to take a minute to visit our website and take a look at the career opportunities RaceTrac makes possible. You can watch a video presentation of a Day in The Life of a RaceTrac associate. You can even start the application process right from the website.

If you're NOT a job seeker, then let me invite you to come shop with us at RaceTrac. We're a great place to stop for a meal or a quick snack, we serve fresh coffee, tea and cappuccino all day long and we offer an outstanding selection of fresh fruits, salads

(YES - Salads!

Look!!

See?)

and sandwiches. And along with all that, we offer high quality gasoline at a price we're so proud of we put it on the biggest signs we can find!

Christmas is come and gone, and according to the latest figures, the holiday shopping season was the weakest in many years.  This means that retailers who had already stopped hiring seasonal employees way back in November will soon start to lay off not just the seasonal workers they did hire, but will probably be cutting some regular employee positions too as they start to shrink.

But not RaceTrac.

We grow.  We don't shrink. 

Unless by "shrink" you mean "Opening new stores left and right".

Our new store in McKinney, on the northwest corner of Virginia Parkway and US-75, will be opening this coming Tuesday, and we still have room on the team for top performers.  There is no "recession" at RaceTrac, and you can bet we're not waiting around on a "government bailout".  This will be our FOURTH store in McKinney.  

At RaceTrac we succeed and we grow because we have great Associates offering great products and great value to great customers.  (I know that's a lot of greatness - but that's the way we roll.)

If you're a retail customer service professional who has been stung by the tough times at other retailers come talk to us.  If you're thinking it's time to make a change from where you are now, come talk to us.  If your job search has you looking in McKinney, Plano or Allen, come talk to us. 

I will be conducting open interviews at our store at 1608 S. McDonald in McKinney on Monday, 12/29, at 10 a.m.  If you can't see me then, you can still get a head start on our application process by visiting our Careers page at RaceTrac.com.  There you can learn about the job duties, see the benefits we offer, and  take the first steps to APPLY NOW!

I look forward to seeing you soon, and on behalf of all of us at RaceTrac Petroleum I hope your holidays have been joyous.  We wish you every success in the new year.

I remember driving from Mansfield to McKinney for a big Labor Day sunrise fireworks show and balloon festival at Stonebridge Ranch way back in 1989 and thinking "This place is WAY out there!"

20 years later I make just about the same drive every day and think nothing of it, because now McKinney is at the heart of almost everything going on in Collin County, and McKinney is about to see its FOURTH RaceTrac store. 

Our new store, at Virginia Parkway and US-75, will be opening in the next couple of weeks and we are already looking for the talented men and women who will staff this store. 

RaceTrac stores are state-of-the-industry operations staffed by the hardest-working professionals in the business.  If you feel that you have what it takes to join our team we would love to meet you. 

We will be holding a job fair at the Plano Centre on Friday, 12/19/2008 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.  We will be accepting applications and interviewing candidates on-the-spot, so come prepared to start a new career.  The Plano Centre is located at 2000 E. Spring Creek Pkwy., just east of US-75.  For a map and directions, click here.  We will also be looking for applicants to work at our other stores in McKinney, Plano, Frisco and surrounding areas.

To learn more about the great opportunities we have at RaceTrac, including a short video about a "Day In The Life" of a RaceTrac associate, visit our website at RaceTrac.com.  You can even get a head start on the application process there if you like.

Either way we can't wait to see you at our new store!!

There is not much in retailing that compares with the excitement of opening a brand new store, and at RaceTrac we get to experience that excitement a LOT!  Hot on the heels of new store openings in Mansfield and Dallas comes a FOURTH RaceTrac in McKinney.

The newest RaceTrac in McKinney is taking shape now on the northwest corner of Virginia Parkway and US-75 and it will be open before we know it.  We are already recruiting talented men and women to staff the store, so if you've been thinking you'd like to work at the new RaceTrac now is the time to apply. 

To see what RaceTrac is looking for you can take a few minutes to watch a video "Day in the Life" of a RaceTrac store associate.  To see what RaceTrac offers, visit our Careers section and see if great benefits, state-of-the-art stores and a chance to work for the best customers in the convenience store business is what you're looking for.

If it is what you're looking for, I'd love to meet with you.  You can start the application process online right now if you want.  Just click here, answer a few simple screening questions and if you meet our criteria we can schedule an interview.

I will be interviewing in McKinney on Tuesday, December 2. (Wow!  That's next week already!)  If you complete the online screening process now (What are you waiting for??) there is a VERY good chance I will call you on Monday so we can set a time to meet.