OSHKOSH, Wis. – Customers at an Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Kwik Trip convenience store saw a familiar face behind the counter last week: U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R).

The senator was participating in the NACS In Store program, an event where members of Congress spend a few hours of their time working at a convenience store in their community, which gives them a valuable opportunity to experience firsthand what happens inside the store, as well as meet with local residents and store employees. 

TheNorthwestern.com reports that as part of his two-hour visit to the store, Johnson learned about the 12 hours of training videos new employees must watch, received hands-on training behind the counter and also discussed key industry issues such as credit card fees.

"There are an awful lot of issues that really do affect these (businesses), and it's important that people, like me, representing the state need to understand," he told the news source.

Johnson's visit was the seventh NACS In Store to take place since the grassroots engagement program launched in August. (For more on where else in the U.S. the program has taken place, read “Putting Congress to Work” in the October NACS Magazine.)

NACS Government Relations Director Jonathan Taets commented that convenience store operators opening up their doors to members of Congress is beneficial to all who participate — especially as legislators consider laws and regulations that impact the industry.

"The best way to make that stick is to get them in here," Taets told the news source. "A lot of times, legislators aren't in tune to what's going on in the industry, and the more hands-on experience they have, hopefully they'll make better decisions with regards to policy."

For Johnson, the experience brought back memories of one of his first jobs within the retail industry. "I started my career in Walgreens — first as a dishwasher, then as a soda jerk and a fry cook, so I've done the old cash registers before you had all the fancy touchscreens," Johnson told the news source, adding, "It is interesting how we've automated it, but it's still pretty complex."

Johnson commented that he and other legislators are working to make both the state of Wisconsin and the U.S. as a whole more attractive for businesses. "I think we've turned the corner here in the state, with Gov. Walker starting out his administration saying, 'Wisconsin's open for business.' There's the first step. Let's be welcoming to that kind of business risk-taking investment. Let's not demonize success; let's celebrate it; let's incentivize it. We need to start doing that at the national level, and we're not there yet."

To learn more about NACS In Store and to get your store or stores involved, contact NACS Grassroots Director Kelly Fink.