By Bruce Horovitz

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Scott Stratten knows firsthand the lesson he wants to share during his keynote presentation at the NACS Show: There is no neutral brand experience.

To prove it, he will tell a tale of what he experienced at a Sheetz convenience store where he recently stopped while driving through Pennsylvania. When he walked into that Sheetz, he was immediately greeted by a salesclerk, who looked him in the eye and in a friendly voice offered: “Welcome to Sheetz!”

As far as Stratten could remember, that was the first time in years that he’d actually been greeted just for walking into a store. It was 2 p.m., but Stratten had his heart set on a croissant, bacon and egg breakfast sandwich. He walked up to the touchscreen kiosk confident that he could still get it because he knew that Sheetz sells breakfast items all day. After he ordered it, a message on the screen asked if he’d like a side order of hash browns. He did. And he requested it. At that moment, he says, the kiosk asked him a follow-up question that flabbergasted him.

Find out what question Stratten was asked and read the rest of NACS Magazine's interview with Scott Stratten in the September digital issue.

Be sure to register for the NACS Show October 1-4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. You’ll find 425,000 square feet of Expo space, 1,200+ exhibitors, thousands of new products, 45+ education sessions and more at the 2022 NACS Show. Join us!

Bruce Horovitz is a freelance journalist and national media training consultant. Contact him at brucehorovitz@gmail.com.