TEXOR PETROLEUM COMPANY

1st  QUARTER 2008

FUELING PERFORMANCE NEWSLETTER

 

ALL DEALERS

 

Texor is pleased to announce that we have signed supply agreements with both Valero Energy and Shell Oil Company to further expand our offerings as the largest independent distributor in the state of Illinois.  More information will be forthcoming in the second quarter newsletter.

 

Spring is now upon us and it is time for a lot of spring cleanup at your locations. 
The oil companies are putting much more emphasis on the mystery shops and the image that your location portrays to the motoring public.  Remember, clean, bright locations attract new customers while keeping your current customers returning again and again.  If you need anything to help spruce up your location, please contact your Texor representative.

 

CITGO PETROLEUM COMPANY

 

Due to the fact that the Gilbarco G-Site is not and will never be compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, an end of life date of December 31, 2008 has been set for this point-of-sale system.  Gilbarco will be offering incentives for replacing these systems with its PCI compliant Passport system.  More information will be forthcoming.

 

Many PIN pads in use today are not compliant with Payment Card Industry Standards and will need to be replaced.  POS vendors are in the process of certifying and manufacturing compliant PIN pads which should be available by the end of the year.

 

2nd Quarter POP materials are being installed now by an outside vendor of Citgo.  Please cooperate with the vendors in making sure that the materials are installed properly.

 

EXXONMOBIL

 

EXXONMOBIL has announced a temporary reduction in its credit card fees beginning April 21, 2008 and ending May 31, 2008.  Beginning June 1, 2008 the rates before April 21, 2008 will be reinstated unless further notice is received.  The reductions are 0.10% on the following cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB.

 

The EXXONMOBIL Education Alliance (EMEA) program offers Exxon and Mobil retailers the opportunity to obtain a $500 grant to support a local school. This year, 2 million from EXXONMOBIL has once again been allocated for the program.  Grants will be awarded on a first come, first served basis; only one application may be submitted for each service station.  Grants are to be used for math and science.  For more details and to get an application, please contact your Texor representative.

 

EXXONMOBIL is pleased to announce its affiliation with the Mobil 1/Penske Racing team and the #77 Dodge driven by 3 time Indy Car series champion Sam Hornish Jr.  Exciting POP materials have been sent out and you need to make sure you take advantage of these programs.

 

MARATHON PETROLEUM COMPANY

 

Whether you are a new or existing customer, Marathon has tools and resources to help ensure your long term business success.  Marathon now offers one on one business consulting services and classroom style group training led by industry experts on an array of industry and Marathon specific topics.  Please contact Jennifer in the training department at 1-800-627-2846 x 259 for more details.

 

Take one applications are arriving now, including new outdoor application holders.  Please be sure they are installed as soon as you receive them.  Remember, there is no transaction fee when a customer uses the Co-brand card.  These applications will be used all year, during and after the promotional period.  Please remove and discard all old applications.  The cobrand promotional period began on April 1st and ends September 30th.  Point-of-sale kit featuring “double rebates” should be arriving now.  These kits will include several items to assist with the promotion of the 10%/2% offer.  Please read the instructions carefully as there are cash incentives for you and your employees to earn cash with approved applications.

 

You should have received and installed your 2008 NASCAR POP materials featuring Richard Petty.  Please make sure that these are displayed prominently for this exciting promotion.  You will need to replenish the cash cards as necessary.

 

CONOCO PHILLIPS

 

Recently, high motor fuel prices have raised concerns that pump limits are too low for consumers to fuel their vehicles sufficiently in a single transaction.  In response to this, ConocoPhillips has increased pump limits from $75 to $100 on MasterCard and Discover cards.  Pump limits are the maximum dollar value allowed for outside transactions and are typically set by the card associations.

 

Effective April 8, 2008, ConocoPhillips has temporarily reduced credit card processing fees for Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express by 0.10% from the base rate structure to alleviate some of the payment transaction costs caused by the recent high motor fuel prices.  Please note that the ConocoPhillips standard credit card processing fee structure will resume on June 1, 2008, unless otherwise notified that this temporary fee structure has been extended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By now all stores should have received POP kits as outlined below.  These credit card promotions commenced on April 1st and will run through July 31, 2008.  Please remove all outdated advertising (example) the “$25,000 Cash and Gas Giveaway” sweepstakes.  Most pump topper signage will have an expiration date either in the lower left and right hand corner of the sign.

 

SHELL OIL COMPANY

As a result of Shell's ongoing efforts to reduce the cost of card acceptance to our wholesalers and retailers, Shell is pleased to be introducing both a revised schedule of Merchant Service Fees (MSF), and an enhancement to our credit card settlement process, to take effect April 28, 2008.

The first change is a reduction in MSF for MasterCard, American Express and Voyager.  The reductions are detailed below:

Current Fee Structure               New Fee Structure
MasterCard                                 MasterCard
From 2.00% + 10 cpt                   To 1.65% + 13 cpt
American Express                       American Express
From 2.80% + 15 cpt                   To 2.45% + 15 cpt
Voyager                                      Voyager
From 2.95% + 30 cpt                   To 2.35% + 30 cpt  

cpt = cents per transaction

Sample Wholesale & Retail Operation at Today’s Prices:
Wholesale Operation: 20 million gals/year Volume = Estimated annual savings $34,100 / Direct Retail Location Volume 1.8 million gals/year = Estimated annual savings $3,100

 

 

General Manager, Marketing

Daniel J. Goding