April 1, 2011

Dear NJGCA Member:

Here's what you'll find in this edition of the NJGCA Road Warrior, and thank you for reading:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS!
•The Smorgasbord: Anxiety in Trenton, Market Validation, Your Margins & MVC/AAA Event

NEWS AROUND THE STATE
•Senate President continues to push for higher state worker benefit contributions
•Legislators question Governor’s five-year transportation plan
•In protest to privatization plan, toll workers stage sit-in
•Report: Garden State drops to third place in personal income

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM BELLOMO FUELS
•Serving New Jersey since 1910 -- Over 100 years of supplying gasoline retailers like YOU!

TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE
•New Class Added: NJ EMISSION INSPECTOR TRAINING CLASS

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
•Participate in the NJGCA PAC today and help us keep our Agenda rolling in Trenton!

THE MEMBER TOOL BOX
•On the NJGCA Homepage
•Know your Territory Manager!

 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS! 

THE SMORGASBORD:
ANXIETY IN TRENTON, MARKET VALIDATION, YOUR MARGINS & MVC EVENT

Right now as you read this, Trenton is holding its breath…and for good reason.

Why is that?  Well, normally this time of year is utterly crazy in Trenton for no other reason than because it is Budget Season, and everyone is consumed with cuttin’ deals n’ crunchin’ numbers.  But this year happens to be a very different because all Legislators have a single thought gnawing on their collective minds.  That’s because all eyes (and ears) in the State House are distracted by hearings being conducted by the New Jersey Legislative Reapportionment Committee. 

More regularly known as the ‘Redistricting Commission’, this body convenes the year after the national census is taken to divide up all the state’s municipalities between our 40 Legislative Districts.  The members are made up of 5 Democrats, 5 Republicans and 1 ‘Independent’ (and I use that term very loosely) who will decide on a legislative map to control politics in New Jersey for the next TEN YEARS. 

That puts an interesting spin on November’s election; while all 120 seats in the Legislature (both the General Assembly and State Senate) are up this year, who will be running and in what district will they be running in?

To say that this is a once-in-a-decade event is an understatement, and right now every Legislator wants to know if the final map will have them in a ‘safe’ Democrat-leaning or Republican-leaning district, or will they have to fight hard to retain their Assembly or Senate seat. 

Taken together, this means our elected officials in the Legislature are worried about keeping their jobs.  It also means that, while we continue to focus on trying to defend you against bad legislation like the Lottery Bill, the ‘list all cash-credit prices on your street sign’ amendment, and the re-packaged Below Cost Selling law (otherwise known as the Rebate/Loyalty Card bill), not a lot is going on in Trenton at the moment.  In fact, there hasn’t been a full quorum over a week and there won’t be for a least another week.

About the only other thing that’s going on are Budget Committee hearings, which are stirring up all kinds of new (and tired) ideas to balance the State’s budget.  While Governor Christie has continued to say he won’t support raising the gasoline tax, some Legislators (and outside advocacy groups) are looking to do just that.  In fact, Assemblyman John Wisniewski (who also sits on the Redistricting Commission) has been pushing for just that.  Can you say stalemate?!

No real effort will be put into the budget until the Redistricting Commission has finished their work.  The report must be finalized on Sunday, so we will let you know how it all turns out once the dust settles next week.  Nevertheless, keep your fingers crossed that no matter who ends up in power, our fellow residents remember to nominate candidates that are pro-small business (and anti-regulation) this November.  I’ve already started to say my novena, but could use your help if we’re going to see our prayers answered.

I’ve been saying to you for months now that the volatility in the marketplace can be traced to geopolitics and speculators who remain unsure about future oil production.  Together, these two important factors have driven up the price of oil and placed an anchor around your neck and your customers’ wallet.  One NJGCA Member recently sent me an article that says what I’ve been saying for weeks and it only underlines a related point I’ve made: folks are finally are realizing what's going on!  You can read the article by clicking HERE

Now I’m not pointing this out because an expert holds the same ideas I do or I’m trying to appear like I’m a market-genius (for the record, I’m a culinary-genius).  While it’s always nice to know that I’m not alone in my market interpretations, I’m mentioning this because it provides additional ‘proof’ for you to use in educating your customers and other patrons!  Yes, I know you’re thinking that it will be impossible to change the perception that the public has of you, but I’m not sending you out there unarmed.  In fact, while you’re trying to get this through to motorists, its going to be my job to educate the press and tell them to NOT PICK ON YOU for what’s going on in the market. 

What’s more, I’m already thinking five or six moves ahead in case conditions get EVEN WORSE by the time the summer gets here.  I’ve always believed that there’s no offense like a good defense; so I’m going to cut the legs out from under your critics by submitting a series of ‘pre-buttals’ to the press.  The idea here is to anticipate their arguments months from now (when gas prices maybe over $4.00 a gallon and they’re looking for someone to blame), explain why they are wrong about us, rebut their arguments, and educate the press in the process.  I plan on sending out the first of many ‘pre-buttals’ in the next two weeks, but you should read the article above now and start trying to educate your patrons today! 

I’ve been getting a lot of emails and calls from frustrated members who are worried about skating by to better times.  There’s no doubt that times are tough out there and you (and your customers) are hurting.  However, I have to again emphasis that, when gasoline is above $3.00 a gallon, part of any survival strategy must include both Cash/Credit Pricing AND increasing your margins to compensate for credit card fees. 

While I know many of you are worried about changing up your strategy, believe me when I tell you that’s it is FAR better to have your volume drop and your margins increase than it would be for you to be forced to close your doors for good.  This is simple math:

Higher Margins - Less Pump Volume = Paying your bills
(not to mention keeping your doors open and surviving to better days!)

But I’m not the only one who thinks this way.  Several months ago, NJGCA member Eel Chang produced several YouTube videos that summed this up quite nicely.  Recently a few of you have asked me to repost them and I have (below). While they are presented in a witty, off-hand manner, the bottom line is rock solid – Your margins are everything in this business, so don’t neglect them!

The first one is titled Stupid and you can view it by clicking HERE

The second one is titled Mercedes and you can view it by clicking HERE

April is National Car Care Month, and to celebrate, NJGCA will be working with MVC and AAA to put on a public event that encourages motorists to keep their vehicles in good and safe condition.  While the overall theme will highlight general vehicle maintenance, we intend to emphasis safety in lieu of the reality that Safety Inspections were eliminated last year.  This is especially important since our members are reporting that customers are typically ignoring your recommendations to address safety-related repairs now that they aren’t compelled to do so by the vehicle inspection program. 

We will fill you in on more details as the event gets closer, but I want to VERY STRONGLY ENOURAGE YOU to use the Safety Poster and Safety Brochures to educate your customers on why these repairs are important.  NJGCA created these materials for you and they are valuable tools.  You should be using them in your shop and customer waiting area to both inform them and make them aware that they can still be ticketed for violating vehicle safety laws.

You can re-read a January edition of the Road Warrior highlighting the Safety Poster and Safety Borchures by clicking HERE

Thanks for listening - See you next week!

Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

NEWS AROUND THE STATE

3/31/2011:
Senate President continues to push for higher state worker benefit contributions
Despite opposition from members of his own party and labor unions, State Senate President Stephen Sweeney has vowed to stand by his proposal to reduce the state’s enormous medical benefit costs by requiring public employees to pay more for their health care benefits. The Senate President’s plan has been criticized by labor leaders, for being burdensome to their workers, and Republicans, who favor Governor Christie’s plan which requires even higher benefit premiums.  If enacted the measure would cover all 510,000 of the state’s public employees and be phased in over seven years.

3/31/2011:
Legislators question Governor’s five-year transportation plan
State lawmakers have begun to question Governor Christie’s proposal to repair New Jersey’s aging infrastructure.  The Governor seeks to spend $8 billion on updates and improvements.  Critics say the Transportation Trust Fund needs a long-term source of revenue to pay for future repairs, while proponents contend that the plan raises no new taxes and is fiscally responsible, despite the state’s continuing budget crisis.

3/29/2011:
In protest to privatization plan, toll workers stage sit-in
Workers from the toll collector’s union staged a sit-in at the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s monthly meeting as negotiations between the two organizations have broken down.  The demonstration was organized to oppose the state’s plan to privatize toll collections on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.

3/23/2011:
Report: Garden State drops to third place in personal income
New data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that New Jersey has slipped from second to third in the national per capita personal income ranking.  Experts state that New Jersey’s fiscal strength is rebounding at a slower pace that the rest of the nation.  State residents averaged $50,781 in 2010, while former third-place Massachusetts moved past the Garden State to finish second with $51,552.  Connecticut continued its first place ranking as Maryland and New York finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES IN OUR “NEWS AROUND THE STATE” ARCHIVE