Expert Viewpoints

The ouster of Home Depot (HD) chairman, president and CEO Bob Nardelli is a cautionary tale for any retailer about the dangers of ego-run-amok in the executive office, and what happens when a company takes its focus off customer service.

The New Year is a time of setting admirable goals for yourself, such as to eat less, exercise more, work smarter, control your temper better, be more charitable, tell your loved ones that you love them in general, be a better human being.

Both consumer and retailer confidence rises due to lower gas prices.

Five new breaded and battered appetizers are available from Lamb Weston's Tantilizers Appetizers ¿ Battered Jalapeno & Onion Strips, Battered Jumbo Onion Rings, Beer Battered Zucchini Oval Slices, Breaded Cheddar Cheese Curds and Breaded White Cheddar Cheese Curds.

In this issue's article on rising credit-card interchange fees, we describe MasterCard's recent announcement that it would post its rate schedule online and place a cap on the fees it charges retailers who accept cards for fuel purchases as a "tipping point" that may lead to some relief for c-store operators. As our story points out, the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) played and continues to play a pivotal role in bringing this issue to a head and is to be commended for its efforts.

Over the years, we at Convenience Store News have been impressed with — and extremely grateful to — the many retailers in this industry who have seen the value of sharing information and participate enthusiastically in opportunities to do so.

The new Snap-n-Slide wall shelves from Eagle Foodservice Equipment provide an easy way to increase wall storage availability above sinks and tables.

Operators across all channels looking for some relief.