Meet Mike Crum, Tsartlip Pump’s General Manager
Learn more about Mike and the work he’ll be doing. Click play to view the short video, or read the transcript below.
Interviewer: Can tell us about who you are and your background and experience?
I’m Mike. I have many years of experience managing retail establishments, from cell phone stores to convenience stores and gas stations. I come from 7-Eleven. So I was managing a few different 24/7 fuel and convenience store operations there, and I’ve also done my own landscaping businesses and different things like that, also lots of construction. So, lots of different things. But I’m also a father of two of my own, three step kids and that’s basically who I am.
Interviewer: Tell us about your role and your position at the pump right now.
I’m the general manager. So I’m basically overseeing operations here. So I’m the go between the store and the band, chief and counsel. We have a store manager who looks after most of the day-to-day operations of the store, scheduling, inventory, that sort of thing. I’m here to support her in that role. But really my objective is to work on the profitability of the operation and to help plan future expansion and figure out what direction the business is gonna be going in.
Interviewer: What kind of impact do you hope to have in your role?
My number one objective, is to make it as profitable as possible, I think it’s a great store. Alicia, the store manager here has done a really good job on her year here along with Cynthia who is the consultant, who was sort of doing my role on a part-time basis really, and they’ve done a great role here in the past year. But there’s a lot of opportunity here, and that’s what I’m looking to take advantage of, and help with profitability, stability, consistency, those sorts of things here. And we are looking at a potential expansion of the property and that’s an exciting thing, so we are just kind of getting our feet wet with that and seeing where it leads us.
Interviewer: Can you give me any sort of sneak-peak as to what kind of changes you hope to incorporate?
The expansion would include some sort of food, whether it’s some sort of fast food or a drive-through, we don’t really know what that’s gonna look like, but that is likely the direction that we’re gonna head in. My hope is within the next 6 months we’ll have a firm plan.
Interviewer: Is there anything else you’d like community members to know?
Really the way I see it is: I’m here to help implement some of the things that chief and counsel want to see happening at the store. I did attend a council meeting and I was given a pretty clear mandate as to what they are looking for in terms of improvements and a lot of it has to do with consistency and customer service and basic retail things. So that’s really what I see my role as, is to fix some of these issues that have been ongoing, that they would like to see addressed. I’m here working for the band, I’m trying to do the best thing I can for the community as a whole.
We do offer a status card holder discount on fuel and cigarettes of course, on tobacco products. On the fuel side of things there is a base discount rate for all status card holders and a further discount for Tsartlip band members as well.
If you’d like more information you can check social media, we’re hoping to have updates on there, our website for the pump, and in the newsletter as well.
