Gas stations and roadside rest stops or "travel centers" have been in the business press lately in connection with the court battle between Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and the Haslam family (former Tennessee governor Bill Haslam, Cleveland Browns football team owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam) over Pilot Travel Centers. That's a good story in its own right related to the alleged valuation shenanigans in connection with the family's sale of the business. The press often tends to emphasize conflict or supposed shady dealings, in part because such coverage attracts readers.
Yet an accurate accounting of capitalism also tells the story of how it creates incentives for virtue and how it provides value to customers. I was reminded of this the other day by a Marketplace report on Buc-ee's, a Texas-based chain of gas stations and convenience stores that began in Texas and "expanded to Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Missouri." Perhaps the piece was scheduled or assigned in anticipation of the holiday travel season. Marketplace quotes University of Houston economist Dietrich Vollrath: "The bathrooms are nice and huge and clean, and the food is actually good... God bless them...They turned a gas station into a place people go on purpose." Says Marketplace: "Buc-ee's is maintained by hustling, red-shirted staff guided by a strict corporate culture — no tattoos, no cellphones, no showing up late."
Texas Monthly has a story from 2019: "It has become the rare brand—like Apple and Costco—that inspires loyalty that goes well beyond rational consumer calculations. People love Buc-ee's, and they like to talk about how much they love Buc-ee's." More from Texas Monthly: "Buc-ee's pays its employees well above market rate; cashiers start at $14 per hour in most locations and get three weeks' paid vacation and a 401(k) plan, in an industry where it's common for cashiers to make minimum wage, about half as much. Aplin expects smiles and attentive service in exchange. There's no sitting on the job and no using cellphones. Like cast members in an elaborate theatrical production, employees also must adhere to certain wardrobe and grooming standards. They are not allowed to display visible tattoos or body piercings. Men are prohibited from having long hair; nobody can have unnaturally colored hair. There are no open-toed shoes, no torn or faded clothing."
From the Buc-ee's website: "Do you believe what we believe? We believe our store should be clean. We believe our staff should be friendly. We believe our prices should be low." "What are your store hours? All Buc-ee's are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year." More: "Why are your store phone numbers unlisted? This is not a decision we made lightly. We previously had phones in the stores which were answered by the cashiers. When cashiers were on the phone instead of waiting on customers, this made the customers angry, so we thought it would be better to direct comments to the website."
The company seems to be privately held by Arch "Beaver" Aplin III and Don Wasek. CBS reports in 2022: "After almost 40 years in business, 'Beaver' Aplin and his very private, very camera-shy business partner, a guy named Don Wasek, still own 100% of Buc-ee's. No investors, no board of directors. And that's exactly how they want it."
Anyway, it's probably a bad sign about the circles I travel in that I became aware of Buc-ee's by hearing about it on public radio. But the chain's growth and apparent success is a good sign about America. For every Harvard student being taught by graduate students "struggling against many of the same capitalist forces that maintain and bolster the Israeli occupation of Palestine," there are Buc-ee's customers enjoying and appreciating good food and clean bathrooms and even larger-than-normal parking spaces (to accommodate Texas-sized pickup trucks) thanks to the benefits of free enterprise.