Buc-ee's is a phnomenon all to itself.
I didn't know much about them, other than I had stopped in the locations outside of Tucson and San Antonio on cross country trips from Pensacola to San Diego multiple times since 2004.
They have good prices on gas, a funny logo, they sell shirts, they have clean restrooms, and they have retail floor space larger than Lowe's or Home Depot with ANYTHING you want for sale. Anything travel related. And gas pumps in rows. Lots of them. They're unique.
A couple of years back a Buc-ees opened nearby--just over the border in Alabama between Mobile and Pensacola. I've stopped there from time to time for gas and a pulled-pork sandwich on trips out of Pensacola on the I-10.
This past weekend coming off a road trip to New Orleans I braved the crowds to stop at the closest Buc-ees to our area. There were so many cars trying to get in, the parking lot attendants literally were directing traffic like I was at the L.A. Coliseum to see the Rolling Stones play a concert. It was ridiculous. But even with a massive crowd I got in and out quick (and paid about $.20 cents less per gallon than I would have at the Circle K in Pensacola.....)
As I pumped gas I saw the placard on the pump announcing the positions that were open at this local Buc-ees (and the pay).
I guess I must be out of touch --------but some of those jobs pay well. I mean, over $200K. WOW!
So it just goes to show we live in a great country, and with a company like Buc-ees, a young person can start a job at the entry level and end up working his/her way up to store manager making a respectable salary. No college, no student loans, straight in to the workforce. Not for everyone--but for some this could be a very viable option. I'm sure they earn this pay, whoever works there----it is retail after all---but WOW!
Look at the wages, below. Look at the benefits. How in the world will McDonalds, BK, and the rest compete with this kind of pay and benefits package?????? No wonder a Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal deal and McDonalds is like $14.68 these days...And a 3-piece Chicken Dinner at Popeye's with a drink is like $15.79. Funny money.....
(my first job at the Navy commissary in Yokosuka Japan at age 14 paid $2.41 an hour in 1982---my first job in Pensacola at the Popeye's on Navy Blvd in 1984 paid $3.35 per hour-----my oh my have times changed!)
