Free Cups of Coffee to Kick Off 2010

For those in need of an extra jolt to avoid dozing off this new year, the Framingham-based convenience store chain, Cumberland Farms will offer some assistance for what is sure to be the best price for a cup of coffee in 2010 - free.

From 5 p.m. on New Year's Eve until 5 a.m. New Year's Day Cumberland Farms locations across the Northeast and Florida - except for those with Dunkin' Donuts service - will be offering complimentary hot cups of Farmhouse Blend coffee for the third year in a row.


“We encourage drivers to have fun and stay safe and alert this holiday season,” the company's president, Ari Haseotes, said in a press release today announcing the promotion. “Offering free coffee on New Year’s Eve is one way for us to let our customers know we care about them.”

Good Customer Service

Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can offer promotions and slash prices to bring in as many new customers as you want, but unless you can get some of those customers to come back, your business won’t be profitable for long.

Good customer service is all about bringing customers back. And about sending them away happy – happy enough to pass positive feedback about your business along to others, who may then try the product or service you offer for themselves and in their turn become repeat customers.

If you’re a good salesperson, you can sell anything to anyone once. But it will be your approach to customer service that determines whether or not you’ll ever be able to sell that person anything else. The essence of good customer service is forming a relationship with customers – a relationship that that individual customer feels that he would like to pursue.

How do you go about forming such a relationship? By remembering the one true secret of good customer service and acting accordingly; “You will be judged by what you do, not what you say.”

Cumberland Farms Chill Zone

The Cumby's Chill Zone is a delicious frozen drink sold at Cumberland Farms for 79 cents plus tax. The Chill Zone comes in many delictable flavors including coke, cherry, clue raspberry, sour apple, leomonade, and grape. There is an awesome variety of fountain and frozen flavors that you can blend, combine an concoct to your hearts desire.

After drinking a Chill Zone, you'll probably want to become a fan on Facebook!

Cumberland Farms needs great Customer Service Associates to help out in the store. Stop by your local Cumberland Farms to apply for a job today!

Cumberland Farms' New Norton, MA Store Fundraises for Area School

To celebrate the grand opening of its latest remodeled convenience store here, Cumberland Farms kicked off a communitywide fundraiser yesterday to support the students at Norton High School.

"We are dedicated to making life a little bit easier for the residents of Norton," Ari Haseotes, president of Cumberland Farms' retail division, said in a statement. "This fundraiser is our way of saying thank you for the support the town has given us through the years."

Beginning yesterday, the company will donate 20 cents from every ChillZone fountain beverage and cup of coffee sold at the revamped store to the Norton High School Student Activity Agency, with a minimum donation of $1,000, the retailer stated. The donation will support students in need of financial assistance, as well as fund class field trips and awards ceremonies, among other activities, according to the convenience store chain.

"We are grateful for Cumberland Farms' support as our extracurricular activities are vitally important to our students' experience at Norton High School," Norton High School Principal Raymond Dewar said in a statement.

The newly remodeled Cumberland Farms store design features a fresh-food focused menu, a variety of sandwiches that can be toasted on site, milkshakes, flatbread breakfast sandwiches and personal pepperoni pizzas. The store also boasts a self-service coffee bar featuring the chain's new Farmhouse Blend coffee, as well as its trademark ChillZone fountain drink area.

Looking for a job in Norton, MA? Check out retail job a career opportunities at our great new Cumberland Farms location. Apply within.

Believe and Achieve Scholarship Program

Cumberland Farms today announces that eligible 2010 high school graduates can apply for its Believe and Achieve Scholarship program. This is the fourth year the New England based company has been able to provide individual $1,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors bound for college.

The Believe and Achieve Scholarship program is open to students who live within 30 miles of any Cumberland Farms retail convenience store. The scholarship program is also open to children of Cumberland Farms employees. While the initiative takes academic performance into account, the award also considers the student’s financial need. Applications can be submitted online through www.cumberlandfarms.com/doinggood and will be open until December 15, 2009.

“We know how difficult it can be for some students to afford college, that’s why we are proud to have a program that can make the cost of college a little bit easier for these families,” says Ari Haseotes, President of Cumberland Farms Retail Division. “The Believe and Achieve scholarship is a way for us to give back to the communities that patronize our stores.”

Information about the Believe and Achieve Scholarship program, including entry criteria and deadlines, is available online at www.cumberlandfarms.com/doinggood as well as in all Cumberland Farms store locations.

CUMBERLAND FARMS PUTS A FRESH FACE ONLINE WITH A NEW WEBSITE

(Framingham, MA –October 21, 2009) - Extending the refreshed brand image that customers are beginning to experience at its convenience stores, Cumberland Farms is sharing its retail story and vision with a new website www.CumberlandFarms.com

Visitors to www.CumberlandFarms.com will see photos of the newest store design as it continues to roll out across the Northeast and Florida. The site features information about the company’s popular, fresh new products, from the custom-made Farmhouse Blend Coffee to the latest ChillZone cold beverage flavors. But rest assured the company’s traditional dairy and grocery products are included too.

Those interested in the company’s farm family legacy will learn how Vasilios and Aphrodite Haseotes grew Cumberland Farms from a cow and a dream to what today is the largest convenience store and gasoline marketer in the Northeast, run by their grandson, company President Ari Haseotes. The site also has detail on the organization’s longstanding commitment for doing good by giving back to the communities it serves.

“As we set out to recast what today’s convenience store experience should be, we wanted a fast and easy way to update our busy customers about all the changes. We are excited that our new website delivers on that pledge,” said Mr. Ari Haseotes, president of Cumberland Farms Retail Division.


"We're so excited and proud of the launch of the Cumberland Farms retail website”, said John Young, Partner/ Chief Strategist, Full Contact Advertising which designed the site in partnership with MNET. “This initiative represents the foundation of the company's growing digital strategy and rejuvenated brand experience. Simply put, the goal is to foster extraordinary and valuable relationships everywhere customers want to interact with Cumberland Farms. The company is here to serve and hopefully, delight."


About Cumberland Farms

Cumberland Farms makes life easier for busy people every day. Its network of convenience stores across 11 states reflect the values of three generations of providing customers with value, convenience and unparalleled service - whether you're buying a cold ChillZone drink, a hot cup of Farmhouse Blend Coffee or filling the gas tank. Rooted in a family-farm heritage today's Cumberland Farms also has a long heritage of giving back to the communities where it operates. For more information about a Cumberland Farms near you, please visit us at www.CumberlandFarms.com.

Cumberland Farms holds benefit for Mansfield, MA High School

Cumberland Farms is kicking off the grand opening of its newest convenience store located in Mansfield, with a fundraiser to support the students at Mansfield High School.

Starting Sept. 14 the company will donate 20 cents from every ChillZone beverage and cup of coffee sold at the new 30 Chauncey Street, Mansfield store to the Mansfield High School Student Activities Fund. The fund benefits class trips, proms, dances and senior activities. Cumberland Farms intends to raise at least $1,000 for the school fund, with the help of the community.

“We are pleased to have Cumberland Farms’ support for the many co-curricular activities that are of critical importance to our students,” said Mansfield Principal Joseph Maruszczak. “Cumberland Farms’ fundraiser will help to ensure that after school enrichment activities will continue to add to the experience of Mansfield High School.”

“We are looking forward to making life a little bit easier for the residents of Mansfield, and that goes for our next door neighbors at the high school too,” said Ari Haseotes, president of Cumberland Farms Retail Division. “This fundraiser is our way of saying thank you for the warm welcome the town has given us.”

Visitors to the new Cumberland Farms will notice a change upon taking the first step through the front door. From a wide variety of sandwiches that can be toasted on site, to thick chocolate milkshakes, flatbread breakfast sandwiches and even personal pepperoni pizzas, the new menu is squarely focused on fresh food, and is steeped in the company’s farm-family heritage. Customers can be their own baristas at the coffee bar, stocked with the delicious new Farmhouse Blend, or opt for a cold beverage at the trademark ChillZone.

The Mansfield store is the company’s third new model store in Massachusetts, part of a multi-year, multi-million dollar investment in the brand.

Want to work for Cumberland Farms? Search for your new job here

Free Cumberland Farms Chill Zone!

Oil Market Never More Bearish: Gulf Oil CEO

Hard-Working Middletown Mechanic Wins $1,000,000 Prize

Forty-six year old Robert Whitby will certainly have great memories of this past Memorial Day as the day he became $1,000,000 richer. Whitby was taking a much needed break as the owner of Rob's Towing & Auto Repair, when he stopped at his local Cumberland Farms for a coffee and two lottery tickets - a Win For Life Spectacular and his winning $500,000,000 Extravaganza ticket.
"I scratched my tickets in my driveway directly after buying them," said Whitby, the father of two. "When I realized I'd won, I screamed so loud my neighbors ran out to my car to see what was wrong!"
Whitby purchased the $1,000,000 winning $500,000,000 Extravaganza ticket on May 25, 2009 at the Cumberland Farms on East Main Street in Middletown. He claimed the ticket the following day at the Lottery's Hudson Valley Customer Service Center in Fishkill.
As is the case with most New York Lottery instant game prizes, the third prize on the $500,000,000 Extravaganza ticket is paid as a 20-year annuity. Whitby will receive his prize in annual payments of $50,000 a year before required tax withholdings. His annual net check will total $33,015.
After working almost seven days a week for the past twenty years, it is no surprise Whitby's big plans for his winnings include a vacation. "I'm taking my family on a cruise," he said. "Then, I want to take a trip to Disney World and have lunch with Mickey Mouse," he joked.

Cumberland Farms Believe and Achieve Scholarships Awarded

Graduating high school seniors from across Cumberland Farms' 11 state service area have been awarded Cumberland Farms Believe & Achieve Scholarships of $1,000 towards their college expenses, the Framingham, Mass.-based retailer said.This is the third year that Cumberland Farms awarded the scholarships to promising students. As part of the company's Corporate Giving Initiative, the scholarship is open to students entering college and who live within 30 miles of any Cumberland Farms outlet in the Northeast and Florida. While the initiative takes academic performance into account, the award also considers the student's financial need."We are proud that our Believe and Achieve program can support 130 college-bound students, which will help defray the cost of tuition or ease the costs for books," said Cumberland Farms president Ari Haseotes.

Free Chill Zone Day at Cumby's!

Stop by Cumberland Farms for a Free Chill Zone on June 5th. Limit one per customer. Offer good only on June 5, 2009.

Cumberland Farms, Gulf Open New HQ

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Cumberland Farms and Gulf Oil LP have announced the opening of their new business support campus in Framingham, Mass. This move will enable the corporate parent, its retail convenience stores, real-estate operations and Gulf Oil subsidiary to take better advantage of opportunities in the marketplace."The advantages of an efficient corporate integration combined with a more focused and coordinated business development strategy makes this move compelling" said Cumberland Farms CEO Joseph Petrowski. "This move helps our leaders best execute the Cumberland Farms and Gulf vision at becoming the premier brand of choice for the driving public."
This is the latest in a series of developments by the companies. Last month, Cumberland Farms opened a new, flagship store, focused on fresh food and hot coffee and leveraging the company's farm-family heritage. In addition, Gulf Oil has several new programs in 2009 to further its branding and customer loyalty programs.
You can read more from Convenience Store/Petroleum here

Cumberland Farms awards student

Graduating Nashua high school senior Nathanael Chartier has been awarded a Cumberland Farms Believe and Achieve Scholarship of $1,000 towards his college expenses. Chartier plans to attend the College of the Holy Cross in the fall. This is the third year that Cumberland Farms awarded the scholarships to promising students across its service area. As part of the company’s Corporate Giving Initiative, the Believe and Achieve Scholarship is open to students entering college and who live within 30 miles of any Cumberland Farms outlet in the Northeast and Florida. While the initiative takes academic performance into account, the award also considers the student’s financial need.For more information, visit www.cumberlandfarms.com.

Boomer Trivia

It's described as "Mind-blowing fun for those who can remember." It's the Baby Boomer Retirement Game.


The ultimate goal of this board game is to achieve inner peace, but that can only be attained by mastering three key lifestyles areas: life experiences, health and assets. Originally an online-only game, a version has begun turning up in stores with a suggested retail price of $29.99 to $34.95.
The game has the potential to be a smashing success. With more than 82 million Baby Boomers planning to retire by 2027, it could quickly become a coffee table favorite.
Want to test your Boomer knowledge? See if you can answer these questions:

• What year did most car models change from two headlights to four headlights?
• Who was Dobie Gillis' beatnik friend?
• What was the name of Sky King's airplane?

You can find the answers at http://www.babyboomersretriementgame.com/

Gulf Joins Fuel Savings Network

Following a month-long test, Gulf Oil L.P. announced this week that it will offer consumers the ability to lower their price of gas through a powerful new retail partner program known as Override. All consumers have to do to earn gas savings is shop at such retailers as Shaw's Supermarkets or Dunkin' Donuts.

Shoppers who make a minimum purchase of $50 worth of groceries with their Shaw's Rewards Card earn an immediate 10 cents off a gallon of gas up to 20 gallons at a participating Gulf Oil location. Dunkin' Donuts customers who purchase at least $20, which can be accumulated over multiple visits, with a Dunkin' Rewards Card, earn 5 cents off each gallon of gas at Gulf. Those savings can then be redeemed immediately at participating Gulf locations throughout New England.

Either partner card can be swiped right at the gas pump to earn the savings.

"Gulf Oil is always on the hunt for creative, unique programs that help the driving public," said Gulf Oil president and COO Ron Sabia. "The ability to extend a savings program to consumers is a fundamental part of our strategy to grow as the leading downstream energy distribution company. The key attributes of Override are its link to strong retail partners, our extensive network of Gulf locations and the immediate roll back of pump prices."

The gas savings program with Gulf is being piloted at eight locations in the Worcester and Gloucester, Mass., markets, and will expand to hundreds of locations throughout New England on Friday, March 27. According to Gulf chief marketing officer Rick Dery, "The response to the program from our Gulf-branded distributors and dealers has been outstanding."

You can read the rest of the article here

Cumberland Farms Retail Locations

Cumberland Farms provides its customers with value, convenience and unparalleled service through a network of 900 retail stores, gas stations, and a support system including petroleum and grocery distribution operations.

Finding a Cumberland Farms close to you has never been easier. Visit CumberlandFarms.com to find a retail store near you!

Looking for a retail job at Cumberland Farms? Click here to find the latest retail jobs at Cumberland Farms.

Cumberland Farms' New Concept Store

The newly opened Cumberland Farms convenience store on the highly travelled Route 6 here looks like no other of its kind. Gone are the blue and orange accents that have graced the chain’s stores for so many years. Instead, as a symbol of all that is new and different about this prototype store, a green and blue Cumberland Farms logo stands tall above the store entrance and on forecourt signs.

"Obviously there’s a lot of heritage in our logo, it’s been around for almost 70 years, and we wanted to be careful to pay it the respect it deserves," Ari Hasetoes, president of the Canton, Mass.-based convenience chain, told CSNews Online at the store’s grand opening ceremony last Friday. "But we also wanted to be able to morph ourselves into a new generation and communicate to customers that we’re not just about packaged beverages or milk anymore, we’re about fresh foods.

"The iconic tree symbol is now green, and has changed to resemble a sprout with leaves that is encircled by a ring of dots that grow larger as they move clockwise. Below that, the word “Cumberland” is blue, and the word "Farms" is green."It’s not just a logo, that logo will only adorn stores that have received the new fresh products and the new coffee and fountain offer," he said. "That really exemplifies and communicates what we are about now, which is fresh products, that’s why we introduced green into it."Heralded by the company as a new definition of convenience store, its offerings are based on fresh prepared foods and foodservice. In fact, using the cashier counter as a divider -- it is placed in the middle of the store’s back wall -- the left half of the store is dedicated to foodservice, while the right is the more traditional convenience items.

You can read the rest of the article by clicking here

You can apply for a job at Cumberland Farms by clicking here

A record high 12.5 million people are unemployed

Grim new unemployment numbers from the government show that 651,000 people lost their jobs in February and the jobless rate hit 8.1 percent, the highest in 25 years.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a loss of 650,000 jobs in February.

The survey of households found 12.5 million people are now unemployed, the most since records started being kept in 1940. Total job losses over the last six months are more than 3.3 million.

The unemployment rate jumped to 8.1 percent from 7.6 percent in January. That was the highest since December 1983, when the jobless rate was 8.3 percent.

In February, the number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) rose by 787,000, reaching 8.6 million. The number of such workers rose by 3.7 million over the past 12 months. This category includes persons who would like to work full time but were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full time jobs.

You can read more here

Looking for a full or part-time job? Check out CumberlandFarms.com

Cumberland Farms donations to honor Laconia Police Officer

Cumberland Farms officials are honoring a Laconia police officer for showing compassion to a man he had arrested for shoplifting food.

The company will honor Officer Jeff Wholley on Friday with donations to the police relief fund and a statewide food bank.

Last Jan. 7, Wholley arrested a man who shoplifted four pre-made sandwiches, valued at $9.16, from the Cumberland Farms store on Court Street. Later, however, upon learning that Benjamin M. Berry, 32, took the sandwiches because he was hungry as well as homeless, Wholley returned to the store, paid for the sandwiches himself and gave them to Berry.

To acknowledge Wholley's actions, Cumberland Farms President Ari Haseotes will present a $1,000 donation to the Laconia Police Relief Fund and $2,500 to the New Hampshire Food Bank during an 11:30 a.m. ceremony Friday at the Laconia Salvation Army. In addition to the donations, Cumberland Farms will provide lunch for the Salvation Army patrons.

You can read the rest of the article here

Tax, Job Search and Travel Sites See Growth as New Year Begins

comScore, Inc. just released its monthly analysis of U.S. consumer activity at the top online properties for January 2009 based on data from the comScore Media Metrix service. The Tax category led as the top-gaining category as January marked the beginning of tax season, while Job Search, Government and travel-related sites also witnessed strong gains.

January has historically been a strong month for career sites as the beginning of the New Year causes many Americans to reconsider their current career trajectory and future goals. However, the surge in visitors this January also reflects the millions of lost jobs across the nation, resulting in significant increases to both the Job Search category (up 42 percent to 26.7 million visitors) and Career Resources category (up 26 percent to 48.9 million visitors).

The Job Search category was led by CareerBuilder.com Job Search with 12.2 million visitors (up 34 percent versus December), Monster.com Job Search with 9.5 million visitors (up 42 percent), and Yahoo! HotJobs Job Search with 7.7 million visitors (up 38 percent).

Kristie's job at Cumberland Farms

Anyone who has worked with the general public knows the challenges associated. My experience working in a C-store has actually helped with my public speaking that is necessary both in the classroom as well as now working in my career.

It all started one day I was picking up milk for my friends mother and noticed a “now hiring” sign in the window of our local C-store, Cumberland Farms. I applied for the job, got an interview and was offered a job! I worked as a full-time customer service associate for 3 years while balancing a full college course-load. I stayed in my position at Cumberland Farms because the hours were incredibly flexible and the managers were understanding and considerate of the stresses during test time.

After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Business Management, the company offered me an internal career opportunity. My experience can be evident to others shown in the perks of longevity with a company and my ability to exhibit time management.

Start your career at Cumberland Farms! Apply today!

Cumberland Farms and Gulf: A marriage of convenience

When Joe Petrowski got the opportunity to serve as Gulf Oil’s president and CEO in 2005, he jumped at the chance. Not only was he fascinated by the energy industry, but the job allowed him to return to his native Boston area.
Petrowski grew up in Brockton and attended Harvard, where he wrote his thesis on the gasoline business. After graduation, he went to work in the energy industry.
In 2005, he came to Gulf, a wholesale petroleum distributor then headquartered in Chelsea. Since October, he has been CEO of Gulf Oil and Cumberland Farms (Gulf is a subsidiary of Cumberland). Ron Sabia is now the president and COO of Gulf, and Ari Haseotes is the president of Cumberland Farms.
Like Petrowski, 54, Cumberland Farms has local roots. It was started as a farm in Cumberland, R.I. With 600 stores from Maine to Delaware, and as far west as Pennsylvania, it is now the seventh largest convenience store operator in the U.S. There are about 2,500 Gulf stations in that same area.
In May, Cumberland Farms will move out of its Canton headquarters and Gulf will move out of its Newton offices. The two companies’ 400 corporate employees will be housed in the same office in Framingham.
Read the entire article by Julie Onufrak here