DALLAS -- 7-Eleven president and CEO Joe DePinto went "undercover" last week, working incognito as a convenience store employee-in-training named "Danny Rossi," according to a story posted on the 7-Eleven Inc. Career Blog.

The experience was an opportunity to see the company from the inside out, the blog said. DePinto's mission: Spend one week working side by side with the men and woman who keep the gears of the company in motion, serving customers and stores 24 hours a day, seven day a week. "My task wasn't easy," DePinto said. "It was certainly eye-opening and definitely enlightening."

LAS VEGAS -- According to the "Shopper Behavior in Challenging Times" at the NACS Show 2009, it turns out it's not really what consumers say, rather what they do. According to David Portalatin, director of industry analytics for The NPD Group Inc., consumers are saying they are watching what they spend and cutting back on c-store shopping trips in this challenging economy; however, retailers are growing their business in the recession, and consumers are actually spending more per trip, though they are stopping in less often.

LAS VEGAS -- The opportunity to dramatically grow foodservice sales, which already account for nearly one in every seven dollars spent inside convenience stores, is almost unlimited, said NACS president and CEO Hank Armour. To help retailers achieve their sales potential, NACS is launching the NACS Center for Achieving Foodservice Excellence, also known as the NACS CAFE, Armour said during the opening general session of the 2009 NACS Show.