Customers say Wawa is best convenience store, study finds

FILE -- Wawa announced plans earlier this year to open multiple new stores in south Georgia. (Wawa | WXIX)

Customers have spoken when it comes to the top-rated convenience stores in the country.

Philadelphia-based Wawa took home the top spot with an industry-leading score of 82 out of the 100 points available in a recent customer satisfaction study, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

QuikTrip finished second with a score of 81, followed by Buc-ee’s and Murphy USA with scores of 80 apiece.

Those who conducted the study said they found that food quality was a determining factor when it came to customer satisfaction scores.

“Convenience stores are no longer just a quick stop for gas and snacks — they are becoming serious competitors in the food service industry,” Forrest Morgeson, director of research at ACSI, said.

Hoagies are a big draw for Wawa customers and Buc-ee’s has a reputation for offering its customers a wide variety of on-the-go food options.

QuikTrip stores are reportedly also installing QT Kitchens to offer guests more food options.

The study found that nearly all reported chains exceeded the industry average score of 76.

Customers also gave the top-rated stores high marks for operating hours, locations, mobile ordering and loyalty programs.

“By focusing on the in-store dining experience, while maintaining the speedy service that customers have grown accustomed to, convenience stores may have found the perfect recipe for success,” Morgeson said.

Kids in flash mob robberies at 7-Eleven turned in to police by their own parents, reports say

Los Angeles

Parents in the Los Angeles area are being praised for helping turn in their children who were reportedly involved in a series of 7-Eleven robberies.

The parents reportedly made the difficult decision after discovering their child’s involvement in several disruptive flash mob robberies at the convenience stores.

KTTV reports that Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Blake Chow confirmed that several parents surrendered their teens to police stations last week in connection with the robberies.

Chow also shared that many of the juveniles involved were not from the neighborhoods where the crimes took place.

“They did the right thing because if you don’t stop them young, they could go pretty far with it,” resident Tiffany Brown said.

Last month, Los Angeles police shared a video of one of the 7-Eleven robberies saying the department received multiple crime reports in connection with the flash mob robberies at 7-Eleven stores that involved 20 to 40 people on bicycles.

Authorities said the bicycle crew began targeting convenience stores in July.

The LAPD said it has stepped up patrols to deter future incidents as it continues to ask for public assistance in identifying the others involved.

Baseball legend Pete Rose’s cause of death revealed

FILE - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds in action at the bat against the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta, Aug. 2, 1978. (AP Photo, File)

Las Vegas

Former MLB player Pete Rose’s cause of death has been revealed.

According to the Clark County coroner’s office, Rose died from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. He also had a significant condition of diabetes mellitus.

The manner of his death has been ruled natural.

Rose was a Major League Baseball player and manager known by his nickname “Charlie Hustle,” died on Monday. He was 83 years old.

Rose, whose full name is Peter Edward Rose Sr., played in the MLB from 1963 to 1986.

He was most notable for being a part of a dominating Cincinnati Reds lineup in the 1970s.

Rose was a 17-time All-Star and played on three World Series championship teams.

He was the National League MVP in 1973 and World Series MVP two years later.

Rose is baseball’s career hits leader with 4,256 and holds the major league record for games played, plate appearances, and the NL record for the longest hitting streak.

He also served as the manager of the Cincinnati Reds from 1984 to 1989.

However, in 1989, Rose was suspended from baseball for life for gambling.

The ban left him ineligible for induction into baseball’s Hall of Fame, but he was voted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2016.

Man, 35, found dead on conveyor belt at recycling facility; police investigating

An investigation into the death of a man whose body was found at a New Jersey recycling facility remains ongoing. (News 12 New Jersey via CNN Newsource)

Farmington, N.J.

Police in New Jersey say an investigation remains ongoing after a man’s body was discovered on a conveyor belt at a recycling facility earlier this month.

Workers at a Republic Services recycling facility in the Farmingdale area were reportedly sorting materials when they spotted the body on Sept. 4.

Police later identified the man as 35-year-old Nicholas Holsten, News 12 New Jersey reported.

Authorities have not yet shared how the man’s body ended up on the conveyor belt, but they are continuing their investigation.

People reports the 35-year-old was not an employee at the facility, according to a Republic Services spokesperson.

Friends and family of Holsten said he was born in New Brunswick and will be “deeply missed.”

Southwest Airlines announces when it plans to start assigned seating

*FILE -- Southwest Airlines is starting to move away from the open seating model. (AP Photo/LM Otero)*

Southwest Airlines’ boarding process will be seeing some changes next year.

The airline shared on Thursday that its passengers will be able to book a reserved seat starting in late 2025 for flights in early 2026.

Southwest previously announced in July it would start moving away from the open seating model it has been known for over its 53 years of service.

CNN reports that the airline will also begin to offer premium seating for the first time, but that is going to push back the start of assigned seating because the planes will now have to be reconfigured.

Southwest CEO Robert Jordan said earlier this year that many of the airline’s passengers told them that they wanted to have an assigned seat.

According to Jordan, surveys showed that 80% of its customers and 86% of potential customers wanted the option of a seat assignment.

“I know there are going to be customers who say, ‘I want to stay with open seating.’ It’s a minority,” Jordan told CNBC.

Additionally, Southwest will still let passengers check two bags for free. Jordan said the airline has no immediate plans to end the bags-fly-free program.