(Image of Buc-ee's in Terrell, Texas courtesy of WikiCommons user CJ Jameywiki)
This doesn't surprise beaver believers one bit. Buc-ee's ranks very high among 25 national and regional gas stations although it doesn't have as broad of a presence as some of its competition. That's rather high praise indeed.
Texas-based electric power company Payless Power conducted a survey back in 2022 to determine what are America's best gas stations (hat tip: Austin's Nexstar owned NBC affiliate KXAN). Unsurprisingly, Buc-ee's was very competitive.
According to the survey:
Between cleanliness, price, food quality, and customer service, only two stations — Costco and Buc-ee's — made the top five in all four categories. They also took first and second place, respectively, for the overall best rated gas stations. Costo [sic] earned the top spot for both cleanliness (74%) and low prices (61%), while Buc-ee's was No. 1 for its customer service (90%).
To be fair, Costco is a fierce competitor. First off, it's in a lot more areas of the country than Buc-ee's is. Further, Costco is a membership-only big-box retail store that specializes in bulk sales that are perfect for small businesses, large families, and for -- unlike y'all's humble Texas Snax blogger -- people who are able to prepare, store, and manage large amounts of food. It certainly has a cult following of its own.
There's certainly some competitive overlap between the two chains in addition to providing gas pumps. As Texas-sized Buc-ee's travel centers are, they don't aim to sell as broad of a swarth of products and services (like pharmacy and optical services) as Costco does. They simply are in different corporate categories. Plus, unlike Costco, Buc-ee's is for everyone -- no membership nor Visa card needed. How boujee. Buc-ee's is for the masses!
Some other survey highlights further allow Buc-ee's to shine. For example, survey respondents report that Buc-ee's has the lowest gas prices. Further, Payless Power found that on average people spend $58.03 in addition to what they spend on gas at Buc-ee's. That's not surprising as Buc-ee's has so much delicious snacks and other bestsellers. However, here's where this statistic gets even better. People report spending more at four other gas station chains. We reckon that's because those other chains charge a lot more for food and other stuff -- especially, as very few other gas station-centric companies sell as many products as Buc-ee's does. Additionally, when asked how far out of their way folks are willing to drive to go to a specific gas station, the survey respondents report that they would go an average of a whooping 21 minutes to go to a Buc-ee's, which is the most of any of the chains included in the survey. Clearly, Buc-ee's is worth the detour!
So, why do y'all love Buc-ee's? Let us know in the comments!