Circle K / Circle K Express

Google Maps tips & tricks
1

Circle K (petrol station) has two different variations of its petrol station. In Ireland, my understanding of the difference between the two are:

  1. Circle K: I think these are owned by the company itself. All loyalty rewards and perks are available at these locations.

  2. Circle K Express: I think these locations are generally owned by other people who are in the franchise network. Not all of these stores participate in the Circle K loyalty rewards and perks.

But I’m not sure and I’m open to correction on that.

The Express stations are labelled as such on the forecourt signage. The Circle K website provides a list of their stations and allows you to filter the stations by By “Circle K” or “Circle K Express”.

I want to know if I should make sure all “Circle K Express” and “Circle K” locations are labelled separately or if they should all be “Circle K”. The thing is, for most consumers, these stations are all the same: same fuel and you can use your fuel card. The only difference is if you care about where you can get your free coffee or car wash.

  1. Are there any guiding principles of chain store variations? I’m thinking Tesco and Tesco Metro….though one of these is a supermarket and the other is a convenience store so there is a marked difference between the two.

  2. If there are no guiding principles, what do you think I should do anyway?

2

Hi @roadmapperdub

Chain stores are normally claimed and managed centrally via some location management software or by regularly uploading of a spreadsheet which cancels out our edits. So if your concern is the accuracy and not so much the points it might be easier to reach out to the head office and try to get to talk to the person responsible for maintaining their listings on Google Maps.

If the two chains are different this should be reflected on Google Maps using the specific categories and 2 different names.

All the best

Morten

3

Thanks for the reply @MortenCopenhagen However, I’m just looking for advice on the right naming convention for Circle K / Circle K Express.

4

@roadmapperdub

Call them and ask.

Cheers

Morten