9 Rules To Know Before Your First Visit To Sheetz

A gas station is just a gas station — until it isn't. Road trippers and daily commuters alike know that the best gas stations double as convenience stores, and triple as made-to-order restaurants. Each state has its own picks for best gas station food, and many of these highway havens do well as quick-service restaurants, offering customized sandwiches and hot breakfasts to weary travelers.

If you live in or travel through states on the East Coast, you're likely familiar with the glowing-red signage of Sheetz. The gas station chain has more than 800 locations across multiple states, and was one of the first convenience stores to pioneer touchscreen menus so that customers could order their food quickly (and uniquely). The chain uses distinct marketing — a bright red color scheme, using a "z" in words like "Appz" and "Wrapz" to match the store name — and boasts legions of fans who rack up rewards points (sorry, "Rewardz Pointz") like there's no tomorrow.

While some OG customers are lifelong fans, the truth about Sheetz is that it continues to ramp up store openings across states like Michigan and Ohio, even planting new storefronts in locations previously dominated by Wawa, another popular convenience store founded in Pennsylvania. If Sheetz is new to you, there are a few "rules" you should know before stopping in for a fill-up — whether it's for your gas tank, your stomach, or both.

The first time you step into a Sheetz, the lights will be bright, the music will be loud, and the allure of multiple kinds of fried cheese will be stupefying. We get it. We've all been there. Just don't let the mesmerizing nature of the made-to-order kiosks get you too out of sorts. Just like every other quick-service store, there's a specific flow to getting that Appz Sampler you've been daydreaming about.

Thankfully, Sheetz keeps things pretty simple. You order. You pay. You pick up the food. It's that easy. However, according to numerous Sheetz employees, it's a rhythm that's often disrupted when newbies try to skip the payment part, and wait at the counter watching like a hawk for their order. This is frustrating to employees and other customers alike, and makes you stand out in all the wrong ways. The only time you should be paying after you get your food is at a bona fide restaurant. Sheetz might be a lot of things, but a full-service, sit-down restaurant isn't it. You order, you pay, you eat. Everyone leaves happy.

Sheetz is known for its "Made-To-Order" food, and for the most part, these options make excellent road trip fuel.

Some of the best Sheetz foods are the appetizers: mozzarella sticks, Wisconsin cheese curds, and the mac and cheese bites. (We mentioned the multiple fried cheese options, remember? We weren't kidding.) The Big Mozz Burger remains a beloved fan favorite, and the Sheetz breakfast menu gets a lot of love for its customized breakfast sandwiches and French toast sticks.

There are some underwhelming items to avoid — sadly, most are the healthier options like salads and grilled chicken – but if it comes out of a deep fryer, it's likely to be a winner. Additionally, you don't have to worry about food safety, no matter what you order. While Sheetz might be a gas station at its core, numerous employees say the company's internal food safety inspections are much more rigorous than the state food inspections they go through (and reportedly pass with flying colors). As a result, some food might not be your cup of tea, but the stores have a reputation among Sheetz associates for being steadfast in their cleanliness efforts.

If you find yourself in a Sheetz that's hopping with customers, you'll see how important this unwritten rule can be. Sheetz associates work with screens that show the order number and the customized food you've requested through the kiosk or app. They'll announce your order number once when it's ready for pickup — maybe twice if you're lucky. However, they won't call out the food items unless you've ghosted them and really ticked them off. Don't be the person making a Sheetz associate yell out "Order 72...72!...Order 72!" over the course of 10 minutes.

Sheetz makes it easy to avoid clogging up the pickup counter with your order. There are screens throughout most stores showing you which numbers are ready for pickup, and which ones are being prepared. Plus, orders are assigned in numerical order. These sometimes get out of whack if there's an extra large request, or if your order includes a mix of specialty beverages and food. For the most part though, just practice patience if they're yelling out numbers five or seven ahead of you.

Finally, take a quick peek at your food before you leave. Mix-ups happen in quick-service stores that are racing through customers: Sheetz employees are still human, after all. Avoid the frustration before you get back to your back to your car and do a quick visual check to ensure you didn't get the wrong 20-topping hot dog.

One of the biggest surprises I've had as a Sheetz customer is the number of ingredients that come at an additional charge. Sure, I expect to pay more for guacamole or bacon on most orders. However, Sheetz has taken the up-charge to new heights recently. For example, expect to pay an additional 60 cents to a full dollar every time you add cheese. This includes breakfast sandwiches, chicken wraps, burgers, hoagies, and whatever else. Some toppings like lettuce and tomato are typically free, but others like pico de gallo, sour cream, or cooked peppers are another 50-70 cents. Seasonings such as cajun or ranch dust are another 30 cents, even on items like wings.

Needless to say, it's gotten the attention of numerous Sheetz customers, including one Redditor who called the chain "comically greedy" — with several others agreeing. Some menu items are still a good deal, and some costs are equivalent to Sheetz's competitors. Just don't get sticker shock when your order winds up a few more dollars than the starting price thanks to some pretty standard toppings.

It's a few extra keystrokes to make your free account in the Sheetz app, but most frequent customers say it's worth the download. The My Sheetz Rewardz tracks your spending on all qualifying purchases, and you'll get points toward future purchases.

While you're always welcome to order in the store, some in-app offers allow you to save extra cash if you purchase food through the app for pick-up. The Sheetz app also has a loyalty hierarchy (Fan, Friend, Freak) that tracks how much you spend throughout the year for extra perks, though it resets every calendar year.

You can also earn gas savings, since Sheetz is technically a gas station first, and a hub for fried fare second. Loyalty members earn three cents off per gallon at the pump just for having a rewards account, and you can redeem points toward additional money off your gas. You're also allowed to stack the gas rewards with other local loyalty programs that Sheetz participates in, which can mean additional money back in your pocket.

If you're using the app for the first time however, don't expect the food you order to be ready in the 30 seconds it takes you to walk from the parking lot to the pickup counter. Sheetz associates are skilled, but they're not The Flash. The app's time estimates for when food will be ready are normally pretty accurate, so use them wisely.

While you're using the Sheetz app to order a late-night snack, don't be afraid to add the milk you'll need for breakfast onto your tab. One of the beautiful things about ordering food from a convenience store is that it's literally convenient to grab an emergency supply of Tylenol, batteries, or whatever you might be running low on.

That said, be aware of the fine line between using this as a tool and abusing the system. If you use the Sheetz app like your online grocery store, both you and Sheetz employees lose. One Sheetz associate posted on Reddit about an order they needed to "pick" from store shelves, which included 68 pantry items like single bananas, Pop-Tarts, sliced strawberries, milk, chocolate bars, Dr. Pepper, and bags of pretzels. The forum was divided: While some said that it didn't matter and the Sheetz employees shouldn't be complaining, others pointed out that on a two-person shift — the norm for overnight hours — this would be difficult to compile while also running the registers and the food counters.

We suppose at the end of the day, the customer is always right. That said, this laundry list of food items would be much, much cheaper almost anywhere else. You usually pay more for convenience items, after all. Save yourself the money, and reserve your online grocery shopping for the actual grocery store.

Sheetz takes its Made-To-Order food customizations seriously. According to the chain, the kiosks boast more than 1 million ways to make your flatbread pizza, tacos, or other menu selections truly unique. However, just because you can add pickles and teriyaki sauce to your breakfast sandwich doesn't mean you should.

Yes, you can technically order 24 toasted spicy chicken sandwiches with nine sauces plus cheese on top of each one. The internet is full of screenshots from Sheetz employees with the literal receipts to prove it's been done before. Those same employees find a way to make it happen for you. That said, know that you're probably going to regret some of your choices. Even if you stand by your decisions at the kiosk, expect to wait longer than normal for highly customized orders — especially if you're ordering in bulk.

Only so many Sheetz employees work at once, and you're not likely to be the only customer ordering food. If your order is a pain to make, more than one Sheetz associate online suggested bumping it out of the queue to prepare separately while other employees assist customers with more traditional requests.

A common theme on several forums about working at Sheetz is that most night shifts are understaffed. There are frequently just three people (sometimes two) in charge of the entire store: They make food, check out at registers, and keep the bathrooms clean. They know your mozzarella sticks are your priority, but they're also likely dealing with wild DoorDash orders behind the scenes. In fact, most complaints from Sheetz employees originate with DoorDash orders. The anonymity must unleash some truly bonkers customizations.

All that to say: If you're headed to Sheetz for a late-night snack, do your best to be patient, especially if the store is busy with like-minded customers on a mission for a milkshake or curly fries. The silver lining is your food will likely be hot and fresh — you just might need to wait longer than you would at 3 p.m.

Human decency still goes a long way, even in a convenience store. Perhaps especially so. Many Sheetz employees feel like their shifts are understaffed for customer demand: Most times, they're just trying to keep up with order numbers and de-escalating customers mid-rant about getting ID'd for alcohol. (Bonus rule: You'll need to show your ID every time, regardless of age.)

If you have a special request or your food is taking longer than you expected, dig deep and find a way to remain polite. Several Sheetz employees say that, instead, numerous customers stare them down while they're preparing food orders. It makes the employees nervous – and normally slower, since they feel like they're being audited. Take a lap around the store, practice your deep breathing, or whatever it takes. Yes, the Sheetz employees choose to work there. But if they didn't, how would you get your MTO hot dog with 20 toppings?