With the owner of a trucking company thumbing his nose at anything Pilot Flying J offered to garner his loyalty, Arnie Ralenkotter went straight to the top of the truck stop giant, emails showed.
In a July 2008 email sent directly to Pilot Flying J Chief Executive Officer Jimmy Haslam - without including then-president Mark Hazelwood - Ralenkotter outlined salesman Tim Prins' assessment of the situation the nation's largest diesel fuel retailer was having with Smith Transport.
Prins had explained that the owner of Smith Transport "has no interest in ever being loyal to one chain" and planned on collecting discounts from Pilot Flying J and competitor TravelCenters of America.
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