We’ve got more than a month of winter left, but on the heels of last week’s massive East Coast blizzard, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Baltimore have already broken records with the snowiest winters in history.  It was beginning to feel like déjà vu for a lot of us, as the third major snowstorm this season pummeled the East Coast, and as we again watched as highways, schools, businesses, roads and public transit were all shut down.

One thing you could count on to stay open, however, was your neighborhood Wawa.  I’m proud to say that for those who had to battle the snow, get essentials or simply find refuge in the midst of the blizzard, they found that our stores were stocked, open, and ready to serve. 

This was no easy task, but thanks to our incredible crisis response team, strategic planning, and the collective efforts of our associates, fewer than 20 of our 572 stores had unscheduled closings. This valiant team effort was accomplished by making sure that stores were running on generators in case the power went out, and using a network of plows to keep our parking lots and gas-pump areas cleared, to taking great lengths before the storm hit to keep our stores stocked and staffed, in order to keep our stores opened no matter how much snow fell.

As one of the only businesses open, news reporters stood in front of our stores, updating the public on the weather.  They stressed that everyone should stay home if possible, and that the people who were out and about were doing so for essentials, or to help neighbors or elderly people who were out of food or basics.  We were glad to know we could help those who needed it most, and that even emergency providers could count on us for the fundamentals and beyond.

A few publications took notice of our efforts to stay open, and we were glad to take the opportunity to acknowledge the effort so of the Wawa team with the Philadelphia Inquirer http://www.philly.com/philly/business/homepage/20100210_Neither_snow_nor_sleet_
shall_close_local_Wawas.html; Fox News:  http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/money/021210_Wawa_Stay_Open_Despite_Blizzard
and AOL’s Daily Finance http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/back-to-back-blizzards-bust-some-
budgets-while-boosting-others/19348899/ to talk about everything it takes to plow through these storms.  But most of all we were glad to take the opportunity to give credit to our entire Wawa team, all who work together to make Wawa a beacon in even the stormiest of conditions. 

One of our newly appointed Area Managers, Chris Casey, truly captured the spirit of the blizzard with the following quote to his store teams in Maryland:

“I just want to say how proud I am of all of you! You have all gone above and beyond to keep things running in the most adverse conditions that I have ever seen. The most amazing thing is the positive attitudes that everyone has maintained throughout this situation. What awesome people you are!! The sacrifice that you have made to keep the stores running and to take care of our customers who depend on us so much is simply outstanding! I feel somewhat responsible for all of this, because since I took over the area, it has done nothing but Snow. Your effort over the last week will be remembered by many forever. Again, I just want to thank you and I am fortunate for the opportunity to work with all of you. Please share these thoughts with the awesome associates that you all have!”

So today, as we dig out our cars, plow our streets, and recover from the storm, I want everyone at Wawa to know how thankful I am to be part of such an incredible company that maintains our pledge to delight customers at all times.  Snow place like Wawa!

‘Till next time…

Phila Inquirer_Wawas Stay Open_Snow_021010.pdf

It’s hard to believe that Labor Day is just around the corner, and the summer is almost over. This past summer has been filled with exciting events and memories.  From our Wawaversaries to new store openings to charitable walks and runs to our Hoagiefest events, it seemed like every week brought new celebrations and excitement. 

Something we are always excited about is the passion and loyalty of Wawa customers. It’s more and more evident over the summer, when so many customers who are already taking long trips to the beach will go out of their way to make a stop at Wawa…even if they have to drive a few miles out of their way to get to us. 

This deep customer loyalty and devotion is something that we not only treasure, but that also fascinated Washington Post reporter Hank Stuever, as he expressed in his article last week entitled "Isn't that convenient?".

In his article, Stuever profiles Wawa and Sheetz, doing a fabulous job showing the unique space that each of our companies occupy in the convenience universe.  As I read his article, I was impressed by his ability to convey the true Wawa flavor, the nuances that make our culture tick, the associates that get our customers’ days started, and the thousands of customer personalities who walk though our doors every day and have become part of our extended family. 

During our interview, I got a chance to do something I love--I got to talk about our unique history, about all the fun and memorable ways we were able to celebrate our 45th anniversary this summer, about the incredible customers I’ve met in our stores, and about how we like to think of ourselves as the cheers of convenience stores, where our associates know our customers by name. 

More than anything the interview gave me the chance to reflect on the fact that while we’ve truly had an unforgettable summer at Wawa, every season at Wawa is unforgettable, due to the passion and loyalty our customers and associates have for Wawa throughout winter, spring, summer and fall.  Now that’s something to think about that makes the summer ending not so bittersweet. 

‘Till next time…

If you’ve passed through parts of New Jersey some time since June, you may have seen our advertising campaign alerting customers about credit surcharges, fees that an increasing number of retailers charge when customers purchase fuel with credit cards instead of cash. The purpose of the campaign was to draw attention to the practice of posting competitive fuel prices for cash purchases, then adding several cents per gallon to credit card purchases when the transaction is actually completed. We call this campaign “Prices You Can Trust,” and because this practice is happening more and more, this week we are expanding the campaign throughout the Philadelphia area. 

As leader in convenience we feel it is our responsibility to protect the consumer, and hopefully clear up any confusion around this issue.  Through radio spots, billboards, banners and full-page newspaper ads, we are educating our Philadelphia area customers about a price structure that can be perplexing.  More importantly, we are letting our customers know that at Wawa, we always offer one low price for both cash and credit – and never impose a credit surcharge in any of our 270 stores with gasoline. 

We don’t believe in surcharges, and we don’t believe in letting customers pay them elsewhere because they are confused or unaware that the practice is going on at all.

As I’ve said before, part of our commitment to simplifying our customers’ lives is making concepts as easy to understand as possible.  So as we disclose these important pricing messages to the public, we hope to let customers know that at Wawa we pledge to always provide prices you can trust, and pricing that is always fair and always simple to understand.  This is brand promise you can trust.

 ‘Til next time…