Talk:Wawa (company)

WaWa and Philadelphia culture
I would love to add a section that highlights the almost cult-like following that WaWa has. To simply call it a "convenience store in the Philadelphia area" doesn't capture the phenomenon. For anyone who is not familair with the area, imagine how people feel about Trader Joe's, or In-and-Out, but it is unique to Philadelphians and the Delco area as a whole.

I've found multiple articles on this topic, the one that seems to hit the nail on the head is this one from Philly Magazine-- "Philly loves Wawa. Ever since the first Wawa opened at the corner of MacDade Blvd. and Swarthmore Ave. in Folsom, Pennsylvania over 50 years ago, we’ve had an obsession with this local chain. Wawa isn’t just a convenience store, it’s the convenience store of Philadelphia."

Another topic of note with regards to WaWa and local culture, is whether WaWa or their rival, Sheetz, is the better store. I would liken it to the Eagles-Steelers rivalry, that has been around since 1933. How a convenience store gets the same fervor as a sports team will forever be a mystery to me, but it has happened none the less! Here's a quote from a humorous article that tries to settle the argument: "Sheetz is typically louder and flashier, with a more intense vibe than Wawa’s unassuming, plain and simple appearance. Sheetz has a wide variety of exotic frozen drink options on their Slushie menu, ranging from peanut butter and jelly to horchata to orange creamsicle and more. But while Sheetz may seem like it has more options, Wawa reminds us that no matter how you are dressed, you are welcome there. Still wearing your pajamas and heading out for a snack? No one will judge you."

The last bit of evidence I'd like to site with regards to just how much of a cult-like nature WaWa has developed is how it has seeped it's way into national pop culture references as well.

Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame has a WaWa tattoo on his upper left arm, which he confirmed in a reddit AmA, Kate Winslet has spoken about her love of WaWa, calling it a "mythical place" , and it shows up time and again in It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, notable in Season 2, episode 1 "Charlie gets crippled". Danny Devito's character Frank says, "Go down to the Wawa, pick me up a couple of sodas. I got a feeling I'll be pretty thirsty after this." There's local humor here, and a sort of Philly pride, in the fact that Frank says WaWa specifically-- he didn't say 7 Eleven after all!

I am wary of making a section that just has a bunch of pop culture references... however I do think this cult-like nature around the store is fascinating and should be reflected on the WaWa page. I welcome any thoughts/criticism from the community, and look forward to hearing your thoughts (and if anyone else is a Philly native, please feel free to chime in!) InhumanScarab (talk) 18:33, 4 December 2021 (UTC)


 * The cultural impact of Wawa on the area is probably worth expanding on to some degree (including the Sheetz rivalry), though probably not more than a few lines' worth of explanation. Brand popularity is just generally not that noteworthy and is generally given overly much weight if it's expanded on too much. We also need to avoid interpreting and analyzing why a particular celebrity or a line in a show presents something, and passing mentions of something in a greater work are generally just points of trivia. Ultimately, the barometer is going to be how many good, reliable sources cover the subject in question as a whole and not as a local flavor fluff piece. --Xanzzibar (talk) 01:02, 5 December 2021 (UTC)


 * Let me see if I can get a few more articles to drive this point home. Again, this is more than just a "popularity".


 * "To them, Wawa is a community hub that deserves praise, fan mail and even country songs. I ask Rozsa what inspired him to write and produce an entire song commemorating Wawa. “I come here every day. Even if I don’t need anything, I come in because I miss the feeling."


 * This article from Eater goes so far as to say, "Philadelphia loves the pope the way it loves Wawa", noting that when the Pope came to visit Philadelphia, a new store was opened, and "when the mayor cut the ribbon, he promised to offer the pontifex a hoagie of his choice. Wawa distributed branded water during Mass, fed legions of first responders, and put up a cardboard Bishop of Rome for selfies."


 * The current CEO of WaWa had this to say, when addressing WaWa's fandom, again acknowledging a 'cult': “You think of a Wegmans, you think of an In-N-Out Burger, they are very slow growth, very deliberate — and I think there’s an element of that cult status that’s attached to that in some regard," Gheysens said. "Just as you get bigger, the focus has to turn more toward efficiency, away from the tailored approach to business and more to the process approach of business. I just wonder how much that can possibly erode the cult relationship you have.” The quote is from PhillyVoice.


 * I don't just want to link article after article, BUT... I do want to link one more piece from The New York Times, and it's from 2006. All of these articles I have linked above are form 2016, or sooner.  I point this out just to say, this sort of deep devotion to a convenience store has been around for some time now.  They point to the culture of the staff as the reason for the love (I brought up Trader Joe's before, but this is another similarity-- Trader Joe's obsession seems to stem from the excellent customer service culture that is priority number one in the hiring process.  I currently work at Trader Joe's, and I can be a primary source on that!).  The Times article states, "But the most intriguing factor in Wawa loyalty may be something else: the service. This, at least, is the contention of Neeli Bendapudi, an Ohio State University marketing professor who studied the chain as part of her continuing research on the impact of service quality on brands. Part of her goal, she says, was to avoid obviously service-oriented businesses like fancy hotels and department stores and to look at a sector that’s “really nonglamorous.” Convenience stores, where employee turnover is high and transactions are about as basic as it gets, seemed like the perfect setting for indifferent service. Yet in interviews with regular Wawa customers, Bendapudi found that employee friendliness was a recurring theme. And in an article for The Harvard Business Review, she and her husband, Venkat Bendapudi (who teaches management at Ohio State), argued that this was not a fluke: Wawa makes a concerted effort to “provide outstanding customer-employee interactions” by way of careful hiring and training practices."


 * Again, would love feedback on how to approach adding a section explaining this cult-like phenominon that surrounds WaWa's in the Philadelphia area. Thanks again to Xanzzibar for taking the time to read over my last addition to this thread!   InhumanScarab (talk) 02:06, 5 December 2021 (UTC)


 * Something that has to be kept in mind when writing about facets of a topic is how much weight they're due. Remember that this is an encyclopedia, not an article, guide, etc. It should cover the material enough to establish why it's notable and contextualize it, not make any examination or come to its own conclusions. There's enough quality sources to for a paragraph to establish a strong local brand prominence (with an illustrative example or two), as well as enough material to expand a little on its Sheetz "rivalry", but there's not really much of note beyond that.


 * And, speaking personally and as a native of the region, I think local infatuation is being kind of overstated in this case. It's just another one of those silly things that Philadelphians play up; there's more 7-Elevens than there are Wawas both in the city itself and in the metro area, after all. --Xanzzibar (talk) 11:15, 6 December 2021 (UTC)


 * I can get behind this, and treating the WaWa entry more as an encyclopedia entry than an article is a great way to think about how much this topic needs to be expanded upon. With regards to the amount of fandom, I think it's just subjective at this point!  I'd agree it's silly, and heck, maybe even that Philadelphian's play it up on purpose.  But even THAT shows the fandom in a way.  I'd even liken it to a local meme, in some ways.


 * That being said, I agree that if there was a HUGE section on the WaWa wikipedia page talking about the celebrity tattoos, the songs, the mentions in pop-culture, someone who wasn't familiar with WaWa may think that when you go to Philly, visiting a WaWa is the equivalent of seeing Independence Hall. I think we can find a middle ground, like you said.  A short section acknowledging the local brand prominence, as well as the rivalry with Sheetz.  Appreciate the thoughts as always, Xanzzibar, and happy to discuss this with another Philadelphian!  InhumanScarab (talk) 14:28, 6 December 2021 (UTC)

Wawa opening locations in New England in the late 1990s
Does anyone have a source for the part of the article that states Wawa tried opening locations in Connecticut and other parts of New England in the late 90s but left due to competition? There's no footnote for this statement and I would like to know more about Wawa's history in New England.

thank you 2601:18D:57F:F690:F6A7:1434:D8F0:235C (talk) 02:39, 24 July 2022 (UTC)

Expansion into Tennessee
Source: https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/wawas-planned-for-lebanon-manchester-dickson/ stephenyeargin (talk) 15:45, 23 June 2024 (UTC)