Wawa: A Customer Experience Success Story

Over the past year, businesses have watched each other struggle while reducing costs in every possible way. Every so often, you hear of a business success story. These are the few businesses that are thriving and expanding in tough times. Wawa — a convenience store chain — is a success story featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this week.

What strikes me as interesting with every success story is the company’s strong belief in the customer experience. Wawa’s CEO Howard Stoeckel emphasizes the importance of customer experience through the entire interview. “What is best for the customer?” is management’s first thought when making strategy changes. They consider the customer first when deciding product expansion, quality, store layout, and employee service training. Stoeckal knows customer experience and impeccable service is what makes Wawa stand out from their competitors. Wawa credits commitment to providing superior service to their success.

Stoeckal mentions the importance of customer experience in a down-turn economy, “That is priceless at a time when people have pangs of anxiety about the economy, about their jobs, about their retirement,” he said. “If you can help people feel better, that goes a long way.” (Source: Philadelphia Inquirer)

Right now, the data indicates low price is key to attracting customers. Examples such as Wawa prove price is sometimes not the strongest deciding factor; the customer experience is. A bargain price lasts only a moment in a shopper’s mind; the experience lasts a lifetime.