Have you caught the new CBS reality series, Undercover Boss?

This is a question I’ve been getting a lot lately, from many of our Wawa associates during my recent store visits.  I have seen the show, and I’ve watched “high-level chief executives as they slip anonymously into the rank and file of their companies” – and it strikes me as such a foreign concept.

A number of associates shared the same reaction as me, expressing their astonishment that the executives could be so surprised by their findings.  “This would never happen at Wawa,” one associate told me, "Because our executives are visible and spend time visiting, touring and working in stores."

This associate hit the nail on the head.  As I've mentioned before in my past blogs (http://www.wawa.com/Blog/category/Culture.aspx?page=3), at Wawa, we have a time-honored tradition of touring our stores that dates back more than 30 years.  In fact, our senior leadership team has logged thousands of store visits. In addition to several store visits each month, our leadership team all participates in our semi-annual Flounder’s Day tradition in which they work in stores across our region, doing everything from pumping gas to making coffee. It’s a way to learn firsthand about what’s working – and what’s not – and keeps us grounded and in touch with associates, customers and the business.

Well, Flounder’s Day is here again, and over the course of the next month, all of our senior leadership team, including Directors, will take turns working shifts at our stores.  I guess you could call it our version of "Undercover Boss", except we’re not actually going undercover. Instead, Flounder’s Day has become an important and deeply engrained tradition--something that Grahame Wood, our founder, started over 30 years ago and continues to live on today.

As the saying goes, retail is detail.  All of our critical action takes place in our stores and that’s why it’s so important for our management and senior leaders to spend time in stores right alongside them.  We are a bottoms-up-organization, and we truly value our associates and admire what they do every day to delight our customers.

‘Till next time.

This past weekend, hundreds of participants came out to take on this challenge with bright smiles on their faces and determination in their eyes, climbing 53 Floors and 1019 stairs to the top of Philadelphia’s Mellon Bank Center, for our 23rd Annual Stair Climb to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF).

The CFF is a nonprofit donor-supported organization that seeks to cure and control cystic fibrosis and improve the quality of life for those living with the disease.  We’ve built a long and valuable relationship with the CFF and have been sponsoring the Stair Climb almost since its inception.  Each year, we invite participants to fuel up before the event at our Wawa breakfast tent and take an active role in cheering on participants, many of whom are Wawa Associates, as they embark on their climb.

As an organization that is dedicated to supporting children’s health initiatives, all of us at Wawa truly believe this event in particular supports the mission of the CFF in a unique and challenging way, and helps build the vital awareness and funds needed to find a cure.  And it’s clear from the outpouring of community support, we’re not alone. 

This year we included information about the Stair Climb on our coffee clutches in the weeks leading up to the event, so that our customers could start their days thinking about ways to take up the cause and do their part in the fight against cystic fibrosis.  The coffee clutches also prompted numerous conversations between our customers and store associates about people they knew who suffered from cystic fibrosis.

Through the years, we have been touched by the deep connection that participants in the CFF stair climb share with one another, despite being of all ages, fitness levels, and backgrounds. They’re united in their passion for one thing: Finding a cure for cystic fibrosis.

Although finding a cure is an uphill climb, we will keep climbing until we’ve reached our goal.  See you next year!

‘Till next time…