Everyone should work a job in customer service at least once in their life. I am a firm believer that the people of this world would be much nicer as a result of an experience like this. I have worked at Wawa just a little bit over the past year, starting when the pandemic began. My previous job was at a retirement home, and of course, the employees were brutally hit by COVID-19. At first, I wasn’t tempted to take up the new job, but I soon realized that it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Among a variety of lessons, working at Wawa has opened my eyes to the reality of how people treat others and work together.
In just over a year, I have mastered nearly all aspects of my job at Wawa. While working at the front, the customer service aspect is in full effect, and there are a lot of new things that I’m beginning to learn. For one, who knew that people could get so upset that there were three people in front of them in line? I definitely didn’t before working at Wawa.
Something else I learned was that the beverage section of Wawa is really easy and enjoyable to navigate. If you have ever used the website “Cool Math Games”, you may have played a game called “Papa’s Freezeria”. As a player, you have to make and serve sundaes in an ice cream shop fast enough to meet customers’ demands. Handling beverages at Wawa is the real-life version of this game, and I love it. It makes the inner child in me scream with joy. I would stay up for hours playing this game when my parents were away from home, and getting to do this in real life was a lot of fun and like a dream come true.
Another perk is the employees. We all know friends make the biggest difference. Sometimes, I dread the idea of going to work just because it’s work, but once I get there, my coworkers can turn a sour day into one that will fly by quick. An eight hour shift feels like only four with the right people. I’ve made some close work friends at Wawa, and we’re always happy and excited to work with each other. Sometimes, customers complain about us because we’re “too loud”, but I think it’s always a great time.
Just like any job, my work at Wawa has some downsides, but the difference with Wawa is simply that the pros outweigh the cons. A lot of the time, people will say, “I don’t get paid enough,” but at Wawa, it’s debatable. If you work hard and are dedicated to doing the job right, you definitely get paid enough for what you do. It all depends on how hard you want to work.
As a student, it’s always difficult to manage time. As an Honors student, it’s arguably even harder. I have found that Wawa is very good at supporting students’ academics. The managers work around my schedules and they understood when I had to cut down my hours when school began in the fall. In the long run, they help students with tuition reimbursement and there are ways to advance in the company. A job at Wawa is not too shabby for a UD Honors student such as myself.
