Who is better: Wawa or SHEETZ?
- Thread starter TheGLOV
- Start date
LOL. Please....
SHEETZ NAMED CONVENIENCE STORE OF THE YEAR, BECOMING THE FIRST TWO-TIME AWARD WINNER
In the award's 28-year history, Sheetz becomes the first convenience store to win the honors twice, earning the 1994 and 2017 titles.
Altoona, PA (July 19, 2017) —Sheetz, one of America’s fastest-growing family-owned and operated convenience retailers for more than 65 years, is proud to announce that is has been named Convenience Store Decisions’ 2017 Chain of the Year—an annual award honoring a convenience chain displaying industry innovation and superior retail experience.
“We are so proud to be recognized by Convenience Store Decisions as the 2017 Convenience Store Chain of the Year,” said Sheetz President and CEO Joe Sheetz. “This recognition truly belongs to our employees and to the customers who have supported us for the past 65 years. Sheetz would not be the company it is today without great employees and loyal customers.”
The 2017 honor marks Sheetz as the first convenience store in the award’s 28-year history to hold the title for a second year. Sheetz was first honored as Chain of the Year in 1994, after a decade of rapid coastal expansion with the chain spanning 190 locations. Sheetz has since expanded to over 550 locations in six states and in the past year been recognized by Fortune as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, a Top 12 Best Places to Work for Women and Top 35 Best Workplaces for Millennials.
“Sheetz remains a beacon of innovation that every convenience store chain can admire. It is a family-owned business that remains true to its employees and the communities it serves” said John Lofstock, Editor-in-Chief of Convenience Store Decisions. “Family businesses made this industry what it is today and as long as outstanding companies like Sheetz continue to thrive, the convenience store industry will continue to reach new heights.”
Sheetz remains one of America’s fastest growing family-owned and operated retailed, with eight Sheetz family members spanning three generations currently serving on the Executive Committee, and eight family members holding a role in the business today.
To learn more about Sheetz, please visit www.sheetz.com.
Not looking for an argument, but I don't see in the PR that the award had anything to do with the quality of the food products offered. It seems to be based on generic retail metrics.
A
anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
Didn't realize food quality was the only consideration in the poll...having said that, the point of the article was to demonstrate that Sheetz is and continues to be a leading innovator in the industry for a long time. I remember everyone bragging about Wawa when I went East and they didn't have kiosks or freshly made subs - they had pre-packaged stuff that was fine, but not Sheetz. They've since caught up.
Good Forbes.com article below....
Sheetz is a family-owned Mid-Atlantic chain with more than 500 stores and 17,500 employees. This year the company is celebrating an anniversary and a major milestone in convenience store customer experience. In 1986, Sheetz coined the term Made-to-Order, or “MTO.” It’s the ordering system that allows for made to order sandwiches at the store. It took the stigma away from a “gas station sandwich” and transformed the business.
Photo Credit: Sheetz Turkey Sub
Here is the full story:
His Name Is Earl
Earl Springer started his career with Sheetz in 1983. In 1986, Springer was a store manager at a Sheetz in Williamsport, Maryland. His store was one of five in the chain to be a test case for fried chicken. Earl found that sales for chicken were great in warm weather, but they precipitously dropped off in the cold. The chicken also took 20 minutes to make and had limited shelf life once made. With sales dropping in January and an impending store visit from the President, Earl needed a new idea to stimulate sales.
He and his team of 16 employees brainstormed ways to jump start business. They set their focus on the store’s pre-made deli offerings. Subs weren’t doing well, selling less than 100 sandwiches per week. The team figured the problem was one of perception. In the words of Clark Griswold [URL='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvQPHGzVrlY']in the 1983 movie Vacation, “I’m so hungry I could eat a sandwich from a gas station.” [/URL]
Putting Convenience Into Convenience Stores
They started to pursue the concept of Made-to-Order (MTO) sandwiches. The team visited two local sub stores for research. Earl determined they would avoid cheaper and focus on better. True to the mission of Sheetz, they’d provide quality customization to give customers what they wanted, when they wanted it. His team broke into groups that would tackle menu, training, accounting, and marketing. One hurdle was convincing leadership to fund an $1,100 sandwich preparation unit Earl had located. After getting the green light, the team experienced a slow start the first week. Undaunted, Earl and the team leaned in to market the new offering.
Signs, stickers, and radio station drops created awareness both in-store and within the community. It worked. Sub sales went from 96 pre-mades to 350 made-to-order subs per week and continued to climb. From there Earl helped Sheetz roll out MTO, retrofitting and retraining every store over the next few years. By the 1990s it was a sales leader for Sheetz. Continuing to innovate, Stan Sheetz introduced touchscreen ordering for MTO in 1996. The picture based system increased efficiency and allowed for greater accuracy.
The introduction of MTO has not only had a huge impact on Sheetz, but the entire convenience industry as a whole. It’s now moving towards offering fresh food at a faster rate than ever.
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure)
Photo Credit; Earl Springer
Today Earl has been with Sheetz for 33 years and is now Manager of Employee Programs in Sheetz’s corporate HR department. In his role, Earl oversees onboarding, training, recognition, and employee engagement. Earl and the company continue to deliver as Sheetz was recently named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, ranked No. 97 and one of the Best Workplaces for Millennials, ranked No. 35.
"Better" as in, where would you rather go? I don't think anyone goes to Sheetz b/c they are rated as a good place for millennials to work.Didn't realize food quality was the only consideration in the poll...having said that, the point of the article was to demonstrate that Sheetz is and continues to be a leading innovator in the industry for a long time. I remember everyone bragging about Wawa when I went East and they didn't have kiosks or freshly made subs - they had pre-packaged stuff that was fine, but not Sheetz. They've since caught up.
Good Forbes.com article below....
Sheetz is a family-owned Mid-Atlantic chain with more than 500 stores and 17,500 employees. This year the company is celebrating an anniversary and a major milestone in convenience store customer experience. In 1986, Sheetz coined the term Made-to-Order, or “MTO.” It’s the ordering system that allows for made to order sandwiches at the store. It took the stigma away from a “gas station sandwich” and transformed the business.
Photo Credit: Sheetz Turkey Sub
Here is the full story:
His Name Is Earl
Earl Springer started his career with Sheetz in 1983. In 1986, Springer was a store manager at a Sheetz in Williamsport, Maryland. His store was one of five in the chain to be a test case for fried chicken. Earl found that sales for chicken were great in warm weather, but they precipitously dropped off in the cold. The chicken also took 20 minutes to make and had limited shelf life once made. With sales dropping in January and an impending store visit from the President, Earl needed a new idea to stimulate sales.
He and his team of 16 employees brainstormed ways to jump start business. They set their focus on the store’s pre-made deli offerings. Subs weren’t doing well, selling less than 100 sandwiches per week. The team figured the problem was one of perception. In the words of Clark Griswold in the 1983 movie Vacation, “I’m so hungry I could eat a sandwich from a gas station.”
Putting Convenience Into Convenience Stores
They started to pursue the concept of Made-to-Order (MTO) sandwiches. The team visited two local sub stores for research. Earl determined they would avoid cheaper and focus on better. True to the mission of Sheetz, they’d provide quality customization to give customers what they wanted, when they wanted it. His team broke into groups that would tackle menu, training, accounting, and marketing. One hurdle was convincing leadership to fund an $1,100 sandwich preparation unit Earl had located. After getting the green light, the team experienced a slow start the first week. Undaunted, Earl and the team leaned in to market the new offering.
Signs, stickers, and radio station drops created awareness both in-store and within the community. It worked. Sub sales went from 96 pre-mades to 350 made-to-order subs per week and continued to climb. From there Earl helped Sheetz roll out MTO, retrofitting and retraining every store over the next few years. By the 1990s it was a sales leader for Sheetz. Continuing to innovate, Stan Sheetz introduced touchscreen ordering for MTO in 1996. The picture based system increased efficiency and allowed for greater accuracy.
The introduction of MTO has not only had a huge impact on Sheetz, but the entire convenience industry as a whole. It’s now moving towards offering fresh food at a faster rate than ever.
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure)
Photo Credit; Earl Springer
Today Earl has been with Sheetz for 33 years and is now Manager of Employee Programs in Sheetz’s corporate HR department. In his role, Earl oversees onboarding, training, recognition, and employee engagement. Earl and the company continue to deliver as Sheetz was recently named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, ranked No. 97 and one of the Best Workplaces for Millennials, ranked No. 35.
Look, there is no accounting for taste, and there is no doubt that Sheetz is a successful business, and I patronize them often when traveling from NOVA to state college and other points in central PA, but there is no question that the coffee and food quality at Sheetz is not close to Wawa.
A
anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
Both Sheetz and Wawa are excellent companies that are tributes to American free enterprise. I voted for Wawa because of some wonderful personal experiences at their stores while visiting my parents and vacationing with the family at OCNJ.
Ok, do we have any volunteers that live in Lancaster County that are willing to settle this argument? There is a Sheetz at the corner of Esbenshade Rd and Rt 230 on the East end of Mt. Joy. There is a Wawa on Rt. 72 and Miller Rd in East Petersburg. Choose a sandwich, say turkey and cheese on a 6" sub roll and have the exact same condiments added to your sandwich. Since the two stores are only 10 minutes apart the sit time won't have much of an affect on the results.
Report back tell us which one is better!
Report back tell us which one is better!
Another thing about these two companies......they are very friendly competitors.....so as much as eastern PA folks may think Sheetz inferior and vice versa, there is no animosity between the two companies.
Which, is why you don't see Wawa really west of Lancaster nor Sheetz east of Lancaster.
Which, is why you don't see Wawa really west of Lancaster nor Sheetz east of Lancaster.
This is why you guys all failed the " what region are you from" question in a previous post. It's a HOAGIE.....not a sub.
I had to use the "sub" term. Anyone west of Lancaster would have been burning up Google trying to find out what a Hoagie is and half of them would have called foul stating I'm comparing apples to oranges.
Uhh...no. it's like you've never been to at least half the establishments you've listed.
Wawa is a dairy with good quality sandwich ingredients. Sheetz is a dirty convenience store that asks if you want Dr Pepper BBQ sauce on our sandwich and charges extra for decent meat on your sandwich.
Better analogy:
Sheetz is McDonald's
Wawa is Five Guys
Sheetz is Chevy
Wawa is Buick
Sheetz is Vizio
Wawa is Panasonic
Wawa is Philadelphia suburbs
Sheetz us Altoona and Breezewood
Both are great businesses, but the quality of the food and coffee at Wawa is far superior to Sheetz.
It frankly is astounding to me that this is even a question. Anyone that has ever frequented both establishments and is honest cannot claim that Sheetz coffee is drinkable compared to Wawa and cannot claim that the sandwich ingredients are the same quality as Wawa.
Wawa’s hoagies are edible, satisfying when you are on the road in between seeing clients and need a quick bite, but in the end highly overrated. Wawa coffee is average, no different than mcdonalds. Snack selection at wawa is ok. Prepackaged food at wawa is subpar, after getting burned with rancid salads at different wawas I have learned to stay away from that stuff. Sheetz made to order food is slightly higher quality than wawa (although typically slower than wawa to make.). I never went wrong with prepackaged food at sheetz. Their coffee is better than wawa and the station itself is much nicer. Sheetz healthy snack selection is better than wawa and never disappoints. When I drank soda in the past they had a better selection. To me it is a no brainer. Being on the road for a lot of my career, I have given too many dollars to wawa, sheetz and dunkin!
Didn't realize food quality was the only consideration in the poll...having said that, the point of the article was to demonstrate that Sheetz is and continues to be a leading innovator in the industry for a long time. I remember everyone bragging about Wawa when I went East and they didn't have kiosks or freshly made subs - they had pre-packaged stuff that was fine, but not Sheetz. They've since caught up.
Good Forbes.com article below....
Sheetz is a family-owned Mid-Atlantic chain with more than 500 stores and 17,500 employees. This year the company is celebrating an anniversary and a major milestone in convenience store customer experience. In 1986, Sheetz coined the term Made-to-Order, or “MTO.” It’s the ordering system that allows for made to order sandwiches at the store. It took the stigma away from a “gas station sandwich” and transformed the business.
Photo Credit: Sheetz Turkey Sub
Here is the full story:
His Name Is Earl
Earl Springer started his career with Sheetz in 1983. In 1986, Springer was a store manager at a Sheetz in Williamsport, Maryland. His store was one of five in the chain to be a test case for fried chicken. Earl found that sales for chicken were great in warm weather, but they precipitously dropped off in the cold. The chicken also took 20 minutes to make and had limited shelf life once made. With sales dropping in January and an impending store visit from the President, Earl needed a new idea to stimulate sales.
He and his team of 16 employees brainstormed ways to jump start business. They set their focus on the store’s pre-made deli offerings. Subs weren’t doing well, selling less than 100 sandwiches per week. The team figured the problem was one of perception. In the words of Clark Griswold in the 1983 movie Vacation, “I’m so hungry I could eat a sandwich from a gas station.”
Putting Convenience Into Convenience Stores
They started to pursue the concept of Made-to-Order (MTO) sandwiches. The team visited two local sub stores for research. Earl determined they would avoid cheaper and focus on better. True to the mission of Sheetz, they’d provide quality customization to give customers what they wanted, when they wanted it. His team broke into groups that would tackle menu, training, accounting, and marketing. One hurdle was convincing leadership to fund an $1,100 sandwich preparation unit Earl had located. After getting the green light, the team experienced a slow start the first week. Undaunted, Earl and the team leaned in to market the new offering.
Signs, stickers, and radio station drops created awareness both in-store and within the community. It worked. Sub sales went from 96 pre-mades to 350 made-to-order subs per week and continued to climb. From there Earl helped Sheetz roll out MTO, retrofitting and retraining every store over the next few years. By the 1990s it was a sales leader for Sheetz. Continuing to innovate, Stan Sheetz introduced touchscreen ordering for MTO in 1996. The picture based system increased efficiency and allowed for greater accuracy.
The introduction of MTO has not only had a huge impact on Sheetz, but the entire convenience industry as a whole. It’s now moving towards offering fresh food at a faster rate than ever.
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure)
Photo Credit; Earl Springer
Today Earl has been with Sheetz for 33 years and is now Manager of Employee Programs in Sheetz’s corporate HR department. In his role, Earl oversees onboarding, training, recognition, and employee engagement. Earl and the company continue to deliver as Sheetz was recently named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, ranked No. 97 and one of the Best Workplaces for Millennials, ranked No. 35.
The turkey in the pic looks like processed turkey loaf full of water. Eww...
Wawa - Food is superior for now. Sheetz has the tech, better store layouts and is making big inroads into "fast casual" eating space. They are turning into a quick service restaurant with each new remodel.
you know how I know you're full of crap? my son is an assistant manager at a Sheetz store and I know how much goes into getting everything right there
no accounting for YOUR personal taste but calling it a dirty convenience store is a load of shite
I agree with you there. There may be times when it's not spotless, but any place that's open 24 - 7 and busy as an average Sheetz isn't going to be all the time.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
Grabbing lunch at the new Wawa in DC this week. Will get something comparable from Sheetz too. Will report back...
I'm more familiar with Sheetz but regarding Wawa, there's multiple Wawa stores in south Jersey that don't allow customers to use the restrooms.
Given I grew up in WaWa land ... literally down the street from the old dairy on Route 1 ... I have a very strong bias toward WaWa. I was recently introduced to Sheetz due to use of the Tesla supercharger on trips. Sheetz has a development deal with Tesla. The Sheetz we visited were fine. Coffee and food was good. Just not WaWa good ..... 
Unless you are Lenni Lenape or Obijwa wouldnt Wild Goose sound better? Thanks for the info makes me think of a baby crying. I had heard it in the thread about the recruit accused of robbing one as well and just wondered
Have been to Wawa when in florida and it’s just as good as back in Pa. hoagie fest in summer - $4.79 for a 10 inch sandwich. Everything is always fresh tasting. Every store has identical menus and high standards. Their made to order items are fresh tasting and their bread and rolls very good- as good as any local hoagie shop. It’s rare to find a good hoagie roll (which is the key to a good hoagie) south of the Mason Dixon line, and to find that in Florida was a real plus.
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Given I grew up in WaWa land ... literally down the street from the old dairy on Route 1 ... I have a very strong bias toward WaWa. I was recently introduced to Sheetz due to use of the Tesla supercharger on trips. Sheetz has a development deal with Tesla. The Sheetz we visited were fine. Coffee and food was good. Just not WaWa good .....
If you truly grew up in the area you would know that it’s “Wawa” not “WaWa”
Actually no. Wawa Dairies is located in Wawa, PA, off of Baltimore Pike. So obviously we drank Wawa milk in the area - and then the company launched the Wawa coffee / convenience shop.
Then it just got bigger.
And here we are.
Chiming in for the Lehigh Valley (Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton) and there is a Sheetz in each of those cities (or surrounding suburb) so there is definitely several east of Lancaster. Plus 3-5 more if you count the suburbs of Reading.
No one knows why it's called Sheetz. Unfortunately it's founder, Bob Sheetz, passed away before anyone could ask him to solve the mystery.
So regardless if you are "team-sheetz" or "team-wawa", is it OK to refer to your preference as "we", even if you don't work there? (i.e. I stopped at Turkey Hill today, we make the best hoagies!) Or does that sound equally as stupid as referring to a pro sports team as "we"? Asking for a friend.
