Problems & Recommendations

 

Problem Areas: 

    In 2019 Wawa experienced a credit card payment system security breach which led to the theft of consumer credit card data. The breach was caused by a card-stealing malware installed on the in-store and gas pump credit card terminals. Anyone who visited one of their locations could have been a victim. The attack exposed customers' names, credit card numbers, and expiration dates. After the incident, a class-action suit was filed against Wawa, and the company had to pay $9 million to people affected by the security breach. 

    As Wawa expands further into the northeast United States, customer preferences and feedback will become more crucial. Wawa should gather more consumer preferences by using their app and tracking what consumers like or dislike. This could allow them to tailor the drinks and food that they carry in their stores. Wawa has continued to underutilize the potential of their app.  

    Wawa uses its social media presence to promote themselves and build a positive relationship with their customers. They do this by addressing customer issues and replying to customer feedback. While this is a great way to build customer relations, the customer should not have to publicly address Wawa to resolve the issues they may have. We believe that this should be addressed on a store-to-store basis first and not at the corporate level. 

                            

Recommendations:

    To prevent future security breaches using credit card skimmers the company should consider some security updates. Pay closer attention to their terminals and jiggling them to make sure there are no skimmers installed could work but there is also more advanced technology available that would work much better. Wawa should switch over to EMV card readers, and make sure customer data is effectively encrypted.

    We recommend that the Wawa in Cranford should utilize the Wawa app to help address customer complaints and feedback. This would help the store address problem areas and gain valuable customer feedback. The Wawa app is an information system that already exists and has been underutilized by the company. The Wawa app would allow customers to give feedback to specific locations rather than publicly addressing corporate to resolve any issues they may have. In the last month or so, Wawa has promoted the use of their app on the corporate level by offering 15 cents off per gallon if customers use the Wawa app to buy gas. We recommend that the Wawa in Cranford should promote the app with this promotion and get people signed up.