Romney right about WaWa, but makes sub-par lunch order
Barb Shelly
Since Mitt Romney’s visit to a Pennsylvania WaWa store is still in the news, I will take the opportunity to join Romney in singing the praises of the WaWa chain, and particularly its awesome ordering system.
As Romney described it: “I went in to order a sandwich. You press a little touchtone keypad — you touch this, touch this, go pay the cashier — there’s your sandwich. It’s amazing.”
The Republican presidential hopeful is apparently picking up some ridicule for this. What, he’s never used a keypad before? But that’s only from people who haven’t experienced a WaWa. It is pretty amazing how easy and convenient it is to order a sandwich, and how good the sandwiches are. I haven’t found anything like it around Kansas City, and I wish I would.
Romney erred grievously, however, by ordering a “sub.” In eastern Pennsylvania, those are “hoagies.” And as a Philly food columnist reported: “After being corrected…he proceeded to order a meatball hoagie with sweet peppers, totally ignoring the classic Italian or turkey versions, and alienating himself even further.”
Well, a candidate can’t be expected to know everything about regional food preferences, but I’d say some staffer fell down on the job here. Where was the advance work?
Kent Mueller
11 months, 1 week agoI hope this was all tongue in cheek. This country and world have a lot of problems. The regional colloquialism debate between “sub” and “hoagie” certainly isn’t one of them.
It’s fine to note as a musing type of issue, but there are reporters out there that think this is important stuff. Amazing.
Mark Hastert
11 months, 1 week agoSeems that Mitt is easily amused…..It’s clear that he doesn’t get out much among the hoi polloi. We’d better be careful if get should ever get the nuclear codes. He could order a corned beef on rye and blow up Kazakhstan.
It’s little moments like these that demonstrate for us that our leaders (of all stripes) are out of touch.
George Hunsucker
Northland
11 months, 1 week agoyou truly are laughable ms. shelly… And to think you get paid by the private sector for this “stuff”…..
Utterly amazing.
Kent Mueller
11 months, 1 week agoMy comment wasn’t to criticize Barb, because as I said, I am assuming this was tongue in cheek. However, what I was criticizing is how parts of the press even make something like this a story. At best, it is taken out of context. Very reminiscent the first George Bush with the scanners at the grocery store convention. And at the end of the day, the only purpose served is the improper slandering of a candidate, which of course was the intent from the start.
Phil Cardarella
11 months, 1 week agoSome folks need J O K E spelled out in VERY big leters, Barb.
However, fun as keypads are? Nobody puts himself through school or feed your kids being a keypad. Not everything that we can use technology for to replace human workers is a good thing.
On principle, I refuse to use self-service checkouts. So should anyone else who understands that it does no good to save a penny or two at the cost of a job or two.
Barb Shelly
11 months, 1 week agoThank you, Phil Cararella, for noting the humor deficit in some of these comments. The WaWa still have to employ people to make the hoagies and ring up the orders.
Tom Ryan
Crossroads, Kansas City
11 months, 1 week agoI am silly, Kay, as you well know. My silliness may be due to having consumed too many hoagies and cheesesteaks while growing up in the very silly Philly area. The hoagie/sub borderline is rather fuzzy…one of my favorite spots is in Atlantic City…I’ll not name them here, but their subs rival Philly Hoagies and their cheesesteaks are “to die for”… Fond memories of WaWa in Jersey…the one leading to my summer haunt, Avalon…cooler by a mile :-) I thought the Romney WaWa event showed a bit of that silliness we call humanity. Thanks, Barb for that WaWa memory…
Steven Fetter
66223
11 months, 1 week agoMaybe the ordering process is good at WaWA but the hoagies/subs/grinders/are not.
Try Nick’s Roast beef in S. Philly, White House in AC, or any of the thousands of Italian delis in Bergan County, starting with Casa del Sol in Westwood NJ.
WaWa is for coffee, beer, and gas (both petro and natural). And by the way, Mitt was spot on in comparing the government to private enterprise. Just ask the people down at the DMV.
Tom Ryan
Crossroads, Kansas City
11 months, 1 week agoNudge to Mitt…head to Atlantic City…to White House subs…2301 Arctic Ave :-)…yeah, White House…
George Hunsucker
Northland
11 months agoOh, so now the column was a humorist one. Good to know you are also a comedian ms. shelly….
I don’t seem to remember a humor column on 57 states, but I am sure I missed that one, right?
Kent Mueller
11 months agoBarb, is Collin Flat a food writer or a political/op/ed writer?
Steve Alleman
Kansas City
11 months agoRomney is a zillionaire. I can’t believe anyone is surprised that he doesn’t go to corner grocery stores.
Kent Mueller
11 months agoSteve, if you think this is emblematic of Romney “not being in touch”, then you, too, have fallen for the crap that Andrea Mitchell and NBC edited for their broadcast.
Mitchell dishonestly edited a lengthy video to make it look like Romney was marveling at the technology. He was not. He was marveling at what private sector competition produces.
Please watch this and see if you can ever watch and believe anything Andrea Mitchell does going forward.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/06/19/msnbc-edits-romney-rally-speech-portrays-candidate-as-out-touch/