UPDATE: Wawa: 'We Understand' Customers' Fury Over Firing Of Beloved Gas Attendant

If you’ve ever fueled up your car at the Wawa on Route 9 in Howell, chances are you’ve encountered Mike.

He’s difficult to miss: dressed in pink knee socks, old-style knickers and a bowtie, he delivers your gas receipt on a platter and never fails to send a driver off with pleasant greetings. He is beloved by hundreds of customers and has even been the subject of a couple of threads on the social media site Reddit.

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Those customers are now jumping to his defense, after reports began circulating on Facebook that Mike, who many say epitomized Wawa’s “core values,” was fired from his job this week. Patch has not been able to find out his last name; customers simply knew him as Mike; Wawa employees’ nametags only give first names.

According to a reader, his full name is Mike Cuzzo.

The reason for his firing, according to the Facebook reports, is that a customer was offended by his choice of item used to spray windshield cleaning fluid on the customer’s windshield: a spray toy called “Weepy the Wee Wee.”

In an email Friday afternoon, Wawa public relations manager Lori Bruce said she could not discuss the reasons Cuzzo was fired.

“Our associate was with us for several years, known and esteemed by many of his customers. We treasure the special connection that our associates have with their customers and communities -- it’s a big part of the Wawa brand and experience,” she wrote.

“That’s why we understand the outpouring of support around his departure,” she said.

“Unfortunately, we can’t share information or details regarding his departure. Out of respect for him, or any associate that separates from our company, we never share details of this nature. We hope you understand and we wish him all the best in the future,” Bruce wrote.

The company’s core values, according to its website, state: Value People; Delight Customers; Embrace Change; Do the Right Thing; Do Things Right; Passion for Winning.

Word continued to spread on social media like wildfire.

A post on the Our Howell NJ Facebook page had been shared more than 800 times as of 4 p.m. and had 500 comments, most of which express varying degrees of anger over his firing.

“Mike was a great guy!!,” Dorothy Sultana Podsvirow wrote in a post on the Howell Patch Facebook page. “I truly got excited to see him working whenever I would go to wawa for gas... He went above the typical attendant to make sure you left smiling. In fact this past winter I broke my hand and needed windshield fluid the gas station was packed but he took the time to help me fill up the fluid. I tried to tip him and he wouldn’t take it... I was not having a great day but both my son and I left there smiling. Mike def improved my day and made me smile. I hope he gets his job back!!”

“I’ve never met any gas attendant so proud and happy to do his job like he did,” said Julia Renna in a post on the Howell Patch Facebook page. “He made my kids laugh and was so sweet when my daughter was in the hospital. Even gave my kids funky glasses. Who does that? He has a family to support. Shame on Wawa. Sad world we are living in now. Wawa was lucky to have him.”

On the Our Howell NJ thread, similar sentiments were expressed. Some shared photos of their encounters with Mike. Several questioned whether there was more to the firing than a customer complaint over a toy.

But the vast majority expressed outrage, calling for boycotts and petitions.

Reviewers also took to the Facebook page for the Howell store, expressing their anger over his firing. And a GoFundMe page, Get Mike His Job Back, has been started as well.

“Shame on you Wawa!” Theresa Plonski Artigras wrote. ”This man was a man that made people smile in a rush rush everyday society. His pleasant manner was a welcome to many customers stopping in on their journey to work everyday. I personally experienced his kindness and having a child in the car with me made it all the more special. My daughter would look for him when ever we were in the area to get gas and munchies. There is something of customer service that is sorely being missed in this country of corporate America today that is fading to ”just take a number”, move on, next, mentality. It is a sad day when a man who made people smile is terminated.”

There’s even a Facebook group: Brick back Mike! No wawa until Mike is back!

Wawa got its start in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey. It recently celebrated its 50th anniversary of retail outlets, which first began as Wawa Food Stores in 1964, carrying dairy products, before evolving into the stores seen today such as the one in Howell, which includes fuel sales in addition to made-to-order hoagies and hot and cold foods.

The company has 22,000 employees at 650 stores, including 400 with fuel, the bulk of which are in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, and opened a few stores in Central Florida in the last few years, according to its website.

(Photos of Mike and the offending toy via Facebook and Reddit)