By: Olivia Armstrong, Follow South Jersey Intern
GLASSBORO, N.J. — Dillon Wagner, the founder/owner of Wags Wheels, a new local transportation company, went into Rowan University as a freshman in 2020, and after going out late at night and noticing the unbearable parking at the university, he decided to take this matter into his own hands and create a company.
He was friends with most of the campus in Greek organizations and sports teams, so starting off was smoother than thought. He ran his ideas and concepts through family and friends and eventually asked a fraternity to test it out, and once he connected with them, everyone was reaching out to him for rides.
Wagner built up his connections and concept and promoted “Don’t Drink & Drive, Text Wags For A Ride” to Greek organizations and sports teams. After a year working with the idea and structure, he teamed up with a local real estate investor as well as Ace Screen Printing to develop business plans creating a mobile app for college students to use for on demand transportation.
Wags Wheels works with college students as ambassadors and organizations to build the idea, company, connections and find employees. At first it was a huge struggle to find drivers and still is an ongoing issue but with his connections he made do.
Wagner devotes 24/7 to his company. A normal day for him would be to wake up at 10 am to check emails, texts and social media posts for WAGS. Then heading over to his office to meet with the team, set up a game plan for the day/week, go over booking requests which consist of corporate events, weddings, parties, and college students at Rowan. Next he sets up calls or texts with local companies to work on sponsorships/partnerships, and dispatch any incoming rides.
“The morning is all office work with my business partner & transportation manager,” Wagner says. Around three or four in the afternoon, he starts working with their social media team on posts and content creation for Instagram and Facebook. Around 7 p.m. he stops at the gym for a quick break to workout. From 10 p.m. – 4 a.m. Wagner and his team are on Rowan University’s campus booked with constant rides on and off campus. His day ends around 4 or 5 a.m. to close out the day, set up a game plan for the next day, and get some sleep.
The Wags Wheels team is currently 15-20 workers and is growing. The most valuable aspect of the team is they employ safe and courteous drivers that are well mannered. All of their drivers are customer service driven.
Sometimes there can be conflicts with clients, but customer service is key Wagner says. There will always be mistakes, vehicles go down, drivers late to trips and deal with unpredictable obstacles but having exceptional customer service is key in these scenarios.
Wags Wheels is currently partnered with Landmark Americana in Glassboro. Wagner met with the Landmark’s Corporate team to build safe transportation to and from the bar and hold top tier college nights as well as safe drinking/eating space for the local college bar. Thanks to WAGS, Landmark reopened their “Chubs Lounge” for college nights which closed due to Covid-19.
Wags Wheels just started off at Rowan University but is now expanding and hopes to continue to expand more. The Wags Wheels app is now on the app store hoping to franchise to multiple college campuses.
Check out his Instagram by clicking here.
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