Learning the subtleties of service with a smile at Frist

Before the grand opening of the new Frist Campus Center, its planners carefully considered every detail. Each floorboard was properly placed, every light bulb was screwed in tightly, and every dining services employee was trained in the fine art of customer service.

Director of Dining Services Stu Orefice said he wanted the program to help employees attain a pinnacle level of service.

But he knew he would need some help.

He found the expertise he was seeking halfway across the country at Hospitality Works, a nationally renowned food service consulting company based near Chicago that works with newly opened restaurants and food services.

"We went with someone who had more restaurant experience because we wanted to give a different look and feel to the place," Orefice said.

During the two-week program — which incorporated multimedia presentations and hands-on training — employees were encouraged to focus on four different areas: customer service, cooking, food production and sanitation.

"They had all kinds of training this summer," Frist director Paul Breitman said. "They actually had people do role play and things like that."

Employees were educated on the subtler points of upselling — or convincing customers to buy additional items — smiling and especially making the dining experience pleasant for customers.

"That was the main thing," said a man working behind the Frist sandwich counter and identifying himself only as "Bob." He added that this section of the training program was titled, "How to Wow the Customer."

According to Bob, upselling figured heavily into the customer service training. These days, he often offers extra fixings on sandwiches and sometimes even asks customers if they want additional items.

Beverage lab "technician" Michael Wallwork — a former assistant manager at the U-Store — said he found the process enlightening.

"If everyone was listening, I believe you're going to get a top-notch level of service here," he said.

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Elaborating on some of the training, Wallwork said, "It was about attitude, and treating our customers as if they were guests of the University."

Sandra Bucklay, a cashier, said she used the time to hone her customer service skills. "In the two weeks, I learned how to treat the customers and how to work as a team with the other employees," she said.

According to Frist employees and customers, it appears that Orefice's vision of a kinder, gentler campus center may be coming to fruition, and the training is paying off.

"I think this is a high level of customer service," Wallwork said. "We do our best to accommodate everyone."

Orefice said he, too, can see the marked improvement. Where once, he said, customer surveys suggested that the dining services staff was not very friendly, "The comments that we get now are, 'I can't believe how nice the staff was.' "

In fact, the response has been so positive that other colleges and universities now are asking for Orefice's help in taking customer service to the next level.

"We're known as a leader in the industry," he noted.