Customer Service Starts with YOU Adapted from ICN materials: ORIENTATION TO SCHOOL NUTRITION MANAGEMENT Customer Service, Merchandising and Food Presentation and Focus on the Customer Building a Customer-Focused School Nutrition Program

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Tanya Dube, SNS Director of Child Nutrition, Bristol Bay Borough SD, Naknek, AK Over 20 years of experience in food service, 14 in management 6 years in child nutrition BBBSD – 120 students PK – 12 and 15 elders CEP (54% F&R) Participation: Lunch 86% Breakfast 59% Photo credit: Clark James Mishler

The goal is to serve ALL children Who is the Customer? EVERY child who comes through the door of the school – large or small, strong or weak, happy or unhappy, sick or well, regardless of age, sex, race, or culture – is a potential customer of the school nutrition program. The goal is to serve ALL children Photo credit: USDA

Customer Service Involves what you do, the way you do it, and all the people that are touched by your action. It is the total experience in the school nutrition program. What do you expect of a salesperson when you are the customer? What should children expect of school nutrition personnel when they are customers of the cafeteria?

Six Top Statements Made by Staff to Children in The Serving Line Starting in reverse order: 6. “Next…” 5. “What do you want?” 4. “Come on and get moving!” 3. “Stop talking!” 2. “Enter your PIN, TRY AGAIN. Just tell me your name and I will do it!” 1. The most common thing said to our customers: Nothing!!

Things Customers Hear at a Restaurant “Hi, may I help you?” “Great to see you today; hope you enjoy your meal.” “Would you like to try today’s special? Don’t you look nice today?”

What do students want? Healthy meals – that TASTE good A serving line filled with attractive offerings that smell good and are at the appropriate temperature Friendly and caring staff that treat them with respect and love A schedule that allows enough time to eat A CLEAN and safe dining area that provides adequate seating Student Needs To feel secure and loved An environment that is warm and caring To be with her family and friends Healthy food for growth and development

Customer Satisfaction Results from the total customer experience in the school nutrition program including the food received the environment, and the interaction with the SNT. The service may have a greater impact on satisfaction than the food.

Colorful Serving Line

Menu Planning Color – we eat with our eyes Texture Contrast –e.g. crispy fish on a soft tortilla Shape Variety Asian, Mexican, Italian, breakfast for lunch, soup and sandwich… Presentation

Easy Salad Bar with Color

Colorful Entreés and Sides Coconut Thai Curry Alaska Pollock w/Brown Rice- GAPP USDA – Sesame Asian Noodle Chicken Salad, Chic’ Penne, Baked Sweet Potatoes and Apples, Beef Stir Fry, Pizza Green Beans

Color: Preparation Techniques

Texture Names Grilled Chicken Strips Melted Mozzarella Cheese Crisp Mixed Greens Hearty Red Kidney Beans Creamy Dressing Crunchy Baby Carrots Tender Corn Smooth Banana Crusty Whole Wheat Roll Cold Chocolate Milk

Variety of Textures

Variety of Shapes

How many ways can you cut a sandwich?

Presentation

Presentation – Add Height

Presentation – Grab and Go

Smarter Lunch Rooms—mission to find: �. Low cost/No-Cost Solutions � Smarter Lunch Rooms—mission to find: � Low cost/No-Cost Solutions � Lunchroom Environment Focus � Promotion of healthful eating behaviors � Sustainability The Smarter Lunchrooms Movement was started in 2009 with the goal of creating sustainable, research-based lunchrooms that guide smarter choices. It is a grassroots movement of those concerned with the way children eat and wish to change these behaviors through the application of evidence-based, lunchroom focused principles that promote healthful eating. In October 2010, a partnership between Dr. Brian Wansink and Dr. David Just produced the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs (the B.E.N. Center) as an experimental think tank devoted to child health, school environments, and the behavioral sciences (psychology, behavioral economics, and business). http://smarterlunchrooms.org

Positive customer service, merchandising, and food presentation will help attract new customers and engage existing customers.

Evaluate Customer Service Customer feedback lets you know how they rate the products and services. Customers evaluate quality in terms of their own experiences and perceptions. Perceptions are reality to the customers and influence how often they choose school meals.

Customers make their decisions every day about whether to eat or not Customers make their decisions every day about whether to eat or not...what they will choose from the variety offered and whether or not they will eat the food they select. The customers’ opinion about the SNP influences their decision to eat or not to eat. Customer feedback provides a basis for building a customer-focused program.

Why Do We Evaluate Customer Service? To know what our customers think of our service To gain ideas and suggestions for improvement To identify problems and solutions for solving problems

How Do We Evaluate Customer Service? Ask your customer and listen to answers. Keep asking your customer for feedback. Observe customer behavior and choices. Survey customers using age appropriate methods. Talk to customers. SAY: Remember local policy will affect any evaluation conducted on school premises. You may need to get permission to do a written survey.   Both formal and informal evaluations are useful. Examples of formal evaluations are surveys, focus groups, interviews, and guided discussions. Informal evaluations include taste tests, customer feedback cards, quality scorecards, and temperature checks. Instructor’s Note: Refer to the workbook Sample Taste Test Form. Do: (Workbook Activity) Sample Taste Test Form SAY: The Sample Taste Test Form is one example of a form you can use to conduct taste tests with young children. With this form, children can simply mark the sad or the happy face to signify their dislike or like of the food they are sampling. This form will work well with kindergarten or first grade children. You may have surveys and other taste test forms that you have used at your school.

Types of Assessments Formal: Informal: Surveys Menu item testing Focus groups Guided discussions Interviews Informal: Menu item testing Food item testing Recipe testing Comment cards Quality score cards

Customer Communication: OAL - Observing, Asking, Listening Did the customer select a reimbursable meal? If not, did you ask why not? OAL Did the customer select all items on the reimbursable meal menu, including milk? If not, did you ask why not? OAL Did the customer consume the food selected? If not, did you ask why not? OAL Did the customers appear to have a positive attitude toward the food as they came through the line? If not, did you ask why not? OAL

Customer Creed The customer is our reason for being here. It takes months to find a customer; seconds to lose one. Always be courteous and polite during each customer contact. Always do more than is expected when you handle a customer’s problem. Continually look for ways to improve quality and add value to school meals. Adapted from: http://bestclassservice.blogspot.com

Thank-you! tdube@bbbsd.net