Fall 2023 Campus Dining Today - 69

customer
a pulse on
Keeping
satisfaction
Penn State refines customer feedback
initiative to apply real-time data
Kevin Fiorenzo
writer/editor,
Penn State Auxiliary
and Business Services
An excellent customer
service experience
is a primary goal of
Pennsylvania State
University (Penn
State) Campus Dining, and a recent customer
satisfaction initiative has emphasized that goal.
Campus Dining is part of the University's Housing
and Food Services unit that serves 10 campuses
across Pennsylvania. In the fall of 2020, Kevin
Johnston, Penn State's senior assistant director of
residential dining, and Katy Petrosky, a registered
dietitian with Penn State Campus Dining,
were asked to co-chair an effective customer
satisfaction initiative that would educate staff,
collect " near real-time " customer feedback, and
enable staff to use data to improve operations
for diners. It is designed to be a comprehensive
program used at the University Park campus
in residential and retail dining, as well as the
nine Commonwealth Campuses throughout
Pennsylvania with Penn State-run food service
operations.
The timing was important for this type of project
as Penn State was dealing with changes due
to COVID-19. As the University emerged from the
pandemic, it was essential to reassess customer service
standards, staff training methods, and workplace culture
to improve dining operations going forward.
" It was valuable to have a feedback mechanism for
dining management to keep a pulse on customer
satisfaction and also collect near real-time feedback
that allows us to react and respond to that feedback, "
Petrosky said.
Collaborating with dining managers, managing chefs,
and representatives of the Association of Residence Hall
Students (ARHS), Johnston and Petrosky developed
goals for the program and generated ideas for
continuing to develop a customer service culture.
In addition to an updated customer survey, an
employee-focused " Back to Basics " program was
implemented to use simple concepts to ensure all
employees, regardless of tenure, understood the unit's
focus. The group also developed a " Customer Service
Moments " tool to train staff with " moments " shared at
staff meetings.
Establishing a data collection method used, not only at
University Park-Penn State's largest campus that serves
KEEPING A PULSE ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
| CAMPUS DINING TODAY
69
https://www.nacufs.org/Resources/Benchmarking-Surveys/Customer-Satisfaction-Benchmarking-Survey
Fall 2023 Campus Dining Today

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