1. 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

2. Pride

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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?

6. 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!!

7. 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?”

8. 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

10. 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.

11. Colorful Serving Line

12. 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

13. Easy Salad Bar with Color

14. 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

15. Color: Preparation Techniques

16. 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

17. Variety of Textures

18. Variety of Shapes

19. How many ways can you cut a sandwich?

21. Presentation

22. Presentation – Add Height

23. Presentation – Grab and Go

24. 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).

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

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. 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

29. 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.

30. 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

31. 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

34. 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:

35. Thank-you! tdube@bbbsd.net