Felicia Keeper, a Bon Appétit cashier who also waits on people at Holmes Lounge in Ridgley Hall, was recently honored at the Compass Group North America’s Be-A-Star Awards Celebration in Orlando.
Compass Group, the parent company of Bon Appétit and several other food-service providers nationwide, recognized her for outstanding customer service.
“When I first found out I had won, I was like, ‘Yeah, right, you are kidding,'” Keeper said.
Keeper was Bon Appétit’s Midwest Region representative at the awards dinner, at which about 300 of Compass Group’s 117,000 employees were honored.
Hosted by the Hard Rock Café, Keeper and the other honorees definitely received rock-star treatment.
“The first day we had a welcome reception,” said Keeper, who took her first plane flight for this trip, and also set foot in Florida for the first time in her life. “Then on Wednesday, Bon Appétit took all of their people out for a special dinner at a five-star restaurant.
“Then Thursday was the big event.”
Big indeed. Taken by bus to the back of the Hard Rock Live soundstage, honorees were greeted by a red carpet, photographers and many screaming “fans” behind the ropes.
“I was like, ‘Hey, we get to see someone famous!'” Keeper said. “It turns out it was us they were screaming for, and they were all asking ‘Can I have your autograph, please, please?’ So I just started signing my name!”
According to Keeper’s supervisor, Valerie Nichols, the award was well-deserved.
“Her customer service aspect is wonderful,” Nichols said. “Everyone loves Felicia, they really do. She’s just a wonderful person to work with.
“There’s nothing you can really say that’s bad about her.”
Bon Appétit Director of Operations Rick Turner agreed.
“Felicia really does a great job for us,” Turner said. “We receive a lot of positive feedback about her customer-service skills from both students and faculty. She has also doubled in a supervisor role, voluntarily assuming responsibilities not in her normal job scope, when needed.
“The whole crew at Holmes is great, but Felicia really stood out in the selection process. She is committed and caring, and just has so much to offer.”
It’s clear just how much she has to offer from listening to her approach to her job.
“I treat people like I want to be treated when I go to an establishment, and that’s my motto,” said Keeper, who has been known to work double-shifts on occasion. “I greet them and try to be friendly all the time. Even if I have a problem, I never try to show it.”
As much as she likes her customers, she gives a lot of credit to her co-workers.
“We are just like a little family here,” she said. “When I was down there, I called them and just said I was thinking about them and wanted to call them.
“That award was such a high honor. It’s a wonderful trip and whoever gets it next year; it’s really worth it. They treated you like you were famous. They catered to us all. It was unbelievable. You didn’t have to do anything but enjoy yourself and relax.
“The only sad part was that I was separated from my son, who is 3. It was the first time we had been separated. But other than that, I had a blast.”