NOMINATION FORM
Governor's Commendation for Excellence in Customer Service
** Note: Check with your Customer Service Champion about deadlines for your agency. **
Check or highlight ONE category per nomination:
Individual Commendation or
Team Commendation
Nominee's Contact Information (individual or team representative):
Name: UGA Food Services Team
Job Title or Team Title:
Agency and Division/Unit name: Board of Regents, University of Georgia, Food Services Division
Address: Athens, GA 30602
Phone: 706.542.1256 ext.
E-Mail: letthebigdawgeat@foodser.uga.edu
Team Members For team nominations list the 2-10 employees who made a significant contribution to
the team. Certificates will only be provided for those included in winning nominations.
Susan van Gigch, Brooks Oliver, Bryan Varin, Darnell Tate, Janet Rawlings, Wayne Fair
Nominee's Supervisor Contact Information:
Name: Jeanne Fry
Phone: 706.583.0850 ext.
E-Mail: jfry@uga.edu
Nominator's Contact Information (the person completing this form):
Name: J. Michael Floyd
Phone: 706.542.1552 ext.
E-Mail: mfloyd@uga.edu
Nomination Details:
1. Describe how this individual or team demonstrates consistently high levels of performance
while accomplishing normal job responsibilities. Describe how this individual or team is a role model
for customer service in the state of Georgia. Establish a history of exceptional performance on the part of
the nominee. Include records of outstanding performance, such as high scores on customer comment
cards or letters from customers and peers. Be sure to address all criteria for the specific award category.
The UGA Food Services team operates one of the top college and university foodservice operations in
the nation. We’ve earned 73 national awards and 4 state awards for our commitment to quality and
customer service. We receive hundreds of positive comment cards and letters from both students and
their parents every year, and we maintain tight internal controls on our service by regularly performing
quality assurance audits and by employing mystery shoppers to keep us on our toes. A major way that we
know that we’re doing things right is that the number of participants on our voluntary meal plan has
continued to grow, even during these tough economic times.
2. Describe how this individual's or team's actions/accomplishments go above and beyond normal
job duties. For example, taking on additional responsibilities, making improvements in the way service is
delivered, or giving personal time and resources to serve customers. Include specific examples, how
success was measured (baseline measures and current performance measures that demonstrate
improvement), results of service, and the time frame when service was provided. Be sure to address all
criteria for the specific award category.
Our division is considered essential services on campus. That means that our meal plan facilities stay
open during all weather emergencies. Over 6000 of our customers live on campus, and they have to eat!
We know this, and it is absolutely not going above and beyond for us to just be open during inclement
weather situations – that’s just doing our jobs. However, sometimes things get a little more challenging,
as was the case during the winter storm that started on Jan. 10, 2011, and disrupted normal university
operations for the entire week. This storm was different because it affected operations for so long, and it
really disrupted road conditions for our food vendors who were unable to make deliveries as scheduled
early in the week. Despite these abnormal circumstances, we tried to minimize the impact on our
customer, and our success in that regard is what takes this from an everyday work situation to our team
going above and beyond.
First, our team did a good job of planning ahead. It was fairly clear on Thursday that the possibility of
extreme weather on Monday was a real threat. Our managers and chefs ramped up our orders of
perishable food items for Friday and Saturday’s deliveries just in case, and even though storage space is
very limited, we were able to have some extra product on hand. Some of our managers and staff planned
ahead by staying close to campus, either with friends or at hotels, on Sunday night so that they were able
to get to work first thing on Monday. Other employees did little things like parking their cars at the end of
their driveway or road to make it easier to get out in the morning, or arranging to be picked up by other
employees who have 4 wheel drive vehicles.
Next, our team did a great job of going with the flow. We opened up on Monday as usual, but with fewer
employees than normal – public transit wasn’t running, which meant that our student employees who live
off campus were not able to make it in (though we had one student manager who walked nearly 7 miles
to come in to work!), and some of our full time staff who live farther out were also unable to come in. We
had managers who drove their own vehicles to pick up employees who didn’t have a way to work. Our
staff did a wonderful job of making sure that the reduced amount of staff did not affect our customers.
Everyone pitched in to make sure service was as quick and friendly as our customers are accustomed to
on a daily basis. We served almost our entire regular menu. But as the day progressed, and it didn’t look
like things were going to clear up by Tuesday, our managers started worrying about having enough food
to continue to please our customers the next day. While we had plenty of frozen food and dry goods
thanks to our warehouse employees coming in to make deliveries, our perishables were starting to run
out – milk, fresh produce, bread, and fresh chicken are a mainstay on our menus, and we couldn’t ask our
customers to do without, even though our vendors were unable to make deliveries. Fortunately, we have
excellent relationships with our vendors. Our produce vendor braved the terrible road conditions to make
a delivery on Tuesday. We arranged to meet our bread vendor at the warehouse where we picked up
product, and we picked up milk from their distribution center as well. Even though road conditions were
far from ideal, we wanted to make sure our customers did not suffer.
Finally, we worked as a team. Only our four meal plan facilities stay open during inclement weather – our
food courts in the student center are closed, as are our grab-and-go locations in academic buildings
around campus. Catering events are almost always cancelled by the customer. So our employees who
work in those areas do not technically have to come to work on snow days. Several of them did come in,
however, to help out in the meal plan facilities. They also unlocked their kitchens and cleared out their
produce coolers and bread racks to make sure the dining commons had product, even if it meant that
they would have to scramble before they opened back up later in the week. They helped serve our
customers, even though they could have stayed home and enjoyed their snow days.
So all in all, we don’t deserve accolades for working the snow days – it is what we are paid to do. But we
are really proud of the way our team came together during a difficult time and made sure that our
customers never knew that it was difficult. We were mentioned in the Red and Black’s (student
newspaper) famous Friday Opinion Meter list with a big thumbs up for our service that week, which is the
best accolade we could ask for.
3. (Optional) Insert any additional materials that support the nomination. For example,
endorsements from leaders or customers that share specific actions and their benefits, photos of the
nominee serving customers, job performance measurements or survey results showing high performance
and/or improvement over specific periods of time. Please copy and paste text, photos or other materials
here. Inserting directly into this document will facilitate processing the nomination.
CRITERIA
Governor's Commendation for Excellence in Customer Service
All across Georgia, state government employees are providing faster, friendlier, easier service to their
customers. In honor of these achievements, throughout the year the Governor and The Governor's Office
of Customer Service will recognize employees and teams representing the best of "Team Georgia."
ELIGIBILITY
All nominees must have actively performed duties for a state agency or institution during the previous
fiscal year of the date the nomination is submitted. To be eligible for an award the nominee cannot be
under any disciplinary action.
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TIPS AND GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL NOMINATIONS
When writing the nomination details, be sure to review and complete all requested information.
Show how the nominee demonstrates Team Georgia's customer service commitments:
courteous, helpful, accessible, responsive and knowledgeable.
Document improved service times, improved quality of service, increased accessibility for customers
and the significance of the positive impact on Georgia's customers. Demonstrate the customers’
need, what was done to address that need and the positive results of this service.
Provide a basis for comparison using simple measurements or statistics. Provide baseline (before)
and improvement (after) measurements. For example, provide numbers that show how service was
faster or more customers were served this year compared with the same time last year.
Spell out names, titles and acronyms. Avoid insider jargon or highly technical language that
reviewers from outside your agency or state government may not know.
Distinguish how the nominees’ accomplishments are above and beyond what is expected for
someone in their position. Make this distinction clear to reviewers who are not familiar with your
agency, the nominee’s position or their duties.
Have someone outside your agency or team proof submissions to insure information about
accomplishments and why they are worthy of commendation are clearly stated.
Limit the length of the nomination to 3 pages maximum. Choose the support materials that best
demonstrate the accomplishments. Lengthy submissions are difficult to review and may have a
negative impact on the nomination.
Include all attachments, exhibits and supplemental materials in the nomination form itself – do
not send separate documents or exhibits.
DUE DATES FOR SUBMISSIONS
The due dates to submit nominations to recognition@ocs.ga.gov are:
 December 17, 2010 (for quarterly Governor's Commendations presented February 2011)
 March 15, 2011 (for quarterly Governor's Commendations presented April 2011)
 June 15, 2011 (for quarterly Governor's Commendations presented July 2011)
 A special form will be provided for an August 15 due date for the October 2011 Annual Awards
*Presentation dates are tentative
** Note: Check with your Customer Service Champion about deadlines for your agency. **
To request electronic copies of the nomination form or for assistance, please see your agency or
institution's Customer Service Champion or contact the Governor's Office of Customer Service at 404463-8793 or recognition@ocs.ga.gov.