Creating Experiences through Hospitality
Just after sunrise on an icy Monday morning, Kelvin Murray, a service technician for Aramark Refreshments, checks the equipment in the rear of his truck, looks at the service requests on his iPad, and pulls away from the Baltimore-Washington market center. He is headed to his first assignment of the day: a nearby corporate office where the Flavia machine needs fixing, and the staff needs coffee.
Within a few minutes of arrival, Kelvin has the machine up and running. It’s perfect timing for employees coming in from the 24-degree weather outdoors in search of something hot to drink.
The experience makers
At Aramark Refreshments’ Baltimore-Washington branch and others like it across the U.S. and Canada, team members are doing their part to reimagine the break room experience as a place where convenience meets inspiration—and where Aramark Refreshments exceeds customer expectations.
Kelvin and his colleagues support more than 2,700 locations. Sites range from small offices of 12 to large government facilities with thousands of employees and dozens of break rooms in buildings the size of four football fields.
Supporting clients takes the whole team, from the warehouse to business development, from customer service to equipment support, from technology training to daily deliveries of thousands of refreshments.
Collectively, this team creates experiences. And no matter their role, the goal is the same: to ensure clients can step away from their work for a break that is refreshing, enjoyable, and reflects our hospitality culture.
“We’re all in this together,” says District Manager Richard “Schuyler” Morse. “In a market center, you’re surrounded by a lot of people who have pride in what they do and the contribution they make to Aramark.”
The market center manages close to 2,000 products, with inventory that stretches beyond traditional coffee service to include modern-day favorites like kombucha, chai lattes, hot sauce, and specialty sweeteners.
“We are striving for a new level of service,” Schuyler says. “We’ve grown from a perception of Aramark providing one cup of coffee a day to providing at least four types of experiences on any given workday. When we do our job, they’ll get their coffee and whatever else they want when they want it...they don’t have to think twice about it.”
Pamela Raskin, Vice President for Innovation and Customer Experience, echoes the sentiment.
“We know that break rooms and pantries have become the places for employees to not only refuel but to restore, gather, engage, connect, and collaborate. And it becomes our responsibility to build these spaces that will encourage and fuel all this sense of community and really aid in employee engagement and ultimately drive that growth,” she says.
Business Development Manager Kevin Hollasch hears directly from clients about how refreshments can make a difference. Kevin hits the road most days around 5:45 AM, making time daily to visit accounts across the region. “It’s not ‘just a cup of coffee’ if it’s not available,” he says.
Route Sales Manager Jeremy Harting, also a former union steward, agrees.
“Post-pandemic, companies have come to realize that to get spaces occupied, they have to provide an array of options,” Jeremy says, referring to the popularity of Kegerators, nitro coffee, on-demand trail mix, and more. “We are part of that reality. We are exceeding the norm, it’s a benefit we provide, and everyone here embraces the model.”
Overall, providing a broader array of options for employees is good for business.
“That 24/7 micromarket space continues to just boom," says Betsy Rapport, Vice President of Brand Strategy. “So having something that's unattended and someone can get something to eat or drink anytime they want and it's a high-quality, good experience—that's where we really have seen a ton of growth.”
Fresh, healthy options like Southwest grilled chicken salad or Mediterranean falafel are popular, as are energy drinks, protein bars, artisan cookies, and an ever-changing assortment of better-for-you snacks.
Beverages are still a staple, but customers don’t just want a drink. They want functional hydration. There's still cold brew coffee and tea on tap plus gourmet coffee blends and beans, but now there's an ever-expanding variety of water (flavored, filtered, ambient, sparkling, and added benefits like vitamin and supplement-boosted refreshments).
"When we talk about beverages across the generations, we grew up with hot coffee, but now, it's cold and it's flavored, and it's fun,” says Betsy. “Hot coffee is not the leader when you go to a Dunkin’ Donuts or a Starbucks, or even your local coffee bar.”
Delivering hospitality
Refreshments Route Sales Representative Chris Bowen, who began his career with Aramark in 2001, knows the importance of supporting our clients’ goals and creating exceptional experiences every day.
On this very cold day, the opportunity to surprise and delight takes the form of coffee creamer.
“The best thing about dealing with Aramark is the personal touch,” says Jim Smith, an Aramark client and facility manager at a nearby business park. Jim manages three corporate buildings—all next to each other—where thousands of government contractors work on confidential projects.
"My job is to make this a comfortable, pleasant, and safe place to work,” Jim says as Chris unloads dozens of boxes of coffee, tea, cups, and utensils. Soon, the receiving area is stacked to the ceiling with $15,000 worth of refreshments.
"We have three buildings with multiple floors and five different government programs on each floor,” Jim explains, noting that the refreshments will go to different areas. “I don’t ask what our employees do or how they do it, but when it’s break time, I know they really need one. It gives them time to meet other people, talk, and get away from their work.”
As he reviews his order, the building receptionist walks in, searching for French Vanilla coffee cream. Turns out the client forgot to include it when he placed his order.
Unprompted and without a word, Chris takes note. He glances at his iPad and the other deliveries scheduled for the day. There is more than enough time to place an order, grab it from the warehouse, and quickly return with two cases of French Vanilla — all so the receptionist can enjoy her coffee break.
