Students and other university customers received a sweet surprise April 25, 2023, when Aramark Collegiate Hospitality accounts across the U.S. hosted a Customer Appreciation Day.
The theme for the day was “It’s Sweet to Serve You.” Sweet treats from healthy fruit to decadent desserts were featured in delicious and creative ways to engage students, university staff, and administrators.
To celebrate customers, messages of appreciation were shared on social media, web, and email. These digital touchpoints reached more than 600,000 guests on April 25. Additional resources were provided to make it easier for campus dining teams to host customer appreciation events.
“Our local teams went all out to create events to engage with our customers and show them how much we appreciate serving them every day,” said Jack Donovan, President and CEO, Aramark Collegiate Hospitality. “In all that we do on a university campus, we seek ways to create a sense of community, which leads us to thinking about how we deliver hospitality in a very different way. Customer Appreciation Day is a great example of that.”
It’s Sweet to Serve
Across the country, colleges and universities celebrated guests in their own unique ways.
The University of Delaware created a “decorate-your-own” station at which students customized their own donuts or cupcakes with an assortment of toppings.
The team at the University of Central Arkansas held a BBQ lunch with sweets throughout, including a chocolate fountain and fruit station in the residential dining hall. In the Student Center, customers enjoyed an infused lemonade stand that featured grab-and-go snacks while cookies were delivered to catering clients around campus.
In Pennsylvania, West Chester University set up a made-to-order trail mix bar and featured specialty desserts from their in-house bakery. Temple Dining held a Luau lunch featuring sweet and savory menu items with fun themed desserts.
The University of North Carolina at both Chapel Hill and Wilmington campuses partnered with local ice cream companies to give free sweet treats to students and North Carolina’s Campbell University created dessert pizzas to serve in their dining hall.
Arizona State University hosted several pop-up events like a boba tea bar, loaded peanut butter and jelly station, and a steak and potato cookout.
In all, more than 225 Aramark Collegiate Hospitality accounts and more than 500,000 customers participated in the “It’s Sweet to Serve You” Customer Appreciation Day.
