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Teresa and Kate participate in a seminar at Cornell University

Teresa and Kate participate in a seminar at Cornell University

Dartcor Food Service was honored to participate in a management seminar at the prestigious School of Hotel & Restaurant Management at Cornell University. The two-day event, held in September at the Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) on the Cornell campus, focused on guest services, and featured a roundtable presentation and discussion for students, the Cornell community, and hospitality managers. Members of the panel included distinguished Cornell professors, business leaders, and two members of Dartcor’s Operations Management team, Teresa Schultz and Kate Orlando. American Airlines, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, McDonalds, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and many other companies sponsored and participated in a wide variety of projects.

Melissa Carlisle, the event coordinator for Cornell University, approached Warren Leeds, president and founder of Dartcor and an alumnus of Cornell, because of Dartcor’s reputation for the highest standards of guest satisfaction. Warren’s passion for this topic is evident in Dartcor’s mission statement, which demands “legendary service,” as well as in the creation of the D.A.T.E.S. (Dartcor’s Approach to Excellent Service) program, which focuses on training employees in all aspects of guest satisfaction.

Associate Professor Alex Susskind chaired the roundtable, and presented research linking guest satisfaction to higher sales and greater profits. Highlighting the importance and value of training, the data showed that companies that have made an effort to deliver this message to their line employees have performed better overall.

The panel presented three case studies:

- Employee Engagement: “Do happy employees mean happy customers?”
- Drivers of Guest Satisfaction and Repatronage Intentions
- Guest / Server Exchange: “A look at influences of unit level performance”

After returning from this event, Kate and Teresa presented their findings to Dartcor’s management team. By participating in a prestigious industry event such as this and implementing the findings, Dartcor will continue to improve our training processes, build on our reputation for customer service and satisfaction, and further enhance the D.A.T.E.S. program.

About the Center for Hospitality Research (CHR)
The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) is the leading source for quality research on and for the hospitality industry. It creates new knowledge – and shares that knowledge to power hospitality forward. At roundtables and other meetings, Hotel School faculty, corporate partners, and other industry leaders collaborate to frame timely issues and understand important topics.

Center Fellows work with business leaders to develop new ideas, theories, and models that improve strategic, managerial, and operating practices. These insights are captured in research reports and industry tools that are available online at no cost. Thousands of academic and business leaders worldwide tap into this research stream. An active knowledge-sharing program further distributes the center’s work around the globe. The center also publishes the award-winning hospitality journal, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly.