BROOKINGS For Choco Latte owner Donna Behrend, winning the Ruth Ziolkowski Outstanding Hospitality & Customer Service Award wasnt a personal achievement it was a triumph of teamwork.
It is about Brookings, it is about the local community and I think its pretty amazing the way people in Brookings support local businesses, Behrend said. Ill be honest, like the award means a lot to me; but Ill also look at how without Brookings, without the community, without the way people in Brookings support local businesses I cant do the job that Im doing. Without my employees, I cant be here. They give really great customer service.
Behrend received one of four customer service awards presented Jan. 23 at the South Dakota Tourism Conference in Pierre. The other winners were business owners from Sioux Falls, Philip and Chamberlain.
I was just really proud to be a South Dakotan, she said. All the people who got up there on stage won awards because they were trying to make a difference in their communities Even though it was not my style to go to a gala or banquet, I felt like because everybody in the room was a South Dakotan, it seemed really easy.
Behrends warm, easygoing style has been familiar to local coffee connoisseurs for almost 15 years.
Were going to be celebrating our 15-year anniversary in June, she said. I love to drink coffee, I love candy and I love people. So guess what? This is how Choco Latte works because I love all three of those things a lot.
The inspiration for Choco Latte came from her parents.
My dad also owns his own business. So I thought, I can do what my dad does, right? Behrend said. My mom has been a candy maker her whole life. So when we decided to do Choco Latte, I knew that I needed something else besides coffee. Knowing and growing up with fudge, divinity, glass candy and chocolate-covered strawberries and all of these other wonderful things I was just like oh, were going to have a coffee and candy shop, period. So it was both of my parents really.
For Behrend, interacting with the public isnt just part of the job its part of the fun.
Sometimes its for a lot of hours, okay? But I get to be with people every single day. I get to work with and be with people which is where I shine, she said. And its not just me. This is actually my whole team, because the team at Choco Latte is amazing Somebody came through this morning and said, congratulations on your award, but also congratulations to your whole team. And I said, I couldnt agree more.
She leads by example, personally illustrating good customer service techniques.
Im here a lot. So I think the expectations are really high, and (employees) know that, Behrend said. Past employees not just present employees some of them are like online saying, this is the best job I ever had. And Im just like, yay thats awesome. I think happy employees equals happy customers which equals a happy business which equals a happy Donna.
She enjoys helping employees develop hospitality skills.
Sometimes Im like, hey can you ask them their name or something? And theyre like, I dont want to, Behrend said. I tell them, no you can. You can do this. You totally got this. And thats exactly it. You dont give a shove just a little nudge, right? Its just saying, I know who you are, what you can do and its really easy once you get started.
She said serving coffee, candy and smiles has never been a chore.
We work really hard, right? But it is a labor of love. I adore being here at Choco Latte, Behrend said. I think a cup of coffee can like totally make a difference in a day you just connect over a cup, just sit down and talk for a while. I think coffee shops do that well. Really great things happen at coffee shops.
She said the award speaks volumes about both her team of baristas and the Brookings community as a whole.
This award is really meaningful to me, but I think its also meaningful to my team, Behrend said. I really love Brookings, because we do live in such a great place. This is how businesses can thrive because we have a really great community And thats what makes Brookings Brookings.
Contact Jay Roe at [email protected].
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