Pinned carefully on a small bulletin board outside the Marketplace, a plethora of comment cards--each responded to and signed by "Skip"--seems to address every student complaint imaginable, from terrible-tasting banana pudding to insufficient servings.
Yet, how many people actually know who "Skip" is or the names of those employees who serves them omelets and pizza?
While not everybody could point out the Marketplace general manager James "Skip" Herrod and food service workers Wallace Burrows and Anthony Walker, most students who walk through the East Campus dining facility have interacted with them in one way or another.
For Herrod, Walker and Burrows, the ability to establish rapport is highly valued because it generates superior customer service and improves the dining atmosphere.
Walker, for example, remembers former basketball star Mike Dunleavy visiting the Marketplace as a sophomore during basketball season one night. Dunleavy passed up a meal, instead asking simply to see him.
A dedicated University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill fan, Walker was unavailable because he had taken that night off to watch the Tar Heels battle on the hard court. Dunleavy kept coming back until he could confront Walker.
"When he finally found me, he rubbed in my face that Duke had beat Carolina, and asked if I had hid from him," Walker recalled.
Whether engaging in "friendly competition in sports" or something else, Walker said he has never hesitated to strike up conversation with students and, unsurprisingly, has become very popular with them.
"It's about meeting somebody new for me. These freshmen need a home away from home and a friendly face. It's also nice for them to have an adult friend. I've also always been loud, so I have no problem talking," Walker said with a chuckle. "I always joke with students because it helps the students get ready for their classes, and it makes my day go by faster too."
Burrows said he also enjoys interacting with students, though he does it by drawing rather than talking, since he's not quite the conversationalist Walker is.
"I used to be real shy, but working here for such a long time has helped. I just treat people like how I like to be treated," said Burrows. "It's not always easy because I have to be here at six [a.m.]--I look for the coffee--but it's a snowball effect when the students come in and are enthusiastic."
Burrows has not only showed many students his artwork, but has also depicted at least 10 Duke basketball players in his artwork and given them a complimentary large print.
"They tell me its hanging in their apartments," Burrows said. "Tell Dan Ewing that he still has to pick up his."
Working at a facility in which freshmen, suddenly deprived of their home kitchen, have such high expectations is no easy undertaking because conflicts inevitably arise between students and staff. It might not be obvious at first how Burrows and Walker improve the dining experience, but Herrod said, "Because the students know them, they feel comfortable telling them that the food wasn't that good."
Herrod adds that Burrows and Walker are model employees who have received "Devil Bucks"--gift certificates awarded in the Marketplace's "Caught You Doing Something Good" employee recognition program--because of their enthusiasm and superior customer service.
Students said they appreciate Burrows and Walker's friendliness and Herrod's devotion to detail.
"Anthony?! He's my boy," said sophomore Jeff Faulrin. "After he talked to me, he even found out my name somehow."
And although the year has just started, Herrod has already attempted to resolve student discontent. Responding to one comment that said, "I counted a total of 12 black beans in my bowl of soup. How can you possibly call that black bean soup?" Herrod wrote, "I agree. I will look at the recipe and readjust. Thanks for the feedback."
Herrod, Walker and Burrows said they do not consider student interactions daunting, if approached the right way.
"First, we want to shout-out to everybody who has passed through and secondly, to say keep sending them, and we will keep feeding them!" the duo said together.
As for Herrod, he said its all about the wording. "It's all in how you say it. If a student stole eight bananas from the Marketplace, you don't say 'Put that back!' Just try to be positive, make a joke about it, and emphasize looking after the common good of everybody," he said. "And it sure is nice when that same kid comes back after freshman year to say hello and see how you are doing."
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