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November 19, 2008 -- Texas Stadium Skybox at DFW named Food and Beverage Concessionaire of the Year

                                         and Star Employee, Ashley Williams, named Food and Beverage Employee of the Year!

The DFW Concessions department honored its concessionaires at a reception during the November 19th Concessionaires Forum.  The reception was held in the conference room of the DFW Rental Car Center.  Gilbert Aranza, CEO of Star Concessions, and his staff, were on hand to accept the Food and Beverage Concessionaire of the Year trophy for Texas Stadium Skybox, located in Terminal C near gate 24.  

Zenola Campbell, vice president for DFW Airport's concession department said, "DFW Airport probably provides the best customer experience of any airport in the nation.  It's been a challenging year with enplanements down and the economy, so you guys have done an outstanding job!"

Ashley Williams, who works at Cool River, was named the Food and Beverage Employee of the Year for 2008!  Cool River is an upscale steakhouse located in Terminal D, near gate 25.  Ashley received a $500 check as well as a handsome trophy.  Ashley, who has worked for Cool River for over a year was asked if she was surprised to be selected as the top employee for a food and beverage outlet and she replied, "I was.  But I was very honored."  She was also quoted as saying "I try to be extremely friendly.  I love my job!"

The awards are based on "phantom shops" conducted throughout the year which evaluate the store appearance, customer service and the overall shopping experience and the award is determined by averaging "phantom shoppers" scores and the highest-scoring store in each category is then selected as Concessionaire of the Year for that category.   

Carolyn Phillips, Manager of the DFW Concessions program, said that "phantom shoppers" judge the service they receive at all the outlets.  The phantom shoppers sum up the employee using various criteria including:  appearance (well groomed and neatly dressed);  friendly acknowledgement when the customer enters the store; knowledge of merchandise; and a pleasant parting comment such as "Have a nice flight.".     

The honor of Concessionaire of the Year came with an impressive trophy and a check for $500.   Pictured are Rickey Powell, General Manager, Ashley Williams, Employee of the Year, and Gilbert Aranza, CEO. (Paraphrased from an article from "DFW People - The Airport Newspaper" dated 11/27/08.)