Guerrilla marketing on campus

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan 19, 2004

Know Your Market

When you operate within the cost-restrictive environment of an onsite institution like a college or university, innovation isn't a matter of how much money you can throw at it. Rather, it's a matter of what you do with what you have.

"Innovation is about customer service," says Pat Bando, dining services director at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass. "It's about listening to your customers and finding ways to give them what they want while staying within your budget."

In that regard, Bando notes, empowering your staff to come up with ideas can make all the difference.

"Innovation isn't the idea of one person," she says. "Innovation occurs by helping to create a team that is innovative, getting them to brainstorm and then using the best of the ideas."

But in order to have a staff that is creative, you first have to find them, and that is where Bando excels. Bando's staff of 48 managers, 220 full-time employees and 700 to 900 part-time workers has been cobbled together through a variety of resources, some of which are very common but not often considered.

Take On-Site Off-Site

A prime example of such a resource is the "value-packs" that direct marketing companies use to reach households. Value-packs are thick envelopes that typically contain coupons from a large number of local companies. Most offer discounts on products or services.

Bando uses value-packs in the greater Boston area to find employees. For a minimal cost Bando has cards inserted in the envelopes that advertise Boston College Dining Services as an employer of choice for a variety of jobs. "It's very inexpensive, and you can target certain neighborhoods," she explains. "For example, if we need people to work evenings, we select areas where it is relatively easy for people to commute from. We've had great success with the valuepacks."

Bando also searches high schools and community centers for staff members.

"We have about 16 senior citizens that we've recruited from community centers where seniors congregate," she says. "They are on their second, or even third, careers, and they come because they love to work with kids."

Appeal to Trendsetters

Knowing that first impressions mean a lot, the innovative team at Boston College spent much of the previous academic year devising a new menu program to greet the students when they arrived in September.

Three programs are of particular note because of their catchy names, which Bando says are designed to draw curious students to the stations.

"They have been fun to design," she notes. "But we know that the quality of the food has to match the cutesy names."

BC's new salad program is called Blazing Bowls. With a tag line that reads "Cool greens--hot toppings!" the station promises salads to which sauteed chicken, steak or tofu have been added, topped with one of three warm dressings: balsamic vinaigrette, Oriental sesame or honey mustard.

"We've taken the old spinach salad and kicked it up several notches" is how Bando describes the program.

Wrapsody is a sandwich program that offers students a variety of wraps, such as "Shuffle Off To Buffalo," popcorn chicken tossed with hot sauce, lettuce, celery, carrots and bleu cheese dressing; "Magic Carpet Ride," falafel, hummus, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and tahini sauce; and "Calypso Calamari," fried calamari, lettuce, tomatoes and orange-banana-sesame vinaigrette.

"When wraps first came on the market, we knew they were a keeper and we just refine the program as we go," she says.

Breakfast Blenders offers students the chance to get a healthful smoothie to carry to classes in the morning, featuring whole fruits blended with either juice, soy milk or nonfat milk.

What This Means for You as an Operator

Foodservice professionals are full of innovative ideas, from big-picture programs to small, detail-oriented efforts, many of which don't receive enough recognition outside of the organization. Each month Nation's Restaurant News will bring to light an innovator in one of the industry's many segments, because we learn best how to improve our operations from our peers.

Pat Bando

Business Name:

Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass

Type of Operation:

Residential and retail foodservice

Typical Customer:

College students, faculty and staff

Number of Employees:

220 full-time 700-900 part-time

Years in Business:

23 years; eight years at Boston College