The George S. Mickelson Great Service Award honors a business or organization that has taken hospitality to the next level. Exemplary customer service is a core component of the winner’s operation, and recipients of this award understand that customer satisfaction is a key to success.
The 2008 winner receives a $1,000 credit to use in any of the Office of Tourism’s cooperative advertising programs in 2009.
Two George S. Mickelson Great Service Awards were awarded for 2008:
Presented to
Prairie Berry Winery
Governor Mike Rounds presents the 2008 George S. Mickelson
Great Service Award to Prairie Berry Winery, Hill City,
at the 2009 Governor's Conference on Tourism.
Prairie Berry Winery, Hill City, has made it their mission to create guests for life, one individual at a time.
In order to attain this goal, they have designed their ongoing customer service training around a culture of being knowledgeable, friendly and welcoming. Their training includes hired professional consultants, attendance at national symposiums and conferences, and daily in-house shift meetings which include a review of local events and happenings.
Prairie Berry staff members are rewarded for providing outstanding customer service in a variety of ways -- including pay increases, awards luncheon, incentive games and quarterly staff/spouse dinner parties.
The winery gages its customer service with the Prairie Berry Experience Indicator -- the visitor comment mechanism printed on the back of the guests' tasting sheets. A recent analysis of nearly 25,000 surveys showed the winery consistently scoring above 90 percent in customer service satisfaction for the first three quarters of 2008.
And,
Presented to
Best Western Ramkota Hotel
& Conference Center
Governor Mike Rounds presents the 2008 George S. Mickelson
Great Service Award to the Best Western Ramkota Hotel
& Conference Center, Sioux Falls, at the
2009 Governor's Conference on Tourism.
The Best Western Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center, Sioux Falls, takes advantage of many corporate training opportunities, in addition to attending the Governor's Conference on Tourism and the Sioux Falls CVB spring training each year.
Front desk staff members are called the hotel's Directors of First Impressions and there is great emphasis placed on developing treasured, life-long friendships with its guests.
Every spring and fall, the Ramkota hosts the “Gear-Up” hospitality and customer service training program to prepare staff for peak season and the winter conventions. Focus is placed on empowering staff to not only meet, but to exceed customer service expectations.
With a philosophy that guest satisfaction is their sole mission, the Ramkota has implemented a new guest comment card system called Tell Us About It. This program ensures they are meeting and exceeding guest service standards.
It also created the 5 Star Program to give employees a "say" in the day to day operations. All departments have a representative on the committee that meets to discuss issues or concerns. They brainstorm and develop feasible solutions and make recommendations to the general manager. This fosters empathy and appreciation for everyone's individual role in the operation of the hotel and raises the bar for excellence in customer service.
The distinguished finalists for 2008 were…the Akta Lakota Museum, Chamberlain; Custer State Park, Custer; Lake Park Campground & Cottages, Rapid City; Prairie Berry Winery, Hill City; the Redlin Art Center, Watertown; Best Western Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center, Sioux Falls; Cedar Shore Resort, Oacoma; Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, Rapid City; Deadwood Gulch Resort, Deadwood; and Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Mount Rushmore, Keystone.