When it comes to the Celebrated Service Award from the crew at Studio C’s Celebration! Cinemas you always have to wonder where the magic comes from. It looks like the answer these past two seasons is an amazing server by the name of Christina Perkins.
The whirlwind magic spun by Christina, the top performing waitress in Michigan’s Great Southwest has earned her second employer the coveted Celebrated Service Award in as many years. Christina, you see works the morning shift at Sophia’s House of Pancakes in Benton Harbor, and many a night shift at The Mark III Grille and Bar in St. Joseph…working her special blend of top notch customer service that has now made her employers back-to-back winners in the annual sweepstakes for quality customer service.
Sophia’s House of Pancakes has emerged after a week of frenzied voting among 10 finalists selected for the honor in the Benton Harbor marketplace, to take the top honor and win the lucrative award from the Grand Rapids-based theater group.
Sophia’s House of Pancakes is a family-owned business serving “the best breakfast in Benton Harbor,” according to their nomination. They also proclaimed, “We define celebrated service as loving what we do, and making sure we communicate that to our customers. We are one big family here at Sophia’s House of Pancakes, and we want to treat our customers the same way.” Well, it worked. The week-long Internet campaign is now complete having ended at 8pm Monday night with the votes being tallied through the night and the winners announced this afternoon.
The award is a game changer. Business recipients receive months of recognition on Celebration! Cinema movie screens, lobbies, web site, Facebook and radio. The award also includes a $2,500 cash prize, specialized training at ZingTrain (in Ann Arbor) and movie watch parties for the employees of the business recipient. Past award recipients have appreciated the encouragement they have received from customers and reported that the recognition has contributed to the health of their businesses.
Christina’s night time family at The Mark III won the award and all of its perks last year, and now her morning team is in the winner’s circle.
Other nominees in the Benton Harbor market were Double J Farms, Full Circle Cafe & Espresso Bar, the Garden Grille & Bar at the Hilton Garden Inn of Benton Harbor, M Squared Modern Hair of St. Joseph, Meiser-Witkowski Photography, the Signature Dealer Group, St. Joe Auto Body, The New Rink in Stevensville, and The Mason Jar Cafe. The Mason Jar Cafe actually was the winner prior to The Mark III, and their team was hoping for the encore win, but fell short of the mark.
