Fouche’s smile and kind words are well known not only to North Deck customers, but to state and international organizations. She received the University System of Georgia’s 2009 Chancellor’s Award for Customer Service Excellence and more recently received the International Parking Institute’s Staff Member of the Year Award.
In May, she took her first plane trip out to Las Vegas to receive the award and attend a convention, where she learned about the latest in parking training and technology. She stayed at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, met an Elvis impersonator and got a kiss on the cheek from a Frank Sinatra look-a-like.
“LeAnne Fouche does a common job uncommonly well,” the IPI award nomination stated. “Always smiling, she presents herself in a professional manner, and her appearance, enthusiasm and general positive outlook are noticeable. She knows hundreds of customers by name. Hundreds of customers know LeAnne. She actually creates a ‘good problem’ as the flow of traffic is sometimes slowed as customers want to stop and ‘chit-chat’ with
LeAnne.”
She’s also known for her holiday spirit. On St. Patrick’s Day she dresses like a leprechaun and hands her customers green candy, for the Fourth of July she wears stars, for Cinco de Mayo she dons a sombrero, for her Aloha to Summer she wears a lei and for Halloween she decorates with pumpkins and hands out candy.
And Christmas comes early in the North Deck as Fouche begins dressing up in holiday costume two to three weeks ahead of time and hands out peppermints.
She doesn’t limit herself to festive hats, pins and glasses; she also decorates her booth.
“They let me be me with all my quirks,” she said.
She’s been decorating her booth for the five years she’s been at the North Deck, and the costumes evolved from there. She said her coworkers love to egg her on.
“Nothing I do is that special,” she said. “The people I do it for and the people I do it with-that’s what makes all this special.”
And Parking Services is a family affair for the Fouches as LeAnne’s husband, Dan, has worked in enforcement at the department for the last eight years.
A Madison County native, she calls herself a champion for people. She aims to make parking enjoyable for customers.
She’s “tickled pink” about the decks now accepting credit cards and about the North Deck’s first parking spot for expectant mothers.
She loves to hear her customers’ stories, and she knows all about their dentist appointments and grandchildren.
When customers’ cars won’t start, she can help them call a tow truck or parking staff may be able to jump start a car with a dead battery. For customers who can’t find their cars, the deck has a courtesy golf cart to drive around the deck levels.
Every customer gets at least a big smile and wave when exiting.
“A smile is universal,” she said. “There’s no language barrier.”
