Game Nation’s Cherry Awards recognise exceptional performance across all of the brand’s venues. CEO Mark Jepp explains how the Awards have been nuanced to align with the latest thinking on the growing emphasis that’s being placed on hospitality.

It was a Hampshire ‘one-two’ in the latest quarterly round of the Game Nation Cherry Awards with the team at Southampton winning Gold closely followed by their close neighbours in Gosport who lifted Silver. As well as the prestige of being at the top of the Game Nation Leader Board both venue teams receive a cash prize for their success in delivering exceptional hospitality experiences.

Outlining the importance of the  Awards initiative and some of the refinements that have been made to the judging process, Game Nation CEO, Mark Jepp said: “The Cherry Awards have always been a popular part of the Game Nation culture and my congratulations go to venue managers Alfie Armstrong (Southampton) and Hamish Grazette (Gosport) for two fantastic performances.

“Whilst the key metric remains ‘performance against target’ we are also focussing on how the customer experience is delivered – similar to a green score card. The ongoing work that we are undertaking in partnership with Andrew Kemsley and his 10 Hospitality consultancy has helped change the way in which the venue teams engage with their customers. We are moving from providing next level Customer Service which is a function to the delivery of outstanding Hospitality which represents an experience and which helps build and retain the customer base. By thinking hospitality and delivering hospitality the numbers will come and targets will be exceeded.”

He added: “All of the Game Nation venues are on an exciting journey and I have to say that the buy-in from the entire team has been exceptional.”