Congratulations! Your business has been nominated as one of The Best of Wheaton, the annual award celebration presented by the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce in participation with the Downtown Wheaton Assoc., Danada East, Danada West and Town Square Wheaton. Please complete this questionnaire to be considered for the 2018 ballot and to give your business the best light in our program. Feel free to use the reverse side to add more information. It is IMPORTANT to note, along with the popular vote, the quality of your questionnaire will be a key factor in determining placement on the ballot and the award recipient. Completed questionnaire must be received by 11:59 pm Sunday, January 28, 2018 by post to the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce or by email to marycarol@wheatonchamber.com. Thank you for your participation. Good Luck!!! Describe your business in seventy-five (75) words or less At Graham s, for 30 years our passion is making premium small batch confections & giving great customer service with a smile. Celebrating 18 years in beautiful downtown Wheaton, our wonderful manager, Jodie Schillinger & her team upholds the values of the Graham s family by always putting our customers and the community first. We love being a part of the Wheaton Chamber and we re always willing to help out with community events, & fundraisers for local schools, charities & churches. Describe your Customer Service philosophy/policy We love being a part of all of life s special events, and at Graham s we take so many orders over the phone and in person. By being a part of someone s bridal shower, wedding, baby shower, birthday, or holiday celebrations we have the unique capability of not only serving up delicious confections that their guests can gobble up, we are also creating a lasting memory for someone, or continuing family traditions. The customer is always right at Graham s. If something goes wrong or there is an issue, we never want anyone to leave unhappy. We empower our employees to make it right in whatever way they feel best. Tell us what sets you apart from your competition We use only the finest and freshest ingredients here at Graham s and although it makes our chocolates a bit more expensive, our customers value the fact that they are receiving the best product money can buy, made by hand with love. We love being a part of all of life s special events, and at Graham s we give a personal touch that sets us apart.
People may come first for the chocolates or our homemade ice creams, but they come back because they were given friendly service with a smile. Our customers are our greatest ambassadors and Graham s has touched many areas of the globe because the community is so proud of our product that they send it to people they love all over the USA and the World and bring people to visit our shop when they are in town. Describe your business Community Involvement Our amazing manager, Jodie Schillinger serves the community not only for Graham s but also to support the City of Wheaton, the Downtown Wheaton Association, and serves as Head Chairperson for both the Vintage Car Show and the Christmas Parade. Our answer is always Yes when asked to serve our community. At Graham s we believe the best advertising is word of mouth our customers are our biggest advocates and by donating to different charities, churches, schools and organizations, we have been able to build an amazing brand in Wheaton by recognizing that the call to give back to this community is an opportunity to gain more customers and build a great level of trust. We love being a part of people s lives, events & traditions. Why is Wheaton the place where you want to do business? Wheaton is a great place to do business because of the sense of community here. This year we faced a lot of trials with the construction, but watching how the downtown businesses and community banded together to encourage patronage of the businesses despite the construction was truly wonderful. When our manager, Jodie lost her husband we didn t just see or hear this community, we felt its love and support rally around her and comfort her. There are no words for this kind of support, we are so thankful and truly blessed to be a part of this community. How many employees do you have (both full-time and part-time) We have only one full-time employee, our manager Jodie Schillinger. We have between 13-16 part time employees depending on the season. Share your favorite testimonial? There are so many to mention, but one that comes to mind is this group of bike riders from Lombard (mostly kids aged 8-14) and they bike out every year from Lombard to our shop as the last big thing they do together for the summer. Imagine 45 kids filling up our teeny tiny shop, grabbing their favorite ice cream cone, then taking up EVERY seat across the way and then some. A yearly tradition that these kids have now grown up on. It s truly amazing to see all
those young, smiling, ice cream covered faces. We take great pride in creating memories like this to last a lifetime. Rules for Nomination and/or ballot consideration: Each Nominee must be a member of either the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce, The Downtown Wheaton Association, Danada Square East, Danada Square West or Town Square Wheaton. Nomination questionnaire must be completed and returned by Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018 Each Nominee must have at least two nominations to be considered and the nominations MUST be submitted from outside the business. The Best of Wheaton Awards Committee reserves the right to all final decisions. The nominee's membership account must be in good standing. The nominee must be in business since March 1st, 2017 or earlier Wheaton Chamber of Commerce 108 E Wesley St Wheaton IL 60187 630.668.6464
Congratulations! Your business has been nominated as one of The Best of Wheaton, the annual award celebration presented by the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce in participation with the Downtown Wheaton Assoc., Danada East, Danada West and Town Square Wheaton. Please complete this questionnaire to be considered for the 2018 ballot and to give your business the best light in our program. Feel free to use the reverse side to add more information. It is IMPORTANT to note, along with the popular vote, the quality of your questionnaire will be a key factor in determining placement on the ballot and the award recipient. Completed questionnaire must be received by 11:59 pm Sunday, January 28, 2018 by post to the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce or by email to marycarol@wheatonchamber.com. Thank you for your participation. Good Luck!!! Describe your business in seventy-five (75) words or less (this description will be used in the Best of Wheaton keepsake program) Our ice cream is homemade right here in Wheaton, but it is our amazing staff that delivers the ultimate Kimmer s experience. Our customers come for our ice cream, but they come back because they know they will be taken care of at the highest of levels. Whether it s a long line in the summer or you ve got the place to yourself in the winter, you know you ll get the best service every time! Describe your Customer Service philosophy/policy Our customers always come first! Our staff is encouraged to hand out samples and help in the decision-making process of picking out the perfect palette pleasing flavor. Whether it s your first time at Kimmer s or you are a regular visitor, you are greeted with a smile and thanked for coming in and on your way out. If someone drops a scoop on the floor, we quickly clean it up and scoop up a replacement with no hesitation. Tell us what sets you apart from your competition Not only is our product homemade, it is made with the best possible ingredients we can find. We partner with local businesses and use their products in our ice cream (River City Roasters & Moveable Feast). We truly care what we put into our ice cream, as we know the public cares what they are eating. Describe your business Community Involvement With our Kimmer s Kares program, we partner with non-profits and various school organizations to give back whenever possible. It is part of our mission to support our communities, and we absolutely feel the support back. With the help from the good people in Wheaton, we raised nearly $1,000 to donate to hurricane relief last year and more than $3,000 total from Kimmer s Kares events. We also love partnering and do so often with local churches like Gary Wheaton for their Christmas Sharing programs.
Why is Wheaton the place where you want to do business? Wheaton is a fantastic place for everyone, but even more specifically for us! We are in a building that has provided homemade ice cream for over 50 years and we could not be happier to be carrying on tradition. When we hear stories from our customers (of all ages) about how long they have been coming to our building for ice cream that makes what we do and what we provide that much more enjoyable. How many employees do you have (both full-time and part-time) Summer: 25 School Year: 11 Share your favorite testimonial? As I write this, I had to step out to help a customer. Come to find out this gentleman works at a plant where all the ice cream is made for Mars Chocolates. He specifically runs the line where all the ice cream is made and is supplied for all North and South America. He said that when he has a tough day in the factory he can t wait to get out and come to Kimmer s. It is this exact reason that we do what we do! We want to help you celebrate. We want to help you turn your day around. Most of all, we love to see smiling faces in our shop. We recently had a good customer (5 years old) come into the shop and tell us that he can t wait to work here, and he would do anything to get a Kimmer s Ice Cream t-shirt. Well, I took him one and his parents told me he wore it to school the next day and wants to wear it to bed every night. It is stories like this that light up our smiles and keep our engines chugging away! Rules for Nomination and/or ballot consideration: Each Nominee must be a member of either the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce, The Downtown Wheaton Association, Danada Square East, Danada Square West or Town Square Wheaton. Nomination questionnaire must be completed and returned by Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018 Each Nominee must have at least two nominations to be considered and the nominations MUST be submitted from outside the business. The Best of Wheaton Awards Committee reserves the right to all final decisions. The nominee's membership account must be in good standing. The nominee must be in business since March 1st, 2017 or earlier Wheaton Chamber of Commerce 108 E Wesley St Wheaton IL 60187 630.668.6464
Congratulations! Your business has been nominated as one of The Best of Wheaton, the annual award celebration presented by the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce in participation with the Downtown Wheaton Assoc., Danada East, Danada West and Town Square Wheaton. Please complete this questionnaire to be considered for the 2018 ballot and to give your business the best light in our program. Feel free to use the reverse side to add more information. It is IMPORTANT to note, along with the popular vote, the quality of your questionnaire will be a key factor in determining placement on the ballot and the award recipient. Completed questionnaire must be received by 11:59 pm Sunday, January 21 st, 2018 by post to the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce or by email to marycarol@wheatonchamber.com. Thank you for your participation. Good Luck!!! Describe your business in seventy-five (75) words or less (this description will be used in the Best of Wheaton keepsake program) Describe your Customer Service philosophy/policy Tell us what sets you apart from your competition Describe your business Community Involvement
Why is Wheaton the place where you want to do business? How many employees do you have (both full-time and part-time) Share your favorite testimonial? Rules for Nomination and/or ballot consideration: Each Nominee must be a member of either the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce, The Downtown Wheaton Association, Danada Square East, Danada Square West or Town Square Wheaton. Nomination questionnaire must be completed and returned by Sunday, Jan. 21 st, 2018 Each Nominee must have at least two nominations to be considered and the nominations MUST be submitted from outside the business. The Best of Wheaton Awards Committee reserves the right to all final decisions. The nominee's membership account must be in good standing. The nominee must be in business since March 1st, 2017 or earlier Wheaton Chamber of Commerce 108 E Wesley St Wheaton IL 60187 630.668.6464