AtYourGate Operations Manager Claire Maddocks was recognized in the “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work” category of the Philadelphia International Airport’s (PHL) Employee Recognition Program. This distinction recognizes an employee who creates a positive guest experience through service and delivery while collaborating with different organizations.
“I love how fast-paced, evolving, and adaptable the aviation industry is and has become. Aviation puts travel first while heightening the customer experience,” said Maddocks. “As travel is one of my passions, I cannot help but look out at the planes and queue in my head Frank Sinatra's ‘Come Fly With Me.’ The aviation industry allows dreamers to live out their dreams and get to places they never thought would be possible.”
AtYourGate is the in-airport order and delivery service for passengers, flight crews, and airport employees that use the orderatphl.com website or GetGrab app here at PHL. Maddocks has been working at PHL since October 2020. Her primary responsibility is overseeing the delivery process and ensuring delivery with distinction to customers. Maddocks’ additional work responsibilities include finding and acting on business development opportunities for the OrderatPHL program to increase delivery awareness and volume while working hand in hand with Servy on tech install and updates and hires and trains new personnel for her local team. She also enjoys collaborating with MarketplacePHL on growing the AtYourGate program through strategic marketing initiatives.
In nominating Maddocks for the Employee Recognition Program, MarketPlacePHL Marketing and Customer Service Manager Megan O’Connell said, “While her daily duties consist of providing food delivery services to passengers and employees, you will often find Claire also helping passengers with wayfinding, offering assistance to passengers and providing an overall pleasant experience for our guests.”
Maddocks graduated from Widener University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management. Before her role at PHL, she was in hotel management with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, holding various positions such as front office manager, housekeeping manager, and reservations sales manager. She gained experience with concessions while in college, working as concessions supervisor with ARAMARK at Citizens Bank Park for all Phillies' home games and concerts.
“Customer service is core to AtYourGate's delivery service and my background in hotels has allowed me to continue this in practice,” said Maddocks. “My current role with AtYourGate allows me to refine the customer experience, while networking, multitasking, and strategically mapping out delivery routes for pick-up and drop-offs as we deliver essentially everywhere at PHL.”
In the airport’s bustling environment with thousands of people, you can easily recognize Maddocks, who has blonde hair and wears a sky blue long sleeve shirt, black tights, and carries an insulated AtYourGate food bag(you might see her travel through the terminals with her unconventional colleague Jawnbot, the food delivery robot). She usually starts her day with coffee. Upon arrival at PHL, she connects to the platform, checks supplies, and walks the terminals checking on participating OrderatPHL merchants before orders start coming in from guests and employees.
“I love the fact that this airport has allowed me to essentially achieve my move goal by nearly 200 percent by walking an average of about 10 to 12 miles every day,” she said. “I have reconnected with my physical fitness journey, and PHL definitely puts a lot of mileage towards this.”
While from central New Jersey, Maddocks considers Philadelphia her home as she has spent many years in the city during college and professionally and is proud to work in the city she calls home. “This sounds cheesy, but when I walk by the retail stores and see all of the Phillies' gear and Rocky sweatshirts, I can't help but smile to see these as a reminder of the city I love,” she said. “The most meaningful part of my job is when I hear feedback from passengers or employees about how much it means to them to have one less thing to worry about while traveling or working with AtYourGate's delivery service as a solution.”
Although Maddocks has been at PHL for less than a year, she’s already had great experiences and memorable moments. Maddocks recalls the news coverage of Jawnbot, a partnership between AtYourGate and Piaggio Fast Forward's robotic solutions, as one of her most memorable moments. “The footage and pictures of our delivery robot ended up on multiple local and national news outlets and a spotlight on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers,” she said. “It was a very exciting time seeing the buzz on our program with our contactless delivery option using Jawnbot!"
The COVID-19 pandemic caused many restaurants and food delivery platforms to lose customers, but AtYourGate was able to grow its customer base. “The pandemic put a halt on travel, especially at its peak, which decreased the volume of potential users placing orders,” said Maddocks. “However, because we offered a delivery solution for hungry travelers and employees that wanted a contactless experience, our service has become essential to airports rather than simply a cool option to have.”
The PHL Employee Recognition Program was established by the airport’s Guest Experience (GX) Department. Honorees are nominated by their peers and selected by the GX Council Steering Committee’s Employee Conduct and Recognition Committee. For more information, click here.
