College Students Earn Campus Dining Rewards through Sodexo and QBOT Partnership

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today's college students depend on smartphones to manage all aspects of campus life, from maintaining class schedules to interacting with friends and instructors and everything in between.  Now, students at select campuses are able to use those same smartphones to gain campus dining rewards and special offers through a new partnership between Quality of Daily Life Solutions provider Sodexo and QBOT, a customer rewards and loyalty application.

Sodexo-managed locations will appear as local dining options to anyone using the free QBOT app on or near participating campuses.  Through QBOT, the first app of its type that allows consumers and businesses to directly connect in a social environment, students, staff and community members at pilot campuses will be able find information and deals for campus dining and retail locations.

When a student approaches the Sodexo cash register they will show the offer or reward on their smartphone then scan a QBOT smart tag (QR code) to their phone. Once purchases and/or points accumulate, customers will receive special exclusive rewards, including free food.

Additionally, QBOT app users will have access to limited-time-offers and other deals not made available to the general public. Students also have the ability to become VIP Members. VIP Members will receive special offers and push notifications about things happening at local Sodexo locations.

"This is definitely not your parents' customer rewards card. By partnering with QBOT, we've made student life easier and more efficient by eliminating the need for our customers to keep track of old fashioned punch cards," said Wendi Gretz, senior director field marketing, Sodexo Education - Campus. "College students live their lives through their smartphones, so QBOT makes reaching and rewarding our loyal customers more convenient and effective.  This is a real game changer in improving the overall student experience."

Sodexo is piloting the rewards program on 12 campuses nationally throughout the fall semester, including Denison University in Granville, OH; Fordham University in New York, N.Y.; George Washington University in Washington, D.C.; Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga.; Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Ill.; Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Calif.; Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, Md.; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.; Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Wash.; Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX; University of Arkansas at Little Rock in Little Rock, Ark.; and University of Denver in Denver, Colo.

"Our campus launches of QBOT have been exciting to witness.  It is amazing to see the Cashiers so engaged and enthusiastic about QBOT.  It naturally translates into a wonderful experience for the students and faculty," said Chaney Phillips, president of QBOT.

Click on these links to learn more about the QBOT customer loyalty and reward app and to see a quick video explaining how it works.

Sodexo in North America
Sodexo Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), leading Quality of Daily Life Solutions company in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, delivers On-site Service Solutions in Corporate, Education, Health Care, Government and Remote Site segments, and Motivation Solutions such as Esteem Pass. Sodexo Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $17 million in grants to end childhood hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at www.sodexoUSA.com/blog.

Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions
Quality of Life plays an important role in the progress of individuals and the performance of organizations. Based on this conviction, Sodexo acts as a partner for companies and institutions that place a premium on performance and employee well-being, as it has since Pierre Bellon founded the company in 1966. Sharing the same passion for service, Sodexo's 413,000 employees in 80 countries design, manage and deliver an unrivaled array of Quality of Life Services. Sodexo has created a new form of service business that contributes to the fulfillment of its employees and the economic, social and environmental development of the communities, regions and countries in which it operates.

SOURCE Sodexo