For many shoppers, Guest Services team members are trusted stewards of the shopping experience, offering a friendly and helpful point of contact. At Cadillac Fairview (CF) properties, this role often extends beyond day-to-day operations, as teams forge meaningful connections within their communities.
Guest Services Supervisor, Yvonne Limper, and her team at CF Masonville Place in London, Ont., experience this firsthand. “When I train a new employee, I say to them that your face becomes recognizable – almost like a celebrity’s – within CF Masonville Place,” she says. “Our One CF culture empowers us to foster meaningful relationships with our guests as well as the people and organizations who serve our community.”
Connecting with the community through partnerships with local organizations strengthens the bond they share with guests. It’s about making the community feel valued, seen, and connected.
This commitment was evident earlier this year when Yvonne and her team organized an Easter lunch for elderly Salvation Army residents, many of whom regularly visit the shopping centre for morning walks and chats with Guest Services. Team lead Bonnie Neilson and six other team members prepared and served meals for 60 residents, taking time to converse with them during their lunch.
The Easter lunch provided a rewarding opportunity for Guest Services to give back to some of their most loyal community members they see weekly, and to embody a key CF value: engage with empathy.
“We received great feedback from the lunch about our team’s generous portions and our willingness to spend time connecting with the residents, allowing them to see the team behind the scenes at their favourite shopping centre,” says Yvonne.
While that partnership took the team out into the community, many partnerships bring the community to CF Masonville Place. In 2024, during the summer Olympic Games, the Guest Services team collaborated with local artist Art Stockman, a retired engineer who had built a one-of-a-kind Eiffel Tower sculpture made entirely from nickel-plated Meccano pieces and connected by thousands of nuts and bolts. As the Official Home of Team Canada, Stockman wanted to lend the sculpture to the property for the duration of the Games to enhance its viewing lounge.
Despite initial logistical challenges, Yvonne recognized the sculpture’s potential to transform the space into a vibrant community hub for guests during an exciting time. Guided by CF’s Purpose and Values, she pushed through the challenges and the sculpture became a popular attraction, gaining media attention and drawing in hundreds of new visitors.
“This truly made CF Masonville Place the leading place maker in London,” she says. “It was amazing. It was a great conversation starter, and attracted many people to our property to take photos. From the right angle it was remarkably like the real thing.”
These partnerships represent just two of the many initiatives undertaken by the CF Masonville Place team, who have effectively collaborated with several community groups, including Saint Joseph’s Hospice of London, Ontario Girl Guides of Canada, Make-A-Wish Canada, and Toys For Tots Canada.
Much of this work is enabled through CF's employee giving program, Building Communities, which encourages employees to actively volunteer in their communities for issues they feel strongly about. Last year alone, employees volunteered 1,600+ hours at more than 55 charities across Canada.
For Yvonne, this volunteer time is integral to the Guest Services’ role within a vital community space. “As London's largest commercial shopping centre, we have an obligation to empower our staff and give back,” she says. “They have given so much to us, so it feels good to do something special for them.”
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