I had been dining at Southern Polytechnic State University for four years until Chartwells Food Service replaced the existing catering service. I came in one day at around 4:00pm for the all you can eat buffet. And around 4:30 as the place transitioned from the lunch menu to the dinner menu, the cashier clerk confronted me with a snooty attitude, stating that I needed to swipe my dining card again (effectively paying for 2 meals in the same sitting). I told her no, that I was on the 14-meal plan per week and the plan does not differentiate between meals. It's 14 sittings per week no matter which time one comes in. I told her to get her manager and she began yelling, and beckoned as if I were a dog. The manager at the time, came in and talked to her and disappeared into the back office. I told her to get the manager, Ron, again and she said that he was already aware of the issue. Infuriated at this point I walked straight through the kitchen to the managers back office to tell him about what happened. Immediately he was more concerned that I was back there, than he was about the problem at hand (however, the previous catering service had an open door policy and I had been back in that office several times.) Enough said, in other words, Ron the manager, could have cared less about this poor customer service experience.

Still disgruntled from what happened, I came in the next morning to speak with another manager, Jamie. After telling Jamie about this employee's consistently dismissive and careless behavior (an ongoing problem), he interrupted and said that this was just my opinion. He then said that he had worked in this business for 30 years. He said that he had never had a problem with this employee. He even brought up an irrelevant time where I had questioned an employee who requested me to leave just 10 minutes after closing. In other words, the manager tried to disregard my complaint and water it down. At this point, I couldn't even believe this guy was a manager. Told him this was ridiculous and he mentioned that I was interrupting him. At this point, I simply told him that I wasn't going to mess with him on this and that I was not a student; I was the president and CEO of a successful Corporation and part of the University Faculty and Staff. And that he could be sure that the Director of Auxiliary Services, Kacey Helton, would hear about this. And the next day after submitting correspondence to the Director of Auxiliary Services, they all came to me with smiles, asking how I was doing.

In hindsight, obviously these individuals, would have behaved differently if they had known who I was. But that is just my point. Students on this campus make up 97% of their business and yet they are looked down upon, and disregarded as paying customers. And not even two highly paid managers are adequately trained to address a complaint. It has been 5 months since that day, and I have not been back ever since. After four years of coming to the facility, Chartwells Food Service blew it in only two months. And while it might be easier for the school to keep the company around than to endure a rescission or injunction of the 4-year contract, it is a poor reason to continue employing this food service. As a president and CEO of a corporation, value is something that a company provides to customers before capturing it in return, not the other way around. Would not ever recommend this company, Chartwells Food Service.

As if this werent enough, I later caught this employee doing something that has never been done in the last four years. The employee, Connie, blockaded half of the dining room with a line of chairs, because it would be less work. In other words, its suddenly more important to work less and keep customers crowded than to allow them to sit wherever they want. I simply moved the chairs, and chose my seat. The problem employee knew there would be a scene and did not confront me, but still here I am complaining once again, but to the acting manager this time. Connie then receded the boundary line of chairs to a different place (still not eliminating the problem!) I left a note behind, congratulating the problem employee, Connie, once again on yet another complaint well earned. Once again, As a president and CEO of a corporation, value is something that a company provides to customers before capturing it in return, not the other way around. Would not ever recommend this company, Chartwells Food Service.