Food Court Versus Dining Hall

If every food on campus is made by SODEXO then why does it taste differently in different dining halls? Eating on campus for the past three years, I know that every food that is provided by every dining hall and the Food Court is provided by Sodexo. Most of the time walking down the hot tray line in Dickinson dining hall I find that the food does not look very appetizing but compared to the Chenango room where the customers are provided with full service the food just seems to taste a lot better. The Susquehanna Room where on any given day you could find staff members enjoying their lunch has a very clean atmosphere. Though there are no waiters and you just sit yourselves, the deli and the hot tray line is very clean and there are no long lines at the register. The food court which features Taco Bell, Sbarro, Bearcat Grille, Manchu Wok, It’s Showtime!, Sub Connection, Freshens Smoothies, and Jazzman’s cafe is the most popular dining hall on campus. It offers a huge selection of food and though the service would not be considered a perfect 10; everything at the food court is better then that of residential dining halls.

Although it is possible that some students may like the residential dining halls better than the Food Court, I disagree. The only negative thing about the Food Court is that it is very crowded during lunch time. Some of us have no alternative than to sit and eat by the window sill. Though the Chenango Room offers great service the food is expensive when compared to other dining locations. The Susquehanna Room offers fresh food but also the food is expensive.

Website for picture: www2.binghamton.edu/images/475x256px/dining06.jpg, www2.binghamton.edu/union/food.html

Food Dissatisfaction

When I first came to Binghamton in my freshman year, I liked almost everything in here. All the people around here are nice, and it's such a peaceful city. Even though it's kind of cold sometimes, I could still handle it. However, the only thing that I didn't like was the food on campus. I am not a big fan of eating at the dining halls on campus because the food there tastes really bad, and it costs more than it should be. One time, I was just getting a couple serving of rice and spaghetti and it cost me like 7 bucks. I guess, the healthier the food, the more expensive it is...
Anyways, to be honest, I eat a lot. That might be because I am an athlete and I need all that cabs. But I seriously don't think the dining halls can give my those energy that I need. Not even the energy that I need for studying or going to class. The "best" food at the dining hall is probably the deli. That simple because making a deli doesn't involve any kind of cooking skills. It would be extremely hard for those servers to screw up a sandwich. But eventually I got sick of eating deli everyday and puked in the bathroom, it wasn't a good experience at all and I decided to move off campus right away starting my sophomore year

Sodexo Products in the Dining Halls

The Binghamton Dining halls range from upscale restaurant-like dining such as the Chenango Room to cafeteria-like dining such as the Dickinson dining hall. In my experience the best dining hall is Mountainview. It is the cleanest, brightest, and biggest. Unfortunately, Sodexo’s food is disappointing compared to the appearance of the dining hall.
I try to stay away from most of the hot food because it reminds me of high school cafeteria food. I eat at the sandwich bar a lot. Even there, some of the food doesn’t look like it should be served. The roast beef actually has a metallic, greenish color to it. I usually get the chicken but it gets very boring after a while. It is also very artificial looking and tasting. It looks better than the other meat, though. The salad bar is pretty well-kept. Most of the time the vegetables look fresh, but at times the artichokes look old. The Sodexo staff needs to work harder to maintain the freshness of the food. The Asian Fusion station is a huge disappointment. It is nothing like the Chinese food you get in a restaurant. It doesn’t look appetizing either. I’d say the safest thing to get would be the fried rice.
Also, the Sodexo staff needs to work on keeping the tables clean, and stocked with napkins and hot sauce. Too many times I have had to eat at a dirty table without a napkin dispenser. I understand there are lots of tables to keep track of, but it is a huge necessity.
If they can get these things under control, they would receive better feedback from the students. Overall, compared to other colleges, our campus is top tier; however, certain things needs to be improved.

Customer Service in Dining Halls

As a student and frequent diner at Binghamton University I have had my fair share of experiences with Sodexo employees. I have came to the general conclusion that the dining halls are staffed with both excellent employees and some far from excellent employees. I would like to remind Sodexo workers that a customer is not only interested in a quality product but also an enjoyable purchasing experience. I feel as if only half of the dining hall staff members provide superior service.

On the bright side, there are days that are lightened up by the smiling faces and light humor of the dining hall staff. For example, some of the employees, especially those in Appalachian, will actually remember me by name or give me a deal. These are the type of employee that not only sells a product but an experience. Sodexo should train their employees to be cheerful, polite, and friendly like some that many students know by name such as Michelle.

 Sodexo also employs some very questionable employees that make me wonder what type of standards Sodexo holds. The discouraging aspect of the dining hall staff is that half of the employees seem as if they were just released from prison, in fact it is rumored that they actually are! I have experienced many unfriendly confrontations with staff members, especially with the salad maker in Appalachian. When trying to enjoy a meal on ones time off from class it is not pleasing to be assisted by impolite and undereducated employees. 

Overall, I think Sodexo needs to decide if they are satisfied with a body of staff that is only half acceptable. I would suggest to Sodexo that they improve their background checks on employees and also train their employees to be more positive, cleanly, and polite.

Feeding Kids Who Are Not Kids

A common expression “Every one is a critique” is more apt to be used in connection with institutional dinning than most other situations.  However, this participant will endeavor to provide a more balanced personal view of the dinning experience at some of the dinning halls at Binghamton University.

On the negative side, the biggest complaint this student has is the food portion sizes that are served.  When it comes to fish or pork chops or chicken, the entrees have been subdivided in advance into almost uniform portion sizes so that everyone appears to get the same amount.  However, when it comes to the side dishes such as mixed vegetables, rice, potato wedges, spinach or peas, the portion sizes seem be vary in accordance with the mood of the server.  It has been noticed on several occasions that when the server scopes up the vegetables on the serving spoon, a quick shake of the wrist is done so that some of the food drops of the serving spoon and then puts the remaining diminished quantity on the serving plate.  The server may explain this action as a way not want to spill any food.  However, if the plate is held in close proximity to the food dish, the chance of spilling food can be significantly minimized and most students can get a uniform serving. In general one portion size of vegetables should be the same not matter who is serving or who is receiving the food.  

On the positive side, this student appreciates the effort of some staff to prepare custom made vegetarian dishes.  The experimentation with various spice combinations is a welcome departure from the tired old recipes found in most institutional dinning facilities.  Coming up with different recipes from the home countries of the diverse student body is also strongly encouraged.  Last but not least, this student is great full that access to ice for headaches is frequently granted for which much appreciation is expressed to Sodexo.  

In closing it is hoped that the suggestions and complaints of the students are listened to so that Sodexo can live up to its mission statement of “making every day a better day.” After all college kids need larger portion sizes because they are not school kids.