“Offering campus dining and facilities services to colleges and universities means being on the cutting edge of current trends and technology, and understanding our partners’ needs and goals,” is a statement posted on Sodexo’s website. The headline of the page reads, “Learning from students. Leading by example.” Although the company’s Web site promotes maintaining healthy customer relationships, several students and workers say its services at Prairie View A&M University indicate otherwise.
The current price of a meal plan is between $977-$1,202, a fee that is automatically assessed to any student residing on campus. All students living on campus are required to participate in campus board programs. Because it is a rural campus, Prairie View students have limited access and variety with on-campus dining.
Students have expressed dissatisfaction in the routine menu offered in the campus dining hall. Another complaint is the limited hours of operation. Apart from late night dining specials, students’ last opportunity to eat in the cafeteria is 7 p.m., as Chik-Fil-A, the Panther Grill, and the Panther Mart close at 4 p.m.
Junior criminal justice major Nickolas Hallman and SGA Senator of Auxiliary Services said, “They seem to be more focused with their own business ventures rather than the concerns of their customers, the students. It’s important for them to listen to our needs because without the customers, there would be no cashier.”
According to Hallman, who oversees Prairie View’s first student-run food committee since 2004, a meeting held with Sodexo General Manager Gabe Lewis on Nov. 19 didn’t help at all. Hallman says he and SGA’s food committee proposed several ideas to Lewis and staff, including extending hours of operation for Chick-Fil-A.
Hallman said, “In the real world, Chick-Fil-A operates under standard business hours, with the exception of Sunday due to religious reasons. The Chick-Fil-A here should abide by similar standards.”
From the employees’ perspective, problems in the kitchen affecting the service stem from issues with the employee-management relationship.
According to several employees, issues range from inconsistent hours to mistreatment by managers to staffing issues and most importantly, a lack of communication.
Employees also openly say that they wouldn’t even eat some of the food prepared by Sodexo because of the lack of quality in preparation. Several students and employees have reported illnesses after eating in the cafeteria.
Many employees were uncomfortable going on record with any statements because due to the fear of possible negative repercussions from management, as many of them have witnessed actions taken against employees who made statements in an article that ran in The Panther last school year.
As the leading provider of integrated food and facility management services in North America, Sodexo manages to serve more than 10 million people a day through its seven million employees and its 700 facilities across the continent.
While operating at PVAMU as a contracted vendor, Sodexo primarily delegates all issues through the Office of Administration and Auxiliary Services. According to assistant vice president for Administration and Auxiliary Services, Tressey Wilson, her staff has witnessed communication issues with Sodexo in the past. Wilson says that she is not content with the hours of operation and that Sodexo will have to improve to remain on campus.
Wilson says, “We’ve started putting comment cards outside of the cafeteria, and we encourage students to use them. We are all here for the customers, and in this case the customers are the students.”
Sodexo General Manager Gabe Lewis refused to comment on any allegations.