First Rule of College Management = Feed Your Students

A copy of the dining complaint letter just sent (names thinly veiled to prevent outright scandal):

On Wednesday, September 3rd, I went to _____ Hall for dinner with a group of fellow graduate students from ____ Hall. Upon arriving, we were shocked and dismayed to discover that there was very little food available. The pizza station was empty, trays were scraped clean at the _______ Station, sparse spinach remained at the salad bar, and while there were still lunch meats sitting out at the deli counter, there was no bread. I joined one of the very long lines at the Grill station and a fellow student told me to write down my order and place it on the counter to be filled. There was only one chef at the station attempting to fill at least ten orders before me, and when I attempted to write down my selection, the pencil had been worn down too far to make any marks on the paper.

I abandoned this futile venture in favor of the salad bar, only to find that there were no forks left. The mugs ran out immediately after; although a friend had gotten one for me, it was basically a moot point, since the juice machine was not working, there was no coffee, and not even hot water to make tea. While I watched, the lemonade ran out at another machine. I had some cold water. When I returned to the pizza station, there was roughly a quarter of a pizza there, and I was quick to grab a slice, but since it was already cold I found it fairly unappetizing. To cap off a frustrating evening, the ice cream machine was depleted by the time my friends and I finished our meager salads and cold pizzas (one girl had managed to forage some rice and cauliflower).

According to the ___________ Dining website: "_____'s variety can be overwhelming, which is why we ask that students walk around to every station to make an educated menu decision. We encourage you to take one course at a time, returning later to different stations for additional courses." I did find myself visiting every station that night, but it was in a rushed race to scrape together enough for dinner; hardly a considered meditation over the wealth of dining choices.

I fully appreciate that you are managing the start of the semester transition, as well as adjusting to a revised dining program; when I spoke to one of the staff, they also indicated that there has been a significant increase in the student population on campus. I hope that you and your staff can take corrective action to address these issues and prevent the totally inadequate service that my friends and I experienced last night. I have paid for dining at ______ College, and if this state of affairs continues, I will respectfully request a refund for the equivalent cost of my remaining meals and points on the dining plan. I will happily forgo all meal privileges at _____ Hall and am confident in my ability to find equivalent or superior dining options off campus. I am currently paying for a service that is not being provided. This is completely unacceptable not only to myself but to the many other graduate students I have spoken with. I look forward to your reply, and hope to see this situation resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties.

Thank you for your attention,

Regards,
Hungry GSLISer