2008 Woodie Awards
In effort to stem overtime costs, Hope Mainfare will reduce hours
Chris Curtis
Issue date: 3/26/08 Section: News
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Beginning September 2008, Mainfare's doors will close at 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
Mainfare is currently open for dinner until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, closing at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The Friday and Saturday dinner schedule will not change.
Going into effect at the same time as a 3-5 percent increase in the cost of meal plans, the half-hour decrease in operating hours is a result of fiscal and customer service considerations, said Kathleen Gianquitti, director of Dining Services.
"Based on our data and our financial situation, and based on some groups of students that we talked to and some of our student workers, that was our decision," Gianquitti said. "We can't afford to have overtime, we can't afford to serve poor quality food."
The earlier closing time will help reduce overtime cleanup expenses, she added.
"We want to manage our employee expenses in a reasonable way so that students don't have to pay for increased meal plans," Gianquitti said. "By closing at 8:30 … we can use our employee schedule in a better way."
Some Mainfare dining stations currently close a half-hour before the dining hall closes. This is because Mainfare's multiple "mini-kitchens" setup requires more time for cleanup, said Associate Administrator of Food Services Steven Mello.
Under the new schedule, students will not be admitted to Mainfare after 8:30 p.m., but all stations will remain open until that time.
"What's happening is that some of our customers are coming in now and they're not seeing all of our stations open, and there have been some customer comments," Gianquitti said.
Because of low attendance and lowered consumption after 8:30 p.m., the food available may not live up to standards.
"The food quality isn't always what we want it to be because it's been sitting there," Gianquitti said.
Mello said he sees this as an opportunity to improve customer service.
"A person comes in that last half-hour and they don't have the same experience … We wanted to retain the full experience right until the end," Mello said.