Still haven’t received a good explanation as to why the dome lets concessions become one big Girl Scouts fundraiser. Contract? Legal?
I assume SU has volunteers staff the concession stands because
1) the labor is free
2) it helps provide community groups with needed funds (I think most of the groups are booster clubs for high school athletics)
From personal experiences, I have found the volunteers who staff the SU concession booths to be fine. Friendly. They aim to please. No, they are not seasoned pros and it might take an extra 3 seconds to get your change. No big deal.
While I never buy beer, I think the people who staff the beer booths are not volunteers. They look young. I think they are work study students. But I could be wrong on that. If there are problems with staffing, I bet it is with the work study kids, who don't have much 'skin in the game' regarding the quality of their service.
Anyway, I am happy to wait a few seconds more than normal to support these worthy groups. I admire the people willing to give their time to support their organizations. I have done it before. It isn't easy.
I think people targeting the volunteers have it wrong. They aren't the problem.
The problem is with the people making the decisions. They are the ones who decide what to sell, how to price it, how much to buy, where to place it, etc. They are the ones who decide not to open some booths because they think they will not be busy, how many cash registers are needed, whether condiment stations are needed, etc.
I think most major athletic venues farm out concessions to a professional food services group like Delaware North. We are unusual in that we do not. SU food services tries to do this. I think they do a decent job at it but the mission is a lot different than making food for the SU dorm food courts. They aren't good at it and probably never will be. Providing and selling vast amounts of food efficiently and effectively in an arena setting is a tough task for anyone, even the pros.
Further, I think SU food services is resistant to allowing local restaurants/store to sell their products at the Dome. They don't want competition. This flies in the face of the practices of most arenas, where local food/specialties are consistently available.
To me, we need a professional food services company that knows how to get good food out, hot and fresh, in quantities that make sense, is willing to listen to what their customers want, is willing to allow local restaurants/stores sell their products, and hopefully, is also willing to allow the volunteer groups to continue to provide staffing.
Pretty sure there are companies out there that can do this.
I think the first thing that needs to be done is poll the fan base and see how happy they are with the job SU food services does. Do the fans want change? I think this has happened. I know I have been asked my thoughts on Dome concessions. When the survey shows overwhelming support for change, either SU food services has to make massive changes or they need to step down and let the pros step in and take over.
The time to do it is now. To be fair to SU food services, providing food in the venue as it stands now is really tough. They need more deep fryers, more grills, more cooking equipment and with the air supported roof, they are not able to get it in place. With the new roof coming, new menus can be designed. New food choices can be added. So much more is possible. I would like competent people figuring out what new equipment is needed, what the new menus should be, what restaurants and foods we should be adding, etc. SU food services is completely unqualified to do this. Let's bring in people who do this for a living, people with practical knowledge, people who care about their customers.
The situation today, IMHO, is completely unacceptable. Now is the time to start fixing it. Let's get going.
