Having worked fast food for three years of my life, I like to think that I know a little something about the food business. I know all about rushes ó peak periods, running out of food, people scrambling around searching for missing utensils, having to wait a few hours to go to the bathroom. I know all about coworkers ó the lazy one, the druggie, the one who acts like Spongebob, the bossy one, the one whoís always angry. I know all about customers ó the cranky ones, the overly happy ones, the rude ones, the picky ones. And, while I understand that Lowry is not a restaurant per se, when Iím waiting in line for my cheeseburger, I understand a lot of whatís going on not only in front of me, but also behind the scenes. Unless youíve worked food, you really have a very limited perspective on how much stress is actually involved in the job.
Which leads me to my point, which has been stressed by conscientious students and upset staff time and time again: our food workers deserve our undying respect. It would be easy for the school to shrug their shoulders and throw a Sbarro and Chick-Fil-A into the hall and say ìgood enough.” This is not the case.
First of all, the food is good. When I began my college visits about two years ago, I paid very special attention to the foods. Compared to many schools, I found Lowry to be quite exceptional. Sure, I might not be a big fan of the country fried steak, but letís look at some of the usual fare: Italian casserole? Fantastic. Philly cheese steak? Delicious. Gyros? Yes, please. Would you like five to ten cookies? Why not? We are allowed to eat as much as we want for the same price every day. We can make our own pizzas, stir fry, waffles and Paninis. Lowry even has an ice cream machine.
As I stated earlier, one of the hardest things to do in the restaurant business is to accurately predict and make it through a large rush. Now, consider Lowry ó what seems to be the entire school eats at noon and six daily. Then, flip to the weekend when it is unsure of how many students will be eating. At Momís, several workers serve hundreds of drunk and hungry students at 2 a.m. In Old Main, hospitality workers are bombarded for 10 minutes and then wait for 50. These are not simple or easy feats. Getting through a rush of this size is stressful, and requires a lot of hard work.
Our food workers and supervisors outdo themselves to please us every day. Event meals are fantastic, such as the chili fare on parents weekend. Hospitality services frequently caters many events throughout the week, and make the sandwiches and food for Old Main. New items are introduced, such as the recently added Pho bowls. From meal swipers in Lowry to the workers that shout orders in Momís, no one is rude, no one brow beats us and no one stops us from being ridiculous.
I feel as though, in general, we do not consider the enormity that goes into running hospitality services, from Chuck Wagers to a fry cook in Momís. On the whole, we do not consider how lucky we are in regards to food as compared to other schools. It is my intent for students to understand that we have a fantastic food setup at our school.
With regards to Momís, however, my call to students gets more specific. Sometimes, as college students often do, we can get a little too ridiculous. Stealing food at Momís and yelling at workers is not only extremely rude, but also incredibly embarrassing for the student body. As Gail Wiebe stated in her interview in last weekís Voice, issues such as the theft have made some staff members consider quitting. Our food staff does not deserve this. For people that strive day in and day out to prepare our food, they do not deserve this disrespect.
Kevin Carpenter is the Business Manager for the Voice. He can be reached for comment at KCarpenter12@wooster.edu.