Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/1997/04/16/get_out_of_the_kitchen_dartmouth_dining_services_gross_mismanagement.php
Wednesday, April 16, 1997
It was during Orientation Week that we first noticed that the prices at Dartmouth Dining Services were far above their value. It was only a few weeks more before the food, which up until then had been good, became repetitive and intolerable. It was about that time, when one of our salads at Home Plate came to $7.00, that we became suspicious. That very night we placed one shred of carrot in the largest bowl. The price: $.70. Within a few weeks of arriving at Dartmouth, we had turned to the restaurants of Hanover to serve our needs.
At Murphy's On the Green we could sit down at a nice restaurant and have a good 7 oz. hamburger with real lettuce and tomato, with french fries, and a refillable Coke for only $6.25. At Food Court we could have a charred 4 oz. patty, frozen lettuce and tomato, a large french fry, and a watered down Pepsi for $4.95. But for that dollar thirty more we were getting better service, atmosphere, more french fries, a bottomless drink, and a hamburger that is almost twice as big as Food Court's. Although we paid more for in-town dinning, it was worth it.
Now, almost two terms later, Peter Napolitano, the Director of Dartmouth Dining Services, has announced that next year all students will be required to purchase a non-refundable Declining Balance Account from between $800-$850 to make up for an estimated loss of $600,000 this year. Currently, only 200-400 students a term spend over $800 dollars on Dartmouth food according to DDS Associate Director Richard Tucker Rossiter. However, DDS's purpose is not simply to break even and it is unclear where the new money will go. The average student, according to DDS, spends about $650 a term, which means that the new system will produce an increase of over $700,000 per term, which is at least $1.5 million more than they need to break even each year.
For the past few years Dartmouth Dining Services has been changing both the food they serve and the way they bill it. Until two years ago all freshmen were required to purchase meal plans worth $909. In order to obtain the maximum value from the meal plan system freshmen typically ate at the all-you-can-eat Full Fare, though the average freshman only spent around $650, according to Rossiter. Upperclassmen were allowed to chose either reduced meal plans or Declining Balance Account. This system subsidized upperclassmen by paying for the inefficiencies of DDS.
During the 1995-1996 school year the system underwent some changes. The freshman meal plan was eliminated and replaced with the current system which allows each student to select between meal plans or DBA, and which charges students an 'option cost.' The 'option cost' is a cost charged to students, based on their year, that students must pay to the college in order to spend less than $700 a term at DDS. This 'option cost' was to replace the subsidy that the freshmen meal plan provided the previous system. While these changes were being made, Napolitano promised that the system would be solvent.
This last summer the Dining Services underwent more change, though not in its billing methods. Food Court expanded its pizza and grill areas. Full Fare, which had been losing massive amounts of money since the abolition of the freshman meal plan, was replaced with the West Side Buffet which serves all-you-can-eat entrees with an emphasis on chicken, though according to Napolitano attendance has declined 33%. Despite a DDS survey which found that 59.8% of the students polled were opposed to a change, the once popular Collis was turned into its present-day status by moving the cold sandwiches to the Lone Pine Tavern and heavily reducing the salad bar. Now Collis serves only vegetables and fruits. Rossiter admits that Collis, which 'is not mainstream,' and Lone Pine are both losing money while the old Collis turned a profit. Mrs. Ou's restaurant, which had been serving devoted customers lunch for $3.75 for twenty-three years at the Medical School, was forced out to make room for Dining Services to expand, which has not been nearly as popular as Mrs. Ou's cafe. Students formed massive lines fifteen minutes before her restaurant opened.
DDS has made other bad choices with capital and labor. Earlier this year former Topside Manager Robert Jette was fired from his job and indicted for embezzlement. Jette had allegedly been conspiring with Baker Video by claiming false late-fee dues. Jette had been under fire for his selection of videos, which had consisted primarily of erotic thrillers. Also, according to one union worker, a $10,000 hot-dog machine Napolitano ordered this summer sits idly by in the basement.
Perhaps most worrisome is the result of a surprise visit by the New Hampshire Public Heath Sanitation Commissioner this November which found that the Dining Service's kitchens just barely passed state standards. Rotting and contaminated meat was found in direct contact with food that was to be served that night.
The full extent of these bad choices is not known since DDS refuses to open its records to students. Rossiter originally claimed at a 'round table discussion' that 'you can see our books' though he quickly retracted his statement. When asked if he was available for an interview, Napolitano, who was once quoted as saying, 'My door is open. We don't have anything to hide,' was unwilling to talk with The Review. Charlie Dowd, the president of Everything But Anchovies(EBAs), believes that it is 'more of a paper loss than a real loss.'
DDS has advantages that most companies would pay heavily for: prime on-campus locations, regular patrons, and the ability to charge on College IDs—something that the College has prohibited Hanover businesses from doing. In the round table discussion Rossiter identified the need to keep facilities and options which did not make money open in addition to the late hours of Food Court. Rossiter estimates that kosher dinners, though only consumed by about twelve students a day, cost the College several thousand dollars each term. He also identified the golf course and skiway snack bars, and the 'intellectual cluster' snack bar as such services which were integral to the college, but were not self-sufficient. Only the Courtyard Cafe in the Hop and Home Plate make a profit. Rossiter also identified unpaid refills as a problem, though Murphy's and EBA's, which charge similar prices as Food Court for a soda, allow free refills and do not seem to be experiencing a heavy loss.
Rossiter did say that wages, salaries, and benefits amounted to over $3.166 million each year. Dining Services employs over 300 students a year, though they only have to pay 40% of the student's $6.00 salary (most students work only ten hours a week). The main expenditure on labor comes from union workers, who comprise at least 65 of the 100 non-student employees of the college with starting salaries from $9.98 to the senior salary of $16.00. Though student cashiers are capable of working the Topside cash register, DDS has deemed that union workers should typically be in charge of the ones downstairs. Salaries for the bulging administration comprised of sixteen administrators are, of course, not divulged. When asked why Dartmouth should not lease out the space to a larger corporation like Marriott, Rossiter replied that those institutions 'don't show any care' for their union employees.
Though the reasons for DDS's inability to break even may be obscured by their refusal to open the books, their course of action is not. It was clear from the 200 students gathered to 'discuss' with Rossiter that students would prefer that facilities be reduced or shut-down rather than force students to pay more. However, Rossiter made it clear that his hands were tied on this matter. 'This is an administrative decision of the College,' he reported. 'Peter [Napolitano] reports directly to Lynn Hutton,' both of whom were conspicuously absent from the discussion.
Since DDS's decision to allow students to select DBA, local restaurants have increased dramatically in number. According to Green Card founder and owner Mitch Jacobs in the last few years over seven restaurants have either moved into Hanover or expanded their service, allowing students a greater selection of high quality food at reduced prices. Since these restaurants have been set up, the average student's expenditure on Dartmouth food has dropped from $770 to $623, a loss of over $500,000 of business a term to DDS. It is clear that an increasing number of students are preferring to pay the option cost than be forced to eat at Dartmouth's high prices. And indeed the prices for on campus food are, in many cases, just barely below those of local restaurants like EBAs while items at Topside (like cereal) are much more expensive than at the nearby Grand Union.
On top of these already competitive prices are the discounts and savings offered through the Green Card. At some restaurants prices are cut 10% for all purchases made on the Green Card. When asked if he could obtain further cuts in pricing if students were allowed to spend all their money on off campus restaurants Jacobs indicated that it would be easy.
Many students are suggesting that DDS reduce their services and allow students to eat where they want. According to Emily Ou, the daughter of Mrs. Ou, Hanover has a lot of 'down time' during the weekdays and summer and the restaurants 'are ready to do more' business with students. Both Jacobs and Dowd shared a similar opinion. Dowd suggested that DDS only operate successful services, and let the town of Hanover pick up the slack—a sentiment echoed by many students. 'If you are not making money where you are, why would you open up five or six more spots?' he asked.
DDS is a classic example of bureaucracy gone awry. It is overpriced, inefficient, and completely detached from its constituents' interests. When asked if she could run a similar service to DDS, Emily Ou replied, 'Of course.' Peter Napolitano should take a lesson from the private market, and perhaps even from Mrs. Ou herself.