Written by Tiane Davis \/\/ Photo by Briley Kemper<\/p>\n\n\n\n
University President Mike Williams and Vice President Jean-Noel Thompson announced in chapel Tuesday that Harding will hire Aramark to replace Chartwells as the primary campus food service provider beginning in May. The University executive leadership team, which consists of four people, decided to replace Chartwells for multiple reasons, Williams said. Student feedback surveys and focus groups had shown disappointing results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat we had heard was an overwhelming amount of dissatisfaction,\u201d Williams said. \u201cAlthough some changes were made, we didn\u2019t feel like the changes were comprehensive enough to merit going forward.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since 2020, when Chartwells started its contract as Harding\u2019s primary food service provider, the food quality at Harding has not been consistent, Williams said. When quality started to decline, the company\u2019s responsiveness to complaints was slight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a leadership problem,\u201d Williams said. \u201cPart of leadership is responding to the needs of the people you\u2019re trying to serve, and it wasn\u2019t a secret that the student body and faculty and staff had misgivings about the service.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thompson said all hourly workers will be offered the opportunity to keep working at the University, but under different leadership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe staff here are all good people,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cThey would be retrained, and they would report to this new leadership model, but it comes with a high sense of, \u2018We operate differently.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thompson said when the University executive leadership team decided to hire Aramark, they looked at several key areas of change. The first was that Aramark would bring the University a \u201chigher confidence in consistency.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never going to be perfect, and students will never be every day perfectly satisfied \u2014 that\u2019s just food,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cBut it should be a lot better.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another change that the University expects Aramark to bring in the coming years is better accommodations to food sensitivities\/allergies. Additionally, Thompson said, expectations for responsiveness to change will be higher than before. He said if anything about the food service brings complaints, Aramark wants to engage with students as soon as possible to make improvements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe food just has to be better,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cYou can\u2019t come in and make us really happy for three months and let it go down. It has to be consistent across the board, and when it\u2019s not, what are the systems in place to get something corrected right away? They\u2019ve proven to us that they can do that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chief Financial Officer Tammy Hall said one of the biggest changes through the process will be allowing students to use meal swipes anywhere they want and take their food to the cafeteria without having to swipe in. Offerings will stay the same, but Student Center restaurants that offer meal exchanges will offer them during all hours of the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPart of this is community,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWe want students eating together. You\u2019ll see this group of friends sitting in the cafeteria, and three of them may have a caf meal, and one will have Chick-fil-A, and one will have Einstein\u2019s, but they can all sit together.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hall said the process of rehiring Aramark and guaranteeing success on their part has lasted \u201cat least 12 months.\u201d She said she reviewed 13 different versions of the financial model before the committee decided on a final one. Hall acknowledged that Aramark had failed to meet expectations in the past but has been through changes and seen success with larger schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it will be a good thing in the long run,\u201d Hall said. \u201cChange is good for all of us. It makes us uncomfortable, but usually in the end, it makes us better.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aramark had previously been Harding\u2019s food service provider for over 20 years before Chartwells was hired in 2020. Aramark director of business development Heath Drulman said that since Aramark was previously removed from service, the company has undergone a \u201ctransformation\u201d under the new leadership of President and CEO Jack Donovan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnder his leadership and guidance, we went back to our roots and implemented the \u2018hospitality ecosystem\u2019 that focuses on our guests through servant leadership, delivering on our promises and putting our culinary excellence up as the standard of what you should come to expect,\u201d Drulman said. \u201c\u2026 Introducing \u2018Bison hospitality\u2019 will represent a resurgence as part of the great experience of being at Harding.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drulman said to keep quality consistent, the company will form a \u201cpartnership committee\u201d with students that will accept feedback and make sure expectations are met. He said students will be invited to help make menu decisions as well as participate in a student panel each year to give feedback.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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