Nancy Heidtman, Senior Director of Dining and Culinary Services
Students, Parents, and Miami University Community,
First and foremost, our goal and standard is to provide an outstanding dining experience for students. This is done through close relationships with student groups, constant program assessment, and a solid staffing structure. Due to this dedication, we are now serving more meals than ever before (29,000 transactions daily). As we all know, great success brings great challenges.
Historically, student staffing numbers begin low, rapidly increase, and then even out in the fourth week. This year, we have been met with an unanticipated challenge-students are not applying for jobs. Compared to this time last year, we are at half the level of student staffing. That translates into over 3,000 unscheduled hours weekly.
Because of these unscheduled hours, students are experiencing long lines at Armstrong Student Center. In order to address these issues, the department has implemented and/or will be implementing the following:
Recruiting to add more full-time and part-time staff
Holding a student job fair
Creating new bonus programs for student employees in dining
Reevaluating staffing structures
Shifting labor between several operations to increase staffing at busy locations
Using multiple temporary work agencies
Recruiting high school students
Adding popular mobile dining alternatives around Armstrong Student Center to help alleviate the lines
We understand that time is a precious commodity during classes and we want to ensure that all students are able to get lunch. Therefore, we would like to invite students to the other venues surrounding Armstrong Student Center.
• Maplestreet Station
• Western Dining Commons
• Bell Tower Place
• King Café
• Market Street at MacCracken
These close-proximity locations will provide a variety of options, including grab-and-go salads and sandwiches. For location hours, please visit http://blogs.miamioh.edu/dining/dining-options/.
Many have also expressed concerns about buffet service on campus. We proudly offer buffet-style lunch seven days a week, dinner six days a week, and a student favorite brunch on Sundays. The recent change in breakfast service was based on several years of declining customer counts and student feedback that called for a quick, grab-and-go breakfast option that they can eat on the way to class.
Again, we extend our gratitude for the prompt assessments. Our success is based solely on student satisfaction. We ask for patience and understanding as we continue to work through these issues.
Love & Honor