New-and-improved Starbucks, job opportunities, bad service and more discussed at RHA meeting
September 18, 2018
The Residence Hall Association had a meeting with RMU Dining Services to discuss what could be improved about the dining services here at Robert Morris University.
The meeting started off by announcing the need for students to apply for jobs such as dishwashers. The opportunity is not a part of the work-study program, real paychecks will be received and no prior experience is required.
When talking about the PNC Colonial Cafe, there were many complaints about the long lines at Freshens. Lisa Rogers, senior general manager for campus dining, said that they have been timing the employees at Freshens. Rogers says the wait time from the back of the line has made a decline from 20 minutes to four minutes.
All smoothies at Freshens are now all clean and made from fresh fruits and vegetables. Poke bowls, which were started last semester as a trial, were a huge hit and are now available every Friday in the PNC Colonial Cafe.
RHA members also requested that the dish belt be cleaned more frequently, which Dining Services said they will look into.
It was requested that a list of vegetable options be provided at Romo’s Cafe along with the already existing list of dressing options. Students also complained of slow, rude and inaccurate service at Romo’s.
“One of the workers at the cash register slams down my Freedom Card instead of handing it to me,” said one student.
The only complaint about the Wheatley Cafe was that students wished that it was open later. Wheatley will now be serving milkshakes several times a week.
The Hale Cafe Starbucks is lacking some menu items from the normal Starbucks menu because the Hale Cafe is a “We Proudly Serve,” not a fully licensed Starbucks. Dining Services is looking into adding a fully licensed Starbucks on campus, but the question is where to put it. Some students suggested putting it inside the Franklin Center.
Many positive comments were made about the Yorktown Cafe, including the taste and quality of their pizza, wraps, burgers and milkshakes. New Yorktown manager Chef Rick is hoping to smooth out the problems from previous years and is paying close attention to the food quality.
Dining Services will be looking into the option of making Dr. Pepper available to students due to popular demand.
Dining staff wants to inform students that any dining staff member with a gold name tag is a manager and they can help you with issues that you may have.
RHA meetings are every Wednesday at 9:15 p.m. in Salem.