Your Comments:

Dan, I know that there is a program toward the end of a semester that gives students the opportunity to donate their meal points to local charities. I can't help but wonder, however, why you don't have in place a program that allows students to donate their meal exchanges at the end of each week. Better yet, this should be an automatic policy. So many people do not have food in the metroplex, and with the current system, OU is basically eating up the students' money when our meal exchanges go to waste at the end of each week. I looked at our campus profile, and over 3,000 new freshmen are currently attending OU (that's really a modest account; I deducted several hundred to account for students living at home), all of which are required to have meal plans. At the end of the week, let's say that each student has just one meal exchange that is unused. Of course, there will be some students that use all of their meal exchanges, but a great number of students don't, even ending up with several unused exchanges. Now, the value of one meal exchange is $6, and if 3,000 meals aren't used in one week, then we could donate $18,000 PER WEEK to feed people that don't have any food. That's not even counting the change on six dollars that is lost so often when people use a meal exchange for a $4 meal. I'm sure that electronically figuring out the number of unused meal exchanges at the end of each week is not very hard, especially considering how many people we could help with these meals. Now I know, I know, you'll say that housing and food cannot afford it as it is. However, I was reading through past kitchen comments, and someone once criticized you for not allowing people to purchase twelve cookies at the end of the week with meal exchanges, and your response was that it would just be too hard to make that many cookies. Honestly, a lot of us were thinking that the real reason was that you just didn't want to give us the full value of our meal exchanges, but since that wasn't the reason that you cited, I think it's only fair that you stick with that. We paid for this meal plan, and our money needs to go toward some good cause. Please let me know if you intend on taking this easy measure to help SO MANY PEOPLE. Also, if there is any kind of public measure that needs to be taken, then by all means, let us know.

Also, what do you do with the leftover food at the Caf? Surely, large amounts of food are wasted daily, and we could be sending that food to charitable organizations. I realize that this would involve a need for transportation of the food, but I'm sure that people would step up to the plate given the opportunity. Please let us know if we could help in this endeavor.

Also, please actually post this in kitchen comments instead of just e-mailing me back. I'd like for the students to be able to read this and form ideas about ways in which we could help. Sweeping the idea under the rug with a one-on-one email would be tragic, and I have faith that you'll bring the idea to light. Thank you.

It’s Dave, not Dan and of course I’ll put this in the “Comments.”

I can see it’s time to talk about meal plans again.  The whole idea that you are paying for something you aren’t getting is false.  We offer you as many options as we can within our budget.  A good number of schools offer plans with cafeteria meals and some declining balance.  Very few also then offer a meal exchange so you can use your cafeteria meals at other locations when the cafeteria is closed.  No other school that I know of allows you to use your cafeteria meals to bring in as many guests as you’d like without some restrictions.

Food Services generates all of its own budget.  We get no money from the state and no money from the University.  We have to balance our income with our expenditures.  Every time we make a change in services we have to find a way to balance the change by cutting something else or finding a way to generate more revenue. 

It has been interesting to see the shift in student attitudes toward their meal plans.  We have noticed a strong shift toward being able to use every meal and every point on their particular plan.   Believe me, it hasn’t always been this way and we will have to adjust our plans to compensate for this sometime soon.  Here’s why I say that:

Our current meal plan pricing is based on our old 19 and 14 meal plans that we had long ago.  The 19 meal plan had a 40% missed meal factor and the 14 meal plan had about a 30% missed meal factor.  We arrived at the price of the plan by taking the average of our actual cash prices at Couch, multiplying by the number of meals on the plan and then multiplying again by the missed meal factor of that plan( we did use a conservative number for this).  We still use that same basic formula today adjusting for the number of meal points you have on your plan.  We expect you to miss some meals. Today however since you can swipe your card as many times as you want per meal our pricing reflects a 10% missed meal factor.

Back to your question.   We have allowed students to donate left over points up through last semester.  We have received word from our Legal Counsel in January however that we cannot do this anymore.  Someone in our Financial Support Services area that processes these checks questioned the payments and it went to Legal.  They looked at it closely with the idea they would like to find a way to make it happen but after further review they told us it can’t be done.   Once you pay your money to the University it becomes State money and the ruling is that we cannot donate state money to charity.

We do donate leftover food from our operations to the Oklahoma City Food Bank.  This was run through Legal about 6 years ago.  While the food is technically state property we are allowed to donate the food if it was going to be thrown away.  The OKC Food Bank picks up the food a couple of times a week.

Dave, I hate to be a whiner, but the frozen yogurt situation at the Freshens at Crossroads is driving me nuts. My gripes are (1) when the classes are out and Freshens is still open for regular business hours, the yogurt machine becomes subject to weird hours, like 10-3. Does the yogurt machine need flex time? And (2) there seems to be increasing confusion over whether they are out of yogurt or if the machine needs some sort of encouragement. I have had my money refunded a couple times now b/c they thought they needed to twiddle with the machine or pour mysterious ingredients into it...but really they were out...or they didn't know what to do to get the machine going again. This usually takes a few minutes before defeat is admitted and money is refunded. Please note that frozen yogurt availability has a direct impact on my productivity.

Freshens is changing their distributor for a second time in two months.  The current distributor is allowing their product to run out and it has affected us in a very negative way.  Last week we ordered 15 cases of a product and received one.  We should have started with the new distributor this week and I am hoping things get better fast.

Hey Dave, got a couple of things to tell ya. First off, I would like to say kudos on that yogurt bar over at the vegetation station.  The person responsible for that idea needs a promotion or something.  It is soo delicious.  The number of toppings you have to choose from is astounding.  I have only been slightly disappointed once when there was nothing but plain yogurt to choose from as a base. Secondly, I hate to do this, but I have to call out one of your employees.  He is relatively new over at the Sooner Smoke House, been working there for maybe a week or two.  I don't know his name, but he is an older gentleman, 6'7" and 275 lbs. (I know this only because he told me in a vague threat the first time I spoke with him).  My problem with him is two fold. One, he cooks black bean burgers on the same grill that is used for the regular burgers.  This doesn't bother me on a matter of principle, I could care less if my burger is covered in animal fat (though that does eliminate some of the healthier reasons I choose a vegetarian burger).  It bothers me because the black bean burgers absorb everything the normal burgers leave behind, which causes them to have a very ashy after taste that stays with me for nearly an hour after I am done eating.  This is only a small problem, and I have brushed it off as such, because your employee very well may not know that you use two separate grills. My second problem is the primary reason I am writing to you.  The very first time I talked to this man and asked him for a black bean burger on a non-toasted wheat bun, he glowered at me and spouted off some vague and ridiculous threat (which included his intimidating size and weight).  I was unaware that my eating habits were so offensive to some, but I guess they particularly irked this individual.  He probably just needs a reminder that he is in a service industry and the way he interacts with customers is just as important as the quality of food he serves them.  Finally, I would like to call out one more of your employees.  I really wish I could remember her name, but alas it has slipped my mind.  Every time I have gone to the Sooner Smoke House while she was there I have received impeccably outstanding service.  She’s blonde and typically works evenings, if this helps clarify who I am talking about at all.

The big guy at the Sooner Smokehouse is Joe and I’ll be the first to admit that he can be a little “gruff” at times.  I also know that Joe will go out of his way to take care of students.  I talked with Joe about your e-mail and he is very concerned that this was your take on his behavior.  In fact Joe says that he remembers you coming and getting Black Bean burgers on a number of occasions and that you haven’t been back since you wrote this e-mail.  Joe is aware that his size can be intimidating and often tries to play that aspect down.  I hope you will come back to the Smokehouse and get to know Joe a little better, he really is a pretty good guy.  As to our other Smokehouse employee I’ll make sure to pass along your praise.

Dave, Is there a chance I could talk you into adding whole wheat pasta as a choice for the pasta line in the cafeteria.  I know that with all of the New Year's Resolutions, whole wheat pasta would be very much appreciated.

I thought we had whole wheat pasta available.  Maybe I’m confused with the gluten free pasta.  I’ll check into it.

Dave: After 8 semesters of your luxurious food I want you to know that I cry late at night thinking of having to make my own food in an apartment next year. How do you feel about moving to Tulsa and creating a little cafeteria in my complex? Bring Chef Billy and Dot, it could be fun! (although I'm not sure I could pay as much...)  A couple of issues ago you encouraged people to try the new Weather Center food court and several of my friends and I went down. I must admit: It was amazing! I had a scrumptious made-to-order pizza and it was fantastic! And a side salad with my combo? Such value! The staff was really pleasant as well, joking around with us and helping us pick the best stuff from the menu. I highly recommend the Weather Center, a little bit of a distance to go but a fun trip.  One last thing, I noticed that the new registers' receipts are no longer showing our remaining points/meal exchanges. Where did they go Dave?!?! Without that information on my receipt I have no idea how much I have left! Bring it back, please! And remember - Me, You, Dot, Chef Billy, in Tulsa next semester. Get packed. -Andrew

I’m glad you found the time to make it down to the Weather Center Café, now called the “Flying Cow Café.”  We do have some great services down there.  We just wish we were a little busier. 

I will ask why we no longer have balances on our receipts that show your meal point balance.

First off, we all love Quiznos and enjoy going there on Friday nights. Our main problem? Even though the website says that Quiznos closes at 10pm, the restaurant has lately been closed by 7pm. The employees explanation? We didn't get one. Just a "We're closed. You need to leave" So is the actual closing time now 7pm, or are the employees just shutting down early? It would be nice to know so we could save ourselves the trouble of walking all the way to the Union. Thanks.

Actually we used to close at 10 pm but went to 7 pm at the start of this past school year.  I’m afraid we haven’t updated our web site.

Please dont replace Burger King with any reasturant that doesnt serve breakfast and hambergers, I would prefer Burger King to stay. The food is made fresh it is never cold, and they serve breakfast.

I appreciate you writing and letting us know how you feel.  We need to hear from a lot more of you.

Hello, I'm Justin Gregg and I live in Couch. On Feb 8th at about 22:00 I went-over to the BK in Adams. There were a total of three clerks when I first got there, and only one of them was at the register at any given time. Eventually one of them walked-off to do whatever, and there were two. About eight minutes after I ordered the line started building-up to about 10 people or so. Two of the 'clerks' had their backs ideally to the line, waiting for the kitchen staff (which is the primary reason I wrote this) to send-out the food. It took one of them about four minutes, during which time she did literally nothing, to finally go to the register to wait-on people. During this time I also so one of the original clerks walking back and forth, and two other people who were back in some unseen section. I understand, though, there are people like this in every business. The disturbing part is that I could see the people making the food, and NONE OF THEM WORE GLOVES. Everywhere else on campus that I have eaten I have seen the employees put on a new pear of toss-away gloves. BK's employees don't follow this practice in hygiene.  I asked the clerk who handed me my bag of luke-cool chicken nuggets and fries about this and he said they're "supposed to" wear gloves, but shrugged it off as if it wasn't a big deal. That leads me to believe it is a common occurence there and widely-practiced.

Two people that ordered about eight minutes after me got their about four minutes before I did, and when I finally got my food - as I mentioned earlier - the nuggets weren't hot. It took my original clerk to finally go over and say "I need eight nuggets" for them to finally pull the cooling pieces of ground and formed chicken from a heating tray in their oven.

I do not know who manages the Burger King here, but it definitely needs to be held to higher standards. While not terribly bad, it has been my worst dining experience on campus so far. The employees, while not rude, were of the least friendly I have encountered, and the most apathetic towards customer satisfaction. Everyone else has been great - but as I said - this issue needs to be addressed.

I am writing because I was extremely disappointed in the Black Heritage Month dinner and layout. I think it was unfair to have a special dinner without having all of the advertisment and normal big extravagant dinners that are usually done for the other dinner. Then I was truly embarrassed with them trying to serve "black people food", which half of that stuff black people don't even eat. Then the whole dinner was horrible and a embarrasment to the whole black community here at OU!

I’m sorry you were disappointed by the meal, Dot and the Couch crew works very hard on the special meals.  I thought the menu was great.  I asked Dot about the entrée selection after I received your e-mail and she was very comfortable with the selection.  Dot doesn’t believe there is such a thing as “black people food” and she has always tried very hard not to fall into any stereotypical menu. 

As far as the layout and “big extravagant dinner” you were expecting we have a number of different layouts for our special meals.  Many are done now just in the World’s Fare section of Couch.  We decided that this meal should be done in the Lifestyles section.  We set up like we did so we wouldn’t have to take all the booths out of that dining room.  We get a lot of complaints when we close down all the other lines for a special meal so we don’t do that very often.  I know Dot is frustrated because every time she tries something different someone seems to take offense.  If you have any constructive advice for next year’s meal we would love to hear it