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I promised last week to look into the pricing of the Rainbow Cookies at Xcetera. Here is what I found out.
First, because of the nature of the convenience store business we try to maintain a margin of about 56%. This means on average we make a profit of 56% on all the products we sell. This margin helps to pay for labor, utilities, maintenance, and all the other overhead costs that we incur running the store. We also must factor in something a little unusual. Because 98% of the sales in Xcetera are from the meal plan we must factor in what we used to call the “missed meal factor.”
I know this sounds strange, but it’s true. In the old days meal plans we just meals in the cafeteria. We priced our meal plans knowing that you were going to miss about 38% of your meals. Your plans were discounted from the retail door price for these missed meals.
Now however we are offering a lot of different options. We have meal exchanges and meal points and both of these services lower the number of meals you missed. In converting meals in the cafeteria to meal points students use more of their meal plan. Our meal plan pricing has never really been adjusted for these changes, it is still based on plan usage and we try to work around it. We know you are still going to miss some meals and we take that into account when put the plans together.
Do this calculation for me. Our cash prices are $6.50 for breakfast, $7.50 for Lunch and $8.50 for Dinner. Let’s call that an average of $7.50 which is a little low because more dinners and lunches are served then breakfasts, but it’s OK for this calculation. Now say you are on the 10 / 300 meal plan. 10 meals a week for 16 weeks is 160 meals x $7.50 is $1200.00. Add the 300 points and the $175.00 admin fee (all accounts have the admin fee) and you have a total cost of: $1675.00. You pay $1555.00 for a meal plan, the $120.00 savings is due to the “missed meal factor.” You can do this for any meal plan.
Anyway, we figure 56% is the number we are trying to average. Some items are more, some items are less. In the case of the cookies, we purchase the cookies for $2.70 a package and sell them for $4.50. This is a 66% markup, but only about a 50% margin. At 56% margin you would be paying around $4.85 per package. So yes, we do pay more for the cookies than Wal-Mart can sell them for and no, I don’t feel guilty about our pricing, we have found a way to provide you the services you wanted within the budgetary framework that we have.
Finally, if we only sold items in Xcetera for cash money we could lower our margin in Xcetera by 50%. That’s because the cash would be new money and not part of the meal plan and that whole crazy “missed meal factor” thingy. That’s always an option, but not one many students would like.
Your Comments:
I just wanted to expound on the comment about the two women who work at Block & Barrel being rude. I completely understand that the exhaust hoods can make it very hard to hear, but I'm afraid this is often not the problem. I know exactly what the previous person was writing about, and it seems to be more of an attitude than just noise. I have one friend that has pretty much quit going to Block and Barrel because of the way she was treated at the register. Another friend of mine works there, and has been treated VERY harshly by these same two women (no exhaust fan around in this case).
Alright a few things... In Last weeks kitchen comments someone said they like the chicken better at crossroads. Totally agree with that one, it is sooooooo much better there. Second Onnie and Bessie are both really nice. I have lived in the dorms 3 years and they have always been nice to me and even joked around. Maybe if people would be nice to the workers and show some respect to people they consider to be old instead of treating them like crap all day they would get that smile the want in return. I am sick of seeing people who are 19 act like they are better than someone who is much older than them just because they are getting them their food. Show some respect.
I don't want to get these two workers in trouble, but they do need to be spoken to about how to behave towards customers. Customers and other employees should not be treated like an inconvenience.
I just wanted to comment on your response on the comment about the two very rude women at Block & Barrel. I found your response incredible rude and naive. The two women in question are actually incredible rude and the person who wrote that comment was obviously trying to bring that to your attention. For the most part us students can tell the difference between someone being rude and someone speaking over noise and it is insulting to treat us like we can not. You claim that you want 100% customer satisfaction and then you go ahead and publicly insult the intelligence of the majority of your customer base. It is not their speaking loudly that it is the problem it is the tone of their voices and the fact that they scowl at everyone and take immense pleasure at telling us costumers no and they simply seem to be incapable of being polite to anyone. Maybe you should stop trying to offend your employees just because they are older and find out what is actually go!
I didn’t insult anyone’s intelligence or call anyone a liar. Having never received a complaint about this before I tried to offer a possible explanation of behavior that might have been misinterpreted as being rude. I guess I’m always looking for the “happy” answer and sometimes it doesn’t exist. The first comment brought out a host of others from you, some I have printed here. It appears there is an issue beyond just the noise. We will address this situation.
I like Crimson Crust’s hours say M-Th 11am-10pm, but around 9:30 they always close. I have 2 night classes & would like to eat here, but it’s closed early most of the time. Either change your hours or don’t close before it says you will.
I’ll ask why we aren’t staying open our advertised times.
Dear Dave, I feel that whole wheat pizza crust would be a great addition to the crimson crust buffet. Living in Cate Quad, I eat frequently in the restaurants there. Adding pizza crust of the ”non” enriched flour would qualify pizza as less of a junk food. I understand this could be a tall order, so making it available on request would be fine. Also, the employees might get some practice spinning some dough if there are no whole grain frozen pizza crusts. Thanks, Larry (5th yr Senior)
I think it’s a great idea. I’ve been hoping that we would find the time to develop a whole wheat crust, I think it would be worth the effort.
Dear Dave (& students), I think it’s great that students have enough time on their hands to write a comment about a previous comment. Awesome, students realize that most of the workers around here are students too. We have money, homework, & lives to worry about. So if a man can’t find the Double Whopper button, get over it! He’s probably thinking about something more important, like life. P.S. Some of the food establishments on campus aren’t even directly affiliated with OU Food and Housing. Figure it out. Larry @ Cate.
Dave, Your name almost rhymes with Babe, but not quite. I think the extra dressings in Cate are a bit excessive. How am I supposed to just pick one?! Stop the madness! Just Stop.
We had some samples of new dressings and wanted to see if they might be popular on the sandwich line. I guess we have our answer. I received a lot of very positive comments on the selections. We will certainly expand our offerings next year based on your feedback.
Dave, As my name shows, I love Pasta. I haven’t had any pasta on campus, but since you said you needed a comment-here it is. If you put my note in Kitchen comments, I might buy some next time I drop by Crimson Crust. Pasta Pappa
Dave, Holly makes the greatest Chillattas ever! She is also a great sandwich maker!
YO! Dave! What up dog?!? Now that I got that out of my way, I would like to say that the Night shift at B & B led by the sexy mustache are way better than the day shift! Almost every morning is greeted by a rude, “what do you want!” They always complain because I want fried chicken wraps cut in half. Could we maybe give them a coupon for an attitude adjustment?
OHHH, a coupon for an attitude adjustment, I think we could include that in the daily coupon selection that we have on our web site. Maybe we could go a little farther …. Coupons for a song and dance. Wouldn’t it be great to hand a coupon to Rick at Crossroads say and have him sing a country ballad in that deep voice of his? I’ll bet you Tim at Roscoe’s could belt out some opera, and of course after 12 + years working at scout camps I have a vast repertoire of rousing camp songs ……… OK, maybe not.
Back to those coupons on our web site. Have you seen them? I think we have had some great specials but to date we have not received a single coupon at any operation. What’s up with that? Do you really not want free food? Oh well, we’ll keep the coupons going for awhile. Take advantage of them. www.housing.ou.edu. BTW, who is the “Sexy Mustache?”
I would just like to comment on various aspects of the Block and Barrel sandwich line. Why is it that some of the employees just do not know how to make a good wrap while others make wonderful ones? Don't they all go through the same training? For example, I went there today and got a wheat wrap and it was so poorly made that I had to throw half of it away. There wasn't much dressing and the vegetables were all over the place inside, not to mention the meat was all in one place instead of throughout the whole wrap. Also the wrap was badly wrapped up, to the point that it fell apart when I tried to eat it. I know a ready excuse is that the person maybe new, but I eat there almost everyday and these people are not new. On the other hand I would like to exalt several of the staff there. Sandie, Erikah, Tiffany, Mary, and Ashley (I hope I got all of their names right) are always fantastic wrap makers. Their wraps have the perfect proportions of vegies, meat, and dressing and they never fall apart or rip when I try to eat them. Not to mention these ladies, whenever they are working (either together or apart) are always extremly nice a friendly and truly try to make my sandwich how I want it, and they look like they really have fun working together. I think Block and Barrel needs more staff like these girls, they make me laugh every time I'm in there.
I don’t know why all the wraps are not made the same way. I do know that it isn’t always the wrappers fault, sometimes the wraps are a little dry and break easily when rolled. We need to make sure the wraps are fresh. As to technique, I guess we need to take our best wrap makers and have them do a little Wrap 101 for the rest of us so we can see if it’s substance or style that’s winning you over.
The yogurt bar is often out of bowls. How can I eat the sweet goodness if it isn't contained in a safe vessel? Maybe someone needs to be restocking it more often... Can we get big flour burrito tortillas in Casa Del Sol? The ones there are either the special kind (like the wraps over at Block & Barrel) or really not big enough for a man sized burrito. See, if you want more than one or two toppings, then the wonderful (and I really do mean wonderful) servers can't fold up a good burrito because there just isn't enough tortilla. Is there anywhere in Couch where a guy can get some hot sauce? I had the Soy stir-fry thing (can't recall the name) that was on the Vegetation Station earlier this week. It's good stuff, though I think it could have used a little more kick to offset the sweetness. Dave, all of you in Food Services work really hard to give us the best meals that you can, and it shows. I'm looking forward to the new innovations that you will be introducing next year, such as a Block & Barrel that doesn't have a 30 minute line in rush hour. Though I am curious as to the future status of the Burger King. It's been a regular issue to keep it up to your fine standards, and I think that it is time for action, even if it means making it something more like Couch Express or The Bookmark. And now, I'm off to Couch for another awesome lunch! -Adam
Thanks for the feedback Adam. We were doing a “Bionic Burrito Bar” at Couch for years where we had these really huge tortillas, I’ll see what happened to them, this is something we can do. As to hot sauces I’ve seen a number out this year, Franks Hot Sauce, Tabasco, and Cholula, maybe we can round them up in one section for you. Are you sure they aren’t out with the BBQ sauces at the Sooner Smokehouse?
We have a number of new services we will be offering next year along with some renovations going on at Couch so I think next year will be extremely busy and different. We do need to make the BK operation seamless with our own.
Why big googly eyes, you ask? Well, it's a known fact that the cutest mascots all have 'em! And what better way to advertise tasty, miniature sandwiches than to have a schooner, all happy and joyful to be eating said sandwiches? The big googly eyes would be perfect for conveying the overwhelming joy of biting into a mini Crossroads burger! Mmmm, delicious...
Duh, silly me, I should have known that!
Dave i got some Snackwells devils food cookie cates at xcetra just now. opened the box and was eating them when i saw the exp date. it is feb 17th 2007. you may want to look into this
We did, and I’m sorry. We pulled the other boxes that were out of date. Please bring the box back and we’ll replace it for you. Even if you don’t have the box and have eaten all the cookies come back in and talk to Susan or Chris, they’ll take care of you.
Dave, First of all, I just want to say what a terrific job I think you and everyone else working for food services on campus are doing. I love it. I'm personally fond of the cafeteria. I'm not the only one who feels this way though, my boyfriend also loves it - and he goes to OSU! He claims that the meal options alone make transfering quite tempting, and for that I have to thank you! :-) I do have one request, though... I don't know how much control you have over the dessert selection, but last semester I was lucky enough to come across the Banana Monkey Love Cheesecake... and it was possibly the best thing I've ever tasted before (which is saying something, because I like to make my own cheesecakes, and I'm very picky)!!! Sadly, I haven't seen it since. I was wondering if, by any chance, you could find a way to bring it back... I would really appreciate it, if you could. Thank you!
“Banana Monkey Love Cheesecake”???? Where do we get these names? I’ll ask if it’s still available.
Dear Dave, Thanks so much for making the delicious mango cheesecake on Friday!! It was amazing! I'm so glad the girl working at the shop asked if I was the one who requested it because she gave me a really big slice! So nice! Anyway, thanks a lot! - Jessie
Glad we could help out. You know folks we don’t mind menu requests. If you have a recipe for something you are just craving send it to me at
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and I’ll try to get it on the menu. Please make sure I have your contact information so I can get back to you if we have any questions. |
