Sorrow in the Spot

Bittersweet is one word that could be used to describe the Spartan Spot. After a beautiful renovation and with some of the friendliest employees you could possibly ask for one would think where exactly does the bitter part come in?

Having to wait 45 minutes for a six piece order of chicken nuggets, to some this may seem a little outrageous. If we take a closer look at why someone could pass out from famine before getting there food we see that it is not the fault of anyone in the spot at all.

While speaking to Debbie Potter, who has been in the food industry for 20 years and knows her way around a kitchen, about the reason it takes a few extra seconds for an order is, in fact the number of people they have on staff at certain times. “On an average night we will serve 400 to 700 people” said potter from the hours of four to eight p.m. the spot has seven people on hand, from eight to 10 p.m. they have five on hand, from the hours of 10 p.m. to two a.m. they only have three people in the kitchen. Now on average they have 350 of their daily orders coming from the 10 p.m. to two a.m. hours, when they only have three people working you can see how it could take a minute.

With 350 orders coming between the 10 p.m. and two a.m. hours, and only having three cooks valiantly trying to full-fill these orders it makes sense that sometimes it takes a little long. Not everyone understands what it is like to be in Hell’s kitchen, so students tend to get a little upset.

After hours of brainstorming and crunching numbers, there are some simple solutions to this problem. We could flip the amount of people working so the employees increased throughout the night instead of decrease. If that is not an option, and it may not be possible due to the other two food distribution places on campus, then students could try combating the problem other ways. First, they could meditate and take advantage of the calming effect of the low light levels in the spot. Second, they could take advantage of the pool or Ping-Pong table. Third, if the two above do not seem appealing you could watch TV or express yourself in interpretive dance and possibly make some new friends!

So when you think Spartan Spot from now on don’t think it’s going to be the second coming before you get your food, think the people in the kitchen are working as hard as they can to please us. So I’ll take advantage of this free time and find a way to utilize it.