no fruit for you!
So, remember how you used to be able to take fruit, a sandwich, and/or ice cream from the Bon? Not so much anymore. As of this semester, that practice is frowned upon…
don't worry, i already submitted this to passiveaggressivenotes.com
It’s certainly true that the Bon has had its problems with theft; I myself have witnessed people passing entire tubs of ice cream out the window, or stuffing loaves of bread or fresh pies inside their coats as they meander towards the exit. Certainly, this type of thing is not within our community guidelines. At the same time, it’s a little ridiculous to make people finish the apple they’ve bitten into before permitting their exit. Can’t we come to some common ground here?
I think–perhaps incorrectly (we’ll see)–that this new hard-line approach is only going to spur on more disgruntlement, and even loftier and more daring attempts at pilfering food (I have yet to see a successful attempt on the entire tub of bacon). If there’s one thing that we can generalize about our student body (aside from its apathy), it’s that we don’t tend to like it when the man tries to crack down (just ask the stop signs on campus [might I note how apt that the stop sign was chosen as a motif for these flyers?]).
I think some straightforward, honest P.R. work would probably further Bon Appetit’s loss-prevention aspirations more than its paranoid “YOU CAN’T EAT BEYOND THIS DOOR” policy. Stop-sign flyers? Not so much. I sure know I’d respond better to some frankness (“we are a company and a necessary part of your community; it hurts us $[x] amount when you steal from us; we want to trust you, please respect us; please don’t steal from us.”) instead of these condescending, vague arguments about sustainability and limited offerings.
I know Bon Appetit is capable of the positive PR approach–the program outlined in the second half of that flyer, about bringing professors to lunch, has always been a (lesser-known) program (at least as long as I’ve been at LC)… it’s not “Beginning Fall 2009.” See? Policies don’t need to change, just the way you pitch them to us.
That all being said–peers, please don’t take obscene amounts of food from the cafeteria.
[Administrator]
Cary
kennner
dshack
maishaparadox
angelalc
I agree that tyhis is a ridiculous policy. I think some students need to go see Mikey Ford for a face to face about it. Is there still a student committee about the Bon as part of ASLC? There used to be. Perhaps it could be brought back…
I’ve been pushing Landis to take a more positive approach. These fliers are arguably better than the NSO posters that had a big bold “NO” as the largest word…
It is worth noting, though, that you can opt for a box instead of a meal in the Bon. Landis promised me that if you ask at the front desk when you come in, they’ll put lunch/dinner in a box for you and get you out and on your way in <10 minutes. I'm still working on getting him to advertise (and thusly commit) to this policy, but he seemed to want to offer take-out (in lieu of meal) service.
Pack outs have always been an option, but typically they were only available if you had a class/work conflict that left you with <30 minutes for a meal, or if you were ill and could not come to the Bon. It would be nice to have pack out meals available upon request whenever, but I have been told in the past that the Bon shied away from this b/c we cannot do a la cart menu dining with the current kitchen set-up and have no money/space to rebuild/remodel.
If you can get them to commit to this option, that would be wonderful. The Bon at the University of Portland used to let students take whole trays out, and they had a lot less problems with theft. Also a Bon Appetit school, I might add, so I think this has more to do with the student culture at LC & Bon management than it does with Bon Appetit as a company.
(To be far to the LC Bon, UP also never had the theft problems LC does. No one ever stole a giant pumpkin or broke in through the roof, for example.)
Err FAIR to the LC bon. Not far. Stupid fingers.