Grueling time at the concessions stand?
April 2, 2008
If you waited in a long line at the ball game Monday, dreaming of a nice warm hot dog, and got to the front only to find the concessions stand had run out of your treat or were handed a cold dog in a soggy bun, you might want to check out a new Web site that’s “raising awareness” about Aramark, the food service contractor at Oriole Park and other ballparks and stadiums around the country.
The site was launched Monday and is sponsored by Campaign for Quality Services, a joint project of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the trade workers, hospitality and restaurant union, UNITE-HERE.
Named appropriately for opening day, AramarkStrikesOut.info highlights rats at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, “long lines and tepid sausage” at RFK in D.C. (the Nationals’ new park dropped Aramark’s service), and asks visitors to send in their ballpark food horror stories.
So how about it? Did anyone have any grueling concessions stand experiences that soured them to buying food at Oriole Park? Are the venders outside with their truckloads of giant pretzels a better option? (If you’re a penny pincher like me, those pretzels were already a brilliant idea.)
Or do you think this Web site just stirring up a pointless debate?
LIZ FARMER, Business Writer
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While I’m not a huge ARAMARK fan, it should be noted that Unite-Here doesn’t exactly rate at the top of the credibility list. Their little “baseball survey” asks respondants to name their favorite team, but only from a choice of 5 teams. Not surprisingly, these 5 teams all play at stadiums with ARAMARK-managed food service. The survey then asks folks to rate various aspects of the food and service at these facilities by clicking “radio-buttons” however (again, not surprisingly), the most negative answer for each question is already checked by default. Makes you wonder how many service industry workers are actually being “lifted above the poverty line” and how many are unwittingly paying monthly dues for mindless nonsense such as these websites.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. My favorite baseball team is not among the choices on the survey…the Rochester (NY) Red Wings. Great team. Great stadium. Great food. Reasonable prices. Non-ARAMARK. Non-union. Take me out to the ball game!
You realize that the concession contracts are negotiated with the MLB team, right? The concessionaire doesn’t get to charge whatever it wants. It charges what has been agreed upon with the team.