It’s been two weeks since the Atrium temporary serving area opened, and we want to thank everyone for their patience as we’ve worked out the kinks associated with operating a new space that is unavoidably too small to accommodate the number of hungry patrons we serve each day. Things are different…very different, from the fries to the wrap station to the seating.

We often gauge our success and failures on the variety of customer service-related email we receive on any given day. Fortunately, it’s not a lot, and while we may not always like what we read, there is always something to be learned and an opportunity to improve. Through customer emails, we were able to make some adjustments at both Lil’ Dino’s and the Wrap Bar to better accommodate our students.

Other times, customer email gives us an opportunity to educate and clarify. This week, for example, we received an email asking why we don’t do refills at the Atrium (and, for that matter, Talley), and why we charge for extra containers of Chick-fil-A sauce.  Perhaps this is a question that many students have, so I will share the answers here:

At a traditional Chick-fil-A, the sauces are kept behind the counter. Most customers are content with just two containers of sauce per meal item (the standard given to customers both at the counter and the drive-through window), and if someone wants more, they have to go to the trouble to ask for the sauce. Therefore, traditional Chick-fil-A’s do not experience a significant additional cost associated with providing an extra container here or there.

Our location, on the other hand, is not set up that way. We have never had an optimal space to be able to keep such things behind the counter and dispense them properly. Our hard cost on those containers is 26 cents, so if an inordinate number of patrons chose to take 3, 4 or even 5 per item, it adds up much faster for us than it does a traditional Chick-fil-A. Asking patrons to pay for the third container makes them think twice about taking sauce that they may or may not use.

The policy on refills is very similar. At the Atrium, you would have to pass through the cash register area to get a refill, then pass back through to go back to your seat, meaning that the cash register attendant would have to stop and determine whether or not your drink is a new purchase or a refill, which would be impossible given the amount of people trying to pass in and out of the space every day. In addition, allowing refills would make it possible for patrons to travel around the campus all day with the same cup, refilling on a regular basis.

A healthy operation places an emphasis on controlling costs, so if we did not have these sorts of policies we have no choice but to a) charge more per meal or b) significantly increase the cost of meal plans. Neither of those options is in the best interest of students.

Do you have questions or suggestions for dining? We would love to hear them. Email us at University Dining.

Atrium Slide Show