Chartwells Serves Up Poor Quality Food and Long List of Scandals

Ever since I arrived at Trinity in 2005, I have heard quiet grumblings expressing dissatisfaction with our food service, Chartwells. The complaints aren't just about one thing, either. There are a range of issues concerning Trinity's association with Chartwells, including, but not limited to, unfair meal plan prices, too much red tape concerning meal usage, inconsistent and poor food quality, inconsistent and inconvenient operating hours, notably during finals, inability to get off the meal plan, and even a small scandal last year concerning employee hour reductions. I was so offended by Chartwells my freshman year that I immediately and forcibly took myself off the meal plan (with many unpleasant fights with various Chartwells higher-ups, and even legal threats). Over the course of my time here at Trinity those grumblings have only grown louder, so I decided to investigate the Chartwells company.

A simple Google search of "Chartwells scandal" returns a multitude of results, including this gem, from the McGill Daily, published December 2008: "Chartwells is one of North America's biggest campus food providers, and from Louisiana State to Carleton to McGill, the concerns are the same: high prices, poor quality, employee mistreatment, opposition to employee unionization, and even the occasional food-safety scandal." I discovered a number of specific cases across the country. There was an article in Southern News in December 2008, entitled "Chartwells Must be Stopped!" It describes Chartwells underpaying employees, refusing breaks required by state law, violating contracts, removing health insurance, and finally, instead of providing worker compensation, taking away vacation time for on-the-job injuries. Chartwells has also been featured in National Magazine in an article rating the food as "1.5 out of 5," and of course mentioning a previous scandal. In late 2001, at Concordia University, there was an episode of food poisoning due to Chartwells food, affecting 15-20 people. In December 2008, there was another food poisoning incident at a school in Hong Kong. Over 70 people were affected, and some hospitalized. The scandals range in severity, but the list is practically endless. Some are quite literally jaw- dropping. Many of the articles have been written within the past several months.

The Compass Group, the British conglomerate company that owns Chartwells, also owns a number of other brands and businesses, including Burger King, Starbucks, Morrison, Scolarest, Eurest Support Services, and many other food services I've never heard of. It is the largest foodservice company in the world. It turns out Compass's transgressions make Chartwells look innocent. The Compass Group was involved in a corruption scandal with its subsidiary, Eurest Support Services, while providing foodservices to UN officials in Liberia in 2006. Two UN representatives were arrested and indicted after taking almost $1 million in bribes from Compass. The case was under federal investigation at the U.K. Serious Fraud Office. In the end Compass was found guilty for "serious irregularities in the way it won food supply contracts for the UN." Several Compass executives were dismissed, and soon after CEO Michael Bailey stepped down. In addition to this, Eurest Support Services was also involved in a scandal regarding overcharging for services to the US Government in Iraq.

When I looked into The Compass Groups performance in the stock market for the dismal previous fiscal year, it reported, according to What PC? (UK), "a fairytale performance. in 2008 it posted a share price gain of 12 percent and unveiled record profits." I wonder if this fabulous performance is due to the fact that Compass has expunged itself of all its dirty business practices and is now an ethical, honest company? I think, based on my knowledge of Chartwells questionable business practices across the U.S. combined with the considerable previous Compass scandals, absolutely not. For example, think of how many friends you have on the meal plan who complain near the end of every semester, "I have over 70 meals left, and I can't spend them. And why the hell are both the Bistro and the Cave both suddenly closed?" If you were to use every single meal allotted to you on the meal plan, on the "fairest" (read: most expensive) plan, you are paying $7.33 per meal. On the least expensive plan, you are paying a shocking $11.67 per meal, which is above the equivalency rate of dinner at Mather, the highest valued meal, which costs the general public $9.75. I would be astonished to find that most students come even close to using all their meals. For example, Caroline Lewis, '09 was on the Bantam Block 220, and had 80 unused meals at the end of last semester, meaning she was paying $14.10 for every single meal, including breakfast, which is valued at $4.95.

When I spoke to a Chartwells representative about both the disparity in meal prices as well as unused meals, I was told that that money is not considered pure profit, but goes toward providing employees with benefits such as health care (which, by the way, Chartwells tried to finagle their way out of last year by reducing the hours of full time employees). I learned, in Economics 101, that production costs, like providing unionized workers with benefits, is factored into the price of a product. The price of a meal such as breakfast for anyone that would, for some reason, come to eat at Trinity (besides Trinity students locked into the meal plan) is $4.95. Everyone should pay the same price for the same product. If part of the money earned from unused meals is going toward the cost of something like health care, it shouldn't be. A meal's cost should reflect its true value, and if it does not, then the cost per meal should be increased, instead of ripping students off, and having their unused meals subsidize those who are not locked into the meal plan, or those who make the painstaking effort to use every single meal. My bet is all this money is contributing to Compass' "record profits," which they have clearly put to good use in the past.

I believe Chartwells has shown some "serious irregularities" in its operation. I will not support such an ethically questionable company, and from this point on will boycott Chartwells. Is Chartwells, and by association Compass, the type of company Trinity supports?