I’m not sure if I am writing for the student body, or for myself, but I am disgusted with the letter Ms. Bartkowiak sent to The Houstonian. I was embarrassed by the blatant disrespect for the people who work for Caf Belvin and other Aramark locations on campus. Those employees deserve the utmost respect. Not only do they have to serve about 13,000 students, but they also have to see the students like Ms. Bartkowiak.
Ms. Bartkowiak’s first complaint was the “Sandwich Wench’s” attitude towards the students. As sandwiches are one of my favorite things to get, I am in contact with this woman a great deal. Because I actually show respect toward the people who work at these places, I am also always treated with respect. The woman who serves the sandwiches is very polite to me. As a habitual observer, I’ve noticed that she is also very nice to many other students who get sandwiches. It makes me wonder how students like Ms. Bartkowiak treat her.
Also, she complains about the men who work for Aramark. As a female student, I have never felt uncomfortable around these men. They are always very polite and can usually come up with a quick joke to make people smile.
Maybe it is a bit unfair that we are not allowed to get the rice without getting the “accompanying meaty-sauce.” However, those are the rules that they are required to follow and there is no use being rude to the people who work there.
Now, about the time management. She says that, “No matter what circumstances make me come to Belvin at 8:49 p.m., it doesn’t make me get in the way of closing.” I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, yes, it does. It’s difficult to find a restaurant, clothing store, or any other kind of shop that doesn’t start cleaning early.
One of the biggest complaints service people have is about the people who come in right before closing. I’ve worked for JC Pennys, Tom Thumb and Texas Stadium. In all three, we would start cleaning about an hour before we were actually supposed to close. People who would come in and start shopping 10 minutes before closing always put me on an edge.
I understand that people are busy and there are circumstances that cannot prevent what they are doing, however, with Caf Belvin, you cannot expect for the people who work there to wait until 9 p.m. to start shutting things down. They start early, I’m sure, to be able to get home earlier. Some of the people who work for Belvin and Aramark are students who take a full load and then have to go to work serving people like Ms. Bartkowiak.
For Ms. Bartkowiak; the proper way to handle this would be to go to the president of Food Services and lay out your arguments calmly and objectively. Writing a letter to The Houstonian is crass and cowardly.
To the Aramark employees: Keep up the good work!