Dear Editor,
In response to the article “Broken machine brings Spot woes” [Oct. 27] I would like to say that some ULV students do not understand that Aramark Food Corporation is a business and should not be responsible for managing the finances of ULV students.
I understand that the meal-card swiping machine should be functioning in The Spot so that students know how much cash they have left on their cash cards. This is a valid complaint and Aramark is in the process of getting the machine fixed. My point is that each student knows how much money he or she is allotted on the cash card based on the designated meal plan that student chose before school began. For instance, I have the 12-meal plan so I know I have $75 at the Spot per semester. I understand that I only have $75 and therefore cannot go around and buy lunch and dinner for all of my friends at the Spot. Many students do not view the meal card as real money because, for the majority of students here, their mommies and daddies or financial aid plans pick up the bill for their room and board. Yet the fact remains that every time the card is swiped the balance decreases. This should not be a new idea to college students since most manage their own checking accounts. I am not suggesting that each student balance their cash card, but I do think each should estimate how much he or she has to spend and know that no one student can buy meals for friends all the time.
As to the ludicrous idea that Aramark should pick up the tab for cash card overflow, I say that students need to take responsibility for their own spending and eating habits. All students know how much money they have at the beginning and therefore can keep track of their cash card balance. Wouldn’t it be nice if every time a person wrote a check that bounced, the bank picked up the tab? Of course it would, but that is not realistic. If Aramark picked up the tab for overflow, everyone would have an unlimited amount of money to spend there and everything would be free.
Another issue I would like to address is that The Spot is a retail store and as such needs to make money. As everyone knows, prices rise over time. This is not a new idea, everyone has heard his or her parents say, “I remember when a candy bar was 5 cents.” Hence, the price of the products that Aramark buys for The Spot goes up. Furthermore, Aramark chooses to stock The Spot with good products, such as a variety of juices, candies and cookies. These items are expensive for Aramark to purchase; therefore, as a result, the price is high to the students who eat at The Spot. If the prices at The Spot were extremely low one of two things would happen-one, Aramark would go out of business; or two, Aramark would have to stock The Spot with cheaper, low-quality products in order to lower its prices. Students at ULV want lower prices and quality products; this is impossible to do. In other words you cannot have your cake and eat it too.
I agree that the amount on the cash card is not enough to cover the prices at The Spot, but it is not Aramark’s fault that prices raise and therefore ULV student must pay more. ULV determines the amount of money on the cash card, not Aramark. So whoever wrote this ingenious article attacking Aramark should be attacking the ULV cash card instead. ULV should realize that prices rise, and as a result The Spot must charge more. To fix the problem of high prices and not enough money on the cash card, ULV should raise the amount of money on the cash card to accommodate the rise in the prices based on the economy.
Money is a serious matter, and students need to understand its importance and take money seriously, even if it is only on a cash card for The Spot. Aramark is a multi-million dollar corporation that handles food services for Dodger Stadium, the Staples Center as well as countless college campuses across the nation, and people need to understand that it must have good business sense in order to stay in business. It does not need to be ridiculed for having business sense. Tile only thing that would happen if Aramark “picked up the tab for the cash card balance overflow” is that it would go out of business and we, as ULV students would not benefit from all that Aramark Corporation and Keith Friend have done for the food services on this campus.
Julia L. Marr
Aramark Marketing Intern
