Dishware losses cost VCU Dining thousands each year

Mark Robinson
Managing Editor

It might be time to think twice before strolling out of Shafer with that half-finished mug of coffee.

VCU Dining Services has replaced between $20,000 and $25,000 worth of dishware each year since Shafer Dining Court opened in 2004, according to Matt Smythe, director of operations for VCU Dining. The trend has resulted in more than $200,000 in losses.

Broken dishes factor into the annual loss, Smythe said, but students who take dishes from the dining hall drive the cost up further.

“We’ve found plates in the park. We find silverware lining the alley. We find glasses and coffee cups out front, so it does walk away,” Smythe said.

All the missing dishware doesn’t turn up though, so at the end of each semester, the VCU Dining team takes inventory of the facility’s remaining dishware.

A bulk purchase is made at the end of each school year to make up for the losses. About 30 percent of the dishware is replaced each year, Smythe said, which drives up VCU Dining’s operational cost slightly.

Sidney Lems, a junior psychology major, said students who take dishes from Shafer should consider how their actions affect dining plan costs.

“Obviously the money has to come from somewhere… These students are just having fun but we’re paying a really big consequence for it.” she said.

Based on VCU Dining’s recommendations to the Board of Visitors, dining plan costs have risen a little less than 2 percent annually since Shafer opened in 2004. But Tamara Highsmith, VCU Dining’s sales and services manager, said dining plan costs are not where students should expect to see the impact of their “long-term borrowing.”

The money budgeted for dishware replacement – about 1 percent of VCU Dining’s annual budget, according to Highsmith – would be spent on further services, such as hiring more employees or updating equipment.

“We as a dining team… really try to minimize the losses to ensure that we’re effectively providing the best services and products we can,” Highsmith said.

While dishware losses aren’t uncommon at college dining halls, VCU Dining’s yearly dishware loss is higher than other ARAMARK-managed state schools. William and Mary and UVa tallied about $18,000 of losses each, according to Smythe.

Most dining halls use cheaper or disposable dishware, which limits the cost of lost or broken dishes, Highsmith said. VCU Dining considers the dishware they use to be the difference between a “dining location and a cafeteria experience,” as Highsmith puts it, so there’s a reluctance to opt for a cheaper alternative.

Doing so would also compromise the environmental goals VCU Dining sets, Highsmith said.

“We wash a dish; it stays – we get numerous years of use from it.”

Food theft is a more common problem plaguing Shafer, Smythe said, but because of the buffet-style arrangement, no dollar figure can be attached to those losses.

Aside from a single security guard who patrols Shafer at night, VCU Dining relies on employees to watch for dishware and food theft. If an employee sees a student trying to stash either, they are supposed to tell a manager.

Most students aren’t confrontational when approached by a manager, Smythe said, but in some cases, security has gotten involved.

Still, he said he doesn’t believe the majority of the losses are a result of malicious intent.

The preventative measures in place have stopped students from stealing more frequently, but some students, like Dani Brown, think more can be done to limit the losses.

“I think people just think they’re getting away with it,” said the senior art history and creative advertising major. “So I think (VCU Dining) should let it be known that they know it’s going on and it needs to stop.”

About four years ago, VCU Dining started an amnesty program at the end of each semester. They put collection boxes in each residence hall and encouraged students to fork over any “borrowed” dishes, no questions asked.

In some cases, the boxes went missing – students swiped those too, Highsmith said jokingly. The remaining boxes returned few matching dishes. Needless to say, the program wasn’t as successful as VCU Dining officials hoped it would be.