The results from Sodexho’s customer satisfaction survey, which was conducted last fall, show that students are more satisfied with on-campus dining than they were in previous semesters.The survey is conducted every fall by an outside firm, Consumer Metrics. The questionnaire asks students about their opinions of the different dining locations on campus and is handed out at each location.

Fifty-eight percent of the students said they were highly satisfied with the cafeteria, which is a 23 percent improvement from the spring of 2004. Thirty-four percent were moderately satisfied with the cafeteria, while 8 percent were dissatisfied.

“The cafeteria is inconsistent,” Juan Montoyn, freshman from Fontana, Calif., said. “Sometimes it is good, and sometimes it is horrible.”

Sixty-nine percent of the students surveyed said they were highly satisfied with the student union food court, which is a 2 percent increase from spring of 2004.

“The grilled ham and cheese sandwiches are the bomb,” Lauren Cenac, English junior from Houma, said. “The Chai teas are really good, too.”

Eighty-four percent of students said they were highly satisfied with Godfather’s Pizza, while 15 percent said they were moderately satisfied. Only 2 percent said they were dissatisfied.

“I am not a pizza person, but this is really good,” Constance Gaines, government senior from New Orleans, said.

David Wait, who became Sodexho’s general manager August of last year, said his mission has been to observe and get campus dining financially sound and get employee training and service training underway. He also is concerned with cleaning up a lot of the service area and assisting with the University on several committees in terms of construction projects for campus dining facilities.

“The feedback we have been receiving has been overwhelmingly positive,” Wait said. “But I do think these numbers leave room for improvements.”

Sodexho’s catering services came under scrutiny after Winterfest in November of last semester. The Student Programming Association, who puts on Winterfest, filed a formal complaint with Auxiliary Services, saying that the food arrived late and was not kept warm.

According to Wait, the problem at Winterfest began when the SPA attempted to use their own workers to distribute the food.

“They used students in their organization to run the concessions that they had bought from Sodexho,” Wait said. “Evidently, they bit off more than they could chew, and the problems at Winterfest were because they didn’t know what they were doing.”

After complaints were filed about Winterfest, Wait met with Brenda Haskins, director of Auxiliary Services, and decided that SPA will purchase the services provided by Sodexho along with the food in future programs.

“When I investigated the problems at Winterfest, I discovered there were several parties at fault, including the SPA,” Haskins said.

Jennifer White, faculty adviser for the SPA, agrees with Haskins.

“The problems at Winterfest have been rectified,” White said. “Since then, service has been wonderful and they have gone above and beyond the call of duty.”

“I am readily admitting that we have had some issues,” Wait said. “But we are trying to communicate better and address those issues.