REINVENTING THE DINING PROGRAM
AT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
NACUFS NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2013
Scope of Services

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Fast track project
Qualitative& quantitative market
research (February 2012)
 1,400 responses to web-based survey

Interactive Work Session with SFU Team

Incumbent-only RFP rebid

Contract negotiations

New signed contract
Summer 2012.

10-year contract with five, 1-year renewals
Campus Overview
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Extremely diverse campus community
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Student body:
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23,741 commuters, 1,787 residents
Housing: 99% occupancy
Many students take classes on main
campus (Burnaby) & in Vancouver
President Petter’s strategic vision is for
SFU to be “the leading engaged
university defined by its dynamic
integration of innovative education,
cutting edge research & far reaching
community engagement.”
Dining Program Spring 2012

A la carte with one residential dining venue & multiple dining
locations plus catering & vending.
 MacKenzie Café
 Tim Horton’s
 Triple O’s
 Simon C-Store
 DAC

Food was perceived as “expensive.”
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Athletes were not satisfied.
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Provider had been on campus for 10 years.
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Meal plan revenue had dropped approximately $250K since 2009.
Campus Dining Challenges
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Limited hours of operation
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Not aligned with student clock
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Minimal service at 7 p.m. Monday-Friday & on weekends
including at the residential dining hall.
Meal Plans
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776 meal plan holders
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Drop off after first year
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Zero voluntary participation
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Meal plan designed to provide 2 meals/day, 5 days a
week.
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43% of residential student participation
“We assumed students would eat off campus on weekends.”
SFU lowered the price of the meal plan from $1,350 to
$900 in the Spring to eliminated leftover meal plan money.
Consistently low marks in Globe & Mail and other surveys.
Campus Dining Challenges

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Fairly high dissatisfaction with the dining
program (value, hours, menu variety, meal
plans, etc.)

30% of survey respondents in Fall 2011
survey were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

“Dining hall is sterile.”
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Menu variety was lacking, customers were
bored
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“It’s basically impossible to eat three meals a
day on the meal plan & not run out of credit
before the semester ends.”
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“Restaurant pricing without the restaurant
experience.”
Dissatisfaction with catering/revenue was low.
PKC’s Goal


To develop the optimum dining program for SFU students, faculty, staff &
visitors.
Questions we asked:
 What is the optimum dining program for SFU’s unique campus?
 How do we organize dining in order to optimize social engagement?
 Do existing facilities need to be enhanced?
 What will it cost?
How To Determine the Optimum
Dining Program
Ask Yourself These Questions
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What is the optimum dining program
for our unique campus?
How do we organize dining in order
to optimize social engagement?
Do we need to enhance facilities?
What will it cost?
How do we secure the optimum
contract (as applicable)?
Designing the Optimum Dining Program at SFU

Complete a campus-wide master planning
study.
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Study current customer habits & preferences
Determine optimum program elements:
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Hours of operation
Menu variety & selection
Ambiance/amenities
Meal plans
Catering
Vending
Completing this step help create the
building blocks needed to create a strong
customer-based, innovative dining program.
Areas to Consider When Thinking Ahead
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How & in what venues will customers be able to use
meal plan money?
How do current staffing schedules need to be
modified to meet customer demand & extended hours
of operation?
What menu offerings are going to be available in
each venue? What kind of equipment layout/utilities
will be needed?
What changes to the campus landscape (new
building, new arteries through campus) could impact
the success of the dining program?
Are our current facilities undersized & how large do
they need to be to accommodate any changes in
enrollment?
What impact will these proposed changes have on
your department’s bottom line?
Creating a campus-wide dining services master plan will
help answer these questions!
Determine Who You Are
• What makes your campus unique?
• Demographics
• Geography
• Culture
• Traditions
• Preferences
• Growth plans/enrollment
• Political environment
• Financial realities
GOAL: To expand & enhance the student dining experience.
Determine Who You Are

Ask these questions:
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What is your retention rate?
What is your missed meal factor?
Is meal plan participation up or down?
Are the meal plans a good value or not? Can
students use their meal plans when they want
to?
Is there a lack of social connectivity on
campus?
Does the program attract or subtract from
student life on campus?
Market Research
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Interview students & stakeholders.
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Directors of admissions, housing, res life and advancement (retention)
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Residential & commuter students
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Faculty & staff
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Catering customers & conference planners
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Campus administrators
Determine customers’ perceptions regarding:
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Hours of operation Monday-Friday & Saturday and Sunday
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Menu variety
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Meal plans
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Methods of service
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Locations
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Ambiance
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Speed of service
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Customer service
Market Research
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Survey the campus community including students, faculty & staff.
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Where are customers eating off campus/calling for delivery?
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What time of day/night?
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How do they pay for purchases?
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What they do now is a better indication of what they will do.
Use market research determine where the program is lacking & where opportunities lie.
OUT
Market Research
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Evaluate your facilities.
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Do they meet today’s standards or are they in a time warp?
Are they competitive with your cross applicant schools?
How much deferred maintenance exists?
OUT
Optimum Dining Program
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Develop the optimum dining program for YOUR campus.
Elements should include:
 Concepts
 Brands
 Hours (Monday-Friday & weekends)
 Menu variety
 Meal plans
 Methods of service
 Methods of payment
 Locations
 Ambiance
 Speed of service
 Customer service
 Catering service
OUT
Optimum Dining Program
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Financial consequences
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How will meal plan participation change,
especially with growing enrollment?
How much more labor will you need or
how can the current labor be better
utilized?
If you open new locations, how many
operating days will they be open and
what will the average check be?
How will your operating expenses change?
How much can you anticipate growing your
bottom line in a five-year period?
Focus on growing revenues, not just cutting
costs.
OUT
Optimum Dining Program
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Identify necessary facility changes.
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Facilities should be designed to functionally
support the optimum dining program.
Do the current spaces need to enlarged or
redesigned to ensure easy customer throughput
& the ability to provide top-notch service?
How many customers does each facility need to
support at the peak meal period? Will this
change in the future?
How much will it cost to make changes?
Before
For this project, PKC created demand analysis to
determine square footage requirements &
capital cost investments (including planned
enrollment).
After
A New Vision for Dining at SFU
Anytime Dining 24/7 in Residential Dining Commons
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Unlimited access featuring unlimited seconds & made-toorder food 24/7.
More cooked to order & display cooking (eatertainment)
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Menu variety expanded to respond to customers’ requests
for different types of food offerings including sushi
Extreme makeover!
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State-of-the-art servery with interactive stations
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Inviting seating area with a variety of options (booths,
banquettes, high-tops, etc. )
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Contemporary & inviting colors, lighting, merchandising
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SFU colors & memorabilia
Add checker
Amenities
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Free printing
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Meal plan holders may print up to 20 B&W
impressions per day at no charge to them
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Digital menu boards
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Text N Tell
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Collabrative PC station
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Cell phone chargers
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Flat-panel TVs
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Soft seating
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High-top tables, counter seating, banquettes,
community tables.
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Free wi-fi
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Fireplace with soft seating
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Power outlets (lots)
MacKenzie Cafe
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PKC recommended offering anytime dining here as
well from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Friday but SFU
elected to keep this an a la carte food court for now.
Venue was completely remodeled into an International
marketplace to reflect SFU’s diverse community.
New menu options include:
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Freshly-made sushi
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Pho bar
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All Day Breakfast
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Wood burning pizza oven
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Traditional favorites
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Deli
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Salad Bar
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Stir Fry
Other Retail Options
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Maintain Triple O’s.
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Maintain Tim Horton’s in West Mall.
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Maintain Renaissance Coffee locations.
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Maintain lunch service at DAC.
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Open café as planned in the Fraser International
College.
Plan to create the Convocation/Library Café on East
Campus.
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Subway/Tim Horton’s
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Up to eight registers for quick service
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7 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday& Saturday and
Sunday, 7 a.m.-8 p.m. on Friday
Methods of Payment
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Meal plan money/unlimited
access
Dining Dollars
Cash
Credit/debit cards
Consider biometric hand readers
Unlimited 24/7 Access Anytime Dining Meal Plans
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7 DAY PLATINUM PLUS: Eat 7 days a week all you care to eat plus $500 Super
Savings Dollars & 8 VIP passes for use at the Residence Dining Hall.
Cost: $2,200/semester.
7 DAY PLUS PLAN: Eat 7 days a week all you care to eat plus $250 Super Savings
Dollars to use at Triple O’s, Tim Hortons, Subway, Mackenzie Cafe, Simon C's Store and
the door rate at the Residence Dining Hall. Cost: $1,950/semester
7 DAY BASIC PLAN Eat 7 days a week all you care to eat. Cost: $1,680/semester
5 DAY PLUS PLAN: Eat 5 days a week; all you care to eat plus $150 Super Savings
Dollars to use at Triple O’s, Tim Hortons, Subway, Mackenzie Cafe, Simon C's Store and
the door rate at the Residence Dining Hall. Cost: $1,650/semester
5 DAY BASIC PLAN
Eat 5 days a week; all you care to eat. If you order a 5 Day Meal Plan. Cost:
$1,350/semester
What Is Social Architecture ?
TM
Emotional
Connections
Gravitational Pull
Toward dining venues
Students & school
Design Meaningful
Social
Connections
Last a Lifetime
Social Energy
Universal Appeal
Sense of
Community
Heartbeat/Living Room/Kitchen
Compelling Benefits of Social ArchitectureTM
Higher
Recruitment
Capture Rates
Higher %
Alumni
Involvement
Higher
Retention Rates
Higher GPAs
Higher Quality
Housing
Higher
Graduation
Rates
The DNA of a Successful Anytime Dining Program
Anytime Dining Meal Plans
Continuous Hours of Operation
Extended Hours of Operation
Menu Variety & Selection
State-of-the-art
Facilities
Retail
Approach
Optimum
Value
Value Proposition
Access Driven: Anytime Dining
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Promotes less food
waste/consumption
Provides ultimate in flexibility
Appeals to parents/easy
transition from home
No leftover meals
Higher gross profitability
Lower food cost (21-28%)
Voluntary meal plan
participation increases
Consumption Driven: Meals Per
Week/Semester
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Promotes food waste
Unnecessary spending
Less gross profitability
Meals must generally be
consumed during certain time
periods.
Leftover meals/dining dollars
causes dissatisfaction
Does not appeal to parents
Moving Forward


Using the master plan
as a guide, PKC
completed an
incumbent-only rebid
of the campus dining
contract.
New contract
commenced June 1,
2012.
Results

Meal plan participation is up 30%.
 SFU sold 840 meal plans in Spring 2013.
 Commuter students are voluntarily buying meal plans.
 For Summer 2013, up to 271 plans sold, expected to sell 100.
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Housing & student retention is up.
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Customer satisfaction has soared & overall participation is up.
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SFU is considering building a second anytime dining venue in UniverCity in a
condo complex based on the popularity of the Dining Hall.
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The My Pantry area in the Dining Hall is very popular.
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Overall remuneration significantly improved compared to previous contract.
Video
THANK YOU!
Questions?