Proposal for
A replacement for Chartwells
WIT Student Researchers
December 13th, 2011
WIT Student Researchers:
Peter Galeno, Victoria Gordon, Ryan Peterson, Brad Simonsen, and Sam Smith
Of Wentworth Institute of Technology
550 Huntington Ave
Boston, Massachusetts
02115
Replacement Proposal for
Chartwells school foodservice
December 13th, 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Introduction
Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Reasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Works Cited/References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Appendix 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Appendix 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
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Replacement Proposal for
Chartwells school foodservice
December 13th, 2011
WIT Student Researchers
550 Huntington Ave
Boston, Massachusetts
02115
December 13th, 2011
Housing and Residence Life Office
Wentworth Institute of Technology
550 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
To Whom It May Concern:
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter as well as making an appointment to meet with fellow
students and myself. The reason for the meeting is our concern about the food being served in the Beatty
Cafeteria as well as the MassArt Cafeteria that Wentworth, MassArt, and MCPHS students are able to
eat at. The Chartwells school foodservice is less than satisfactory as well as over-priced. As residential
students, we are forced to eat this food three times a day and do not even have an alternative choice of
food since both the Beatty and MassArt cafeterias available to us service this food. We believe that our
primary and secondary research we are going to present to you will also raise your concern about the
food quality your students are consuming.
Not only are we bringing up said problem to the Housing and Residence Life Office, but also there was
frequent mentioning of this matter at a number of Wentworth Student Government meetings. Though we
are only five students of our entire student body, we are speaking on behalf of a number of our other
peers. We ask that you consider our problem seriously and deem one of our solutions appropriate to our
situation.
Our substitute plan would provide healthier, more filling food; as well as priced more efficient for the
budget of a college student. The new solution would offer more choices for dinner, dessert, beverages,
as well as an array of other food products. This would allow for students to be overall more satisfied
since nutrition and healthy eating are so important.
We look forward to meeting with you to explain our plan in greater detail.
Best,
Peter Galeno
Victoria Gordon
Ryan Peterson
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Brad Simonsen
Sam Smith
Replacement Proposal for
Chartwells school foodservice
December 13th, 2011
SUMMARY
Purpose of This Report
There are many things a college student has to adjust to at their new home away from
home. Though, dealing with low quality, over-priced food that does nothing that upsets
your stomach is completely unacceptable. The purpose of this report is to bring the illness
of this food to the attention of people in power to change it and to present a wellconstructed, thought-out solution.
Research and Analysis
This report was built upon extensive primary and secondary research. Primary research
including personal interviews and surveys with constant customers of the Beatty and
MassArt Cafeterias as well as secondary research based on the Chartwells foodservice
itself.
Key Findings
 Students are generally unhappy with the Beatty and MassArt cafeterias, though
would choose MassArt over the two
 Students who have ate at Emmanuel College (a college that is part of the Colleges
of the Fenway along with Wentworth and MassArt) overall leaves students full
and satisfied unlike Wentworth or MassArt, their food is provided to them by
Café Bon Appétit
 Not only are students displeased with the food quality, but they also mentioned
problems with the prices, service, seating arrangements, and cleanliness
Conclusions
Students have to eat this food everyday and it is wrong to force them to live on something
they are so thoroughly unhappy with. A simple change of the catering service could solve
many problems with that single altercation.
Recommendations
Since students are mostly pleased with Emmanuel’s choice of food provider, we should
make it available to the other students who use the Beatty and MassArt Cafeterias
1. Accept Meal Plan Points at Emmanuel College – Emmanuel College has their
own meal plan. The only way that other COF (Colleges of the Fenway) students
could access their cafeteria is if they have Fenway Cash. If Emmanuel College
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Replacement Proposal for
Chartwells school foodservice
December 13th, 2011
accepted the same Meal Plan Points as MassArt and Wentworth’s Beatty Café,
students would have a choice of three cafeterias instead of one
2. Replace Chartwells in either/both Beatty and MassArt Cafeterias – If
Chartwells was replaced in one or both of these cafeterias, it would again provide
more of a selection of food available for students as well as convince since the
Emmanuel cafeteria is not as close to MassArt, Wentworth, and MCPHS students.
3. Offer additional businesses to use Fenway Cash – Currently, there is a number
of local and chain businesses that accept Fenway Cash. Though there are still a lot
of places that students would also prefer to eat at but cannot due to their money
and Fenway Card restrictions.
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Replacement Proposal for
Chartwells school foodservice
December 13th, 2011
ILLUSTRATIONS
MassArt: 42
Wentworth: 18
Sixty random students were surveyed in
both the MassArt and Wentworth
Beatty Cafeterias. The chart above
represents which cafeteria students
preferred which, the MassArt cafeteria
won by a landslide. This is
unacceptable since Wentworth’s own
students will not even eat at their own
cafeteria. Students who chose
Wentworth over MassArt generally said
they ate at Beatty Café out of
convenience rather than food quality
(closer to their residence hall).
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Mass Art:
Wit:
What students say…
No complaints, stay the same
No opinion
Change to Bon Apetit
Make some sort of change
The same random sixty students were also asked a poll question. We asked the
students how they felt about Beatty Café specifically. They were able to choose
from “no complaints, stay the same” (meaning they were satisfied with the food),
“no opinion”, “change to Bon Apétit”, and “make some sort of change”. We asked
the students who answered “make some sort of change” if they have eaten at
Emmanuel College, and most of them said no. We feel that students would have
chosen the “change to Bon Apétit” option if they have eaten there and tasted their
food.
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Replacement Proposal for
Chartwells school foodservice
December 13th, 2011
INTRODUCTION
What We Are Proposing
Statement of Purpose
As Wentworth Institute of Technology students researchers we are informing you that the
current catering service that is offered with the school meal plan is poor. The catering
company is called Chartwells and it has received a large number of negative reviews. The
purpose and reason why we are proposing the idea to remove Chartwells catering service
from our school and replacing it with another is because students are not satisfied with
the food offered to us. Not only do we believe that Chartwells is poor, but the majority of
the student body believe it too. Chartwells doesn’t offer us the high quality food that
they say they do. Not only is the food quality poor but also the service given to us is
slow. Although it can get busy, Chartwells neglects to open every cashier which results
in lines for us as customers. When getting food you always have to give yourself an extra
fifteen minutes just to plan on waiting in line. Also Chartwells pricing is high. After
comparing it to surrounding colleges cafeterias Chartwells offers less food for a higher
price. As college students we do not have extra money to spend because we are mainly
focused on academics. Chartwells is too expensive and we as students want a catering
service that will offer fair prices and better food.
Proposal for Housing and Residential Life
As students of Wentworth Institute of Technology we are proposing an idea to
discontinue the current catering service of our school. We want to completely get rid of
Chartwells and replace it with another catering service. Chartwells is the name of the
service that caters Wentworth and Mass Art. Since we are all students who live on
campus we eat three meals a day and most of them are at these two cafeterias.
After doing research we have found out that students do not appreciate the food, service,
or price that Chartwells offers to us. We conducted a survey and asked 60 students and
customers about how they felt about Chartwells and found out some astonishing data.
We had a scale question asking them to rank the food quality at Mass Art and Wentworth
which are both catered by Chartwells. Once we got our results we found out that out of 5
(5 being excellent, 1 being poor) Mass Art scored an average of 2.2 and Wentworth
scored an average of 1.4. These numbers are low and as a catering company would strive
for higher numbers. This goes to prove our theory that students are not pleased with the
catering service that is offered to us. Not only are students upset about the food quality
but they are also upset about how slow they are. To help our research we also asked
students to rank the speed of service on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 being fast, 1 being slow).
The results were once again astonishing. Mass Art scored an average of 3 and
Wentworth scored an average of 2.2. Once again this is not positive feedback given to us
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Replacement Proposal for
Chartwells school foodservice
December 13th, 2011
about this catering company. We conducted this survey to prove that it is not only us
students that agree that Chartwells is not what they are said to be.
Reasons to Replace Chartwell’s Catering Company
Reason 1: Dissatisfaction Among Student Body
Chartwell’s catering service has been a part of the Wentworth community since 2005. As
sophomore students here at Wentworth we have noticed frustration with Chartwell’s food
quality, food service, and food pricing among the student body.
A significant number of customers are members of student-organized social network
campaigns against Chartwells. Groups such as “Students Against Chartwells Food
Service” and “Down With Chartwells” have gained popularity with over one thousand
members each.
In conducting research, most students expressed negative feelings towards the food
Chartwells serves. A common word used in criticizing Chartwells’ food is “inedible”.
Food that is purchased is often too stale to eat. In a recent survey, students rated
Chartwells food 2.4 out of 5.0 for quality.
Reason 2: Dishonest Business Ethics
Chartwells’ mission statement is misleading and is not an honest portrayal of the
company.
“As a leader in food service, it has been Chartwells commitment for decades to provide
high class, low cost support and service to its customers. The courteous and professional
staff of Chartwells provides top-notch service to any event from concessions to barbeques
to formal dining.”
Chartwells’ Mission
Everyone in Chartwells is committed to consistently delivering superior service in the
most efficient way, for the shared benefit of our customers, shareholders, and associates.
CHARTWELLS PRINCIPLES
* Safety, Health & Environment First
* Delivering For Clients & Consumers
* Developing Our People & Valuing Diversity
* Profitable Growth
* Constant Focus on Performance & Efficiency
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Replacement Proposal for
Chartwells school foodservice
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CHARTWELLS VALUES
* Openness, Trust & Integrity
* Passion For Quality
* Win Through Teamwork
* Responsibility
* Can-do
A company that cannot meet the standard of their own mission statement should not be
trusted with the responsibility of providing food to the Wentworth community.
As students in the Wentworth community, we make up the majority of Chartwells’
customers. It is evident that the aspects of the company introduced in the mission
statement are not true. We experience the service first hand and know that it is not topnotch by any means. Also, Chartwells expresses that they are capable of formal dining.
After eating at numerous Chartwells’ cafeterias we can argue that it is not a formal
catering service, nor is it capable of being a formal dining service. Food items are
overpriced and are far from high class.
Reason 3: Unhealthy and Unpleasant Food
In conducting research, many students claimed to have experienced illness from the food
Chartwells serves, particularly from beef and chicken products.
This year during an inspection of a Chartwells operation, officials found “very serious”
violations that “must be corrected immediately,” according to a report by the Wellesley
Board of Health. Some violations included several dozen sandwiches kept at
“dangerously elevated temperatures,” a lack of proper sneeze guards, pizza that was not
kept hot enough and inadequate log-keeping by staff. These are all examples of how
Chartwells has violated mandated health codes. This employs a poor image to the student
body and makes it difficult for students to trust the food that is served on campus
Reason 4: Food is Over-priced
As college students we can say that money is certainly an issue in our lives. Chartwells
claims to offer low priced products, but as students eating the food for a number of years,
we have found that it is overpriced. In this past year they have initiated charges for a
simple cup of water or ice.
Since we are college students and are focused on academics, the majority of us do not
have time to maintain jobs and produce an income. If Chartwells wasn’t so expensive,
more kids would be eating their food because they have that extra money to spend.
After comparing prices with other catering companies we found that Chartwells is
severely overpriced and is charging more for a less amount of food. We conducted
research on Emmanuel College and their catering service and found that students pay a
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Replacement Proposal for
Chartwells school foodservice
December 13th, 2011
flat rate for buffet style dining. Emmanuel’s catering service, Bon Appetit, charges $7.00
for a meal, a drink, and dessert. Students are able to eat and drink as much as they desire
once they have paid and entered the dining hall. Chartwells charges nearly $10.00 for just
a meal and drink that does not compare to the quality of those offered by Bon Appetit
Reason 5: Inadequate Service
As Wentworth students, we have access to two separate cafeterias that are operated by
Chartwells. One cafeteria is located on Wentworth’s campus, and the other is located on
Massachusetts College of Art’s campus. Although the MassArt cafeteria service is
noticeably faster, both cafeterias have unreasonably slow serive.
In a recent survey, students rated the Wentworth service speed a 2.7 out of 5.0. In the
conducted survey, MassArt was rated slightly higher at 3.2 out of 5.0. Service speed is a
slowest at the grill and the registers, which are poorly staffed.
The largest concern with Chartwells service is in the behavior and ethics of the staff.
Students often complain about the short tempered and rude attitudes of the staff members.
In conducting research, one student even exclaimed that they avoided the grill section of
the cafeteria because of an incident where the student was verbally harassed by one of the
Chartwells staff members. Students attribute a significant part of their negative
relationship with Chartwells to their rude service
Chartwells staffing has been questioned by many local school districts as they have
failed to perform proper CORI background checks while hiring employees. A MassArt
employee was recently fired after being caught in the act of stealing from the cash
register.
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Chartwells school foodservice
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GLOSSARY
COF – Colleges of the Fenway. Six institutions around the Fenway area that students are
able to cross-register. The colleges are: Wentworth Institute of Technology,
Emmanuel College, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences,
Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and Wheelock College
Emmanuel College – closest college in proximity with an alternative food choice
WIT - Wentworth Institute of Technology
MCPHS - Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
MassArt – Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Fenway Cash – Optional pre-loaded points system accepted at local restaurants not
affiliated with colleges
NIH – National Institutes of Health
Office of Extramural Research Certificate – Given by the NIH after completion of
NIH’s Web-based training course “Protecting Human Research Participants”
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REFERENCES
Chartwells. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2011, from
http://www.chartwellshighereducation.com/:
http://www.chartwellshighereducation.com/
Mass Art Dining. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2011, from
http://inside.massart.edu/campus_life/dining_services.html:
http://inside.massart.edu/campus_life/dining_services.html
(2011, October 23). Mass Art vs. Beatty. (M. S. Smith, Interviewer)
Wentworth Dining. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2011, from
http://www.dineoncampus.com/WIT/: http://www.dineoncampus.com/WIT/
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APPENDIX 1
Please take a moment to fill out our survey. Your responses will be anonymous and the information
will be used in a project to help us find out which cafeteria COF students prefer.
1.
Gender: Male ___
2.
Which College do you attend?
Female___
Wentworth____
3.
Mass Art____
MCPHS____
What year in college are you?
Freshman____
Sophomore____
Junior____
Senior___
5 th Year___
Graduate___
4.
Place of residence?
College Dorm____
5.
Which cafeteria(s) have you eaten at?(Check all that apply)
Mass Art___
6.
Wentworth____
Check which meal of the day you eat at the cafeteria (check all that apply)
Breakfast____
7.
Commuter____ Other____
Lunch____
Dinner____
Rate the speed of service at each cafeteria:
a.
Mass Art
1
2
3
4
Very Slow
b.
8.
1
Very Fast
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
Rank The food at each cafeteria:
a.
b.
9.
Wentworth
5
Mass Art
1
Quality-
Poor
Wentworth
1
Excellent
2
3
4
5
Which Cafeteria do you think has a better seating arrangement?
Mass Art____
Wentworth____ Both Equal____
10. Which Cafeteria do you prefer and why?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
11. What suggestions do you have to make the Wentworth cafeteria better?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
12. What suggestions do you have to make the Mass Art cafeteria better?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for participating in our survey. Your responses will help us with our research greatly.
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Replacement Proposal for
Chartwells school foodservice
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APPENDEX 2
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