Aramark Director Admits Unfair Pricing At The University Of South Dakota

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I wonder if Aramark Director Sinan Supurgeci managed to last more than a week after fessing up about how Aramark had unfair pricing practices at the University of South Dakota...

His precise quote lives on, and for the moment can be found online, click here, but the actual article has disappeared from the University of South Dakota student website where it could (once upon a time in the happy, golden, by-and-by) be located.

Fortunately, I've managed to procure a copy of the exact wording and--in a spirit of fair comment and criticism about the need for student newspapers to effectively maintain their old online content for research purposes--LIKE A REAL NEWSPAPER WOULD DO--I am putting it on this blog, verbatim.

Arg. Actually, I shouldn't be so critical of student newspapers. A great number of non-student newspapers are no better, and in some ways worse. But it's very frustrating for content to disappear and become inaccessible when you're trying to research something, and it's easy to blame giddy, inexperienced, student so-called journalists for not living up to the high, hard standards of A REAL NEWSPAPER.

Ahem. Now, without further ado...

ARAMARK DIRECTOR ADMITS UNFAIR PRICING

SUPURGECI WORKS WITH RHGA ON SOLUTION

By Liz Gebhart, 4/26/06

For being here less than a year, Aramark Director Sinan Supurgeci knows how to get things done.

During this school year, Supurgeci conducted student surveys to find out what students complaints have with Aramark. (sic) Now he is serious about making changes.

"I want to be proactive and take action on these remarks," he said.

Supurgeci said the number one complaint students have is price. While hours and food quality are also common, price seemed to be the most consistent complaint.

WIth more than 1,000 survey results, Supurgeci wanted to take action. To see if students complaints (sic) were valid, a competitive price analysis was conducted to see where Aramark prices were in comparison to other local businesses.

"Students were right," Supergeci said. "The results were all over the map. There was no real rhyme or reason with some of our pricing."

Supurgeci said one of the more surprising findings was the price of candy. When doing the analysis, they found that a bag of candy was considerably more expensive at the Bump than convenience stores. (Johnny Lunch Battle says: I assume "the Bump" is some kind of on-campus store, and the reporter means convenience stores OFF CAMPUS)

While they want to offer lower prices, Supurgeci stressed Aramark is a business and needs to do what it takes to be profitable. It is because of the market that soda went from 99 cents to $1.29. That was the competitive price at stores around campus.

"(The complaints) can be overblown," Supurgeci said. "Students need to realize what today's market is like."

Students that use Flex dollars have more flexibility in purchases, but Supurgeci wants to make sure they are not tempted to go to a convenience store instead.

For now, Aramark is trying to find a happy medium.

"Students also have to realize that we're not Super Wal-Mart or Hy-Vee. We don't get in truck loads of products," he said. "We only get cases at a time, and we can't compete with them."

To address student concerns and show what was being done to meet student needs, Supurgeci spoke with the Resident Hall Government Association. Withint RHGA is a Food Advisory Council that deals primarily with Aramark and concerns.

RHGA president Mike Husby said the presentation Supurgeci gave to their organization was beneficial on many levels. After the presentation, he said many had a better understanding of the situation Aramark is facing between offering good prices to students and trying to make a profit.

"I was very impressed," Husby said. "Going into it, I really thought that Aramark ripped us off, but they're juggling fair prices and trying to make a profit."

(Johnny Lunch Battle says: both Husby and the reporter of this article are far too easily convinced)

Husby said he has already seen changes with the vegetarian menus and the veggie and fruit trays in the Bump, which so far have been popular with students. Another common concern raised by students was the price of the salad bar. Husby said Aramark told them that it has already lowered the price or will in the future.

Another change is the introduction of the Coyote Cup. RHGA addressed concerns of the waste of Styrofoam cups and their desire to be more environmental friendly. (sic)

Students will be able to purchase a 32-ounce mug for $4.99. Refills will only cost $.89 and will be applied for the entire school year.

They are still discussing if students will have to buy a new mug each year or if they can use the same cup for the refill price. Cups will be available beginning May 5 for next year. Students can purchase them in the Bump and U. Brew.

Next year, Supurgeci said their goal is to focus on promoting nutritional values and offering online menus to see specials and healthy items for the day.

END OF ARTICLE

Please note: according to a Facebook profile of a "Sinan Supurgeci," which is not a very common name, he currently lives in Omaha, Nebraska, not South Dakota. I plan to contact him to see if he will provide answers about Aramark. Notably, his Facebook profile as of today shows him eating from what appears to be an institutional lunch tray.