A few rules from the congress that could help Amtrak Food Service

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Larry H.

Conductor
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
1,045
The constant attack on the food service of Amtrak by congress is really the basis for the degraded service and wishes to eliminate the diners all together by the CEO. Not to mention long distance travel.

I decided to look up how congress operates its own restaurants and it turns out there are many. Below are some quotes taken right from the rules of operating a food service for congressmen.
Meeting Evolving Expectations for Quality and Services

All quotes from
House and Senate Restaurants: Current Operations and Issues for Congress

Updated April 2, 2019


In addition to reasonable prices, the House and Senate restaurants are expected to meet other customer standards, often related to food quality, nutrition, and variety. Food service vendors, through their experience in the broader restaurant industry, are often aware of current consumer interests, and the House and Senate restaurants solicit customer feedback to help ascertain what
needs and values their particular customers have. When the current vendor, Sodexo, was selected for the House restaurants, the CAO acknowledged that providing quick dining options was a main priority for the restaurant service, although the quality of food, nutrition, and customer service were also considerations. The requirement for two branded restaurant concepts also reflected customer preferences.45 On its website for Senate dining, Restaurant Associates has, at times, highlighted its initiatives in “sustainability as well as social and environmental responsibility.” These include its efforts to provide organic food, locally produced food, sustainable seafood, cage-free eggs, and no trans-fats.46

Complaints about restaurant prices have persisted over the history of the restaurant systems,43 and the 2013 study of dining operations in the House suggested that many customers, particularly staff and visitors, remain price-conscious.44 When possible, customers may be willing to trade the convenience of on-site services for off-site alternatives if the dining options in the Capitol complex are not perceived as good values.

Financial Challenges in Operating Restaurants

Throughout history, the House and Senate restaurants have faced financial challenges. In part, this is a consequence of the operating practices adopted by the House and Senate restaurants tending to reflect the needs of Congress, even when these choices sometimes hurt the ability of the
restaurants to break even. This approach illustrates the view that the restaurants should operate as a necessary service rather than a profit-generating enterprise—

  1. Members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Legislative Branch expressed continuing concerns about food quality, high prices, and poor service in the House restaurants under Sodexo during the House of Representatives FY2018 budget hearing in May 2017. At the hearing, the CAO stated that a quality assurance surveillance team, comprised of five CAO employees, had been created to continually appraise contractor performance in a number of areas. According to the CAO, observations and feedback from the surveillance team during its first two months had led to some improvements in food quality and changes in restaurant management personnel. A new chef was brought in to the Members’ dining room and some table service was reintroduced in response to feedback.18
Many argue that this professional restaurant management experience is necessary to meet the variety of customer needs in the House and Senate restaurants in a cost-effective manner. Numerous nearby eateries compete with the congressional restaurants for customers. Often, an advantage the House and Senate restaurants are able to provide is convenience for Members, staff, and visitors. This advantage, however, may be undermined if the restaurants are not responsive to customer input and are unable to provide consistent food quality, sufficient variety, or reasonably priced service, relative to their competitors.
 
It has been a long time ago, but my parents had a relationship with a Member of the House of Representatives from my home District. Never knew why and was ignorant enough as a teenager to ask as to why. Visiting the Capital once, we were invited to have lunch with the wife of our Representative in the House Restaurant. What was the menu? I have it somewhere in my collections, I think. Was the lunch memorable? Not for the cuisine, but for the experience.

I do expect the dining experiences offered to those who choose to dine at the Senate or House Restaurants, be it Members' staffers, visitors, or the "esteemed" Members themselves be most acceptable.

Does what they experience in dining as related to Amtrak currently? Not sure that it is relevant.
 
I just felt it would show the hypocrisy of people who have it all and demand great food and service to then say the rest of the public should be happy to have cold boxed food or none at all. Notice too the want attentive service and selections as well as reasonable prices. All I am saying is apply this to Amtrak Diners which they want to eliminate if possible.
 
The college my daughter attended used Sodexo as their food service provider. Worst college food I've ever eaten, even on the parents/prospective students visitors days when you might expect them to put their best foot forward. What's really funny is that Sodexo is a French company. I wonder if they're still selling "Freedom Fries" at the House cafeteria. Oh well, I guess it just shows that you shouldn't believe in stereotypes, like the French and their superior cooking skills.
 
Oh well, I guess it just shows that you shouldn't believe in stereotypes, like the French and their superior cooking skills.
You mean like the stereotype of the USA offering great customer service and then expecting the it to be replicated in a Russian or German (for example) macdonalds?
 
The college my daughter attended used Sodexo as their food service provider. Worst college food I've ever eaten, even on the parents/prospective students visitors days when you might expect them to put their best foot forward. What's really funny is that Sodexo is a French company. I wonder if they're still selling "Freedom Fries" at the House cafeteria. Oh well, I guess it just shows that you shouldn't believe in stereotypes, like the French and their superior cooking skills.

Eh, Sodexo (and others) will generally produce/provide whatever quality their client asks and pays for, from low-level mass-produced junk to something approaching fine dining. I'm sure there is a tendency to cut corners and pinch pennies, but if the college insisted upon (and paid for) higher quality food, Sodexo would almost certainly provide it.
 
The college my daughter attended used Sodexo as their food service provider. Worst college food I've ever eaten, even on the parents/prospective students visitors days when you might expect them to put their best foot forward. What's really funny is that Sodexo is a French company. I wonder if they're still selling "Freedom Fries" at the House cafeteria. Oh well, I guess it just shows that you shouldn't believe in stereotypes, like the French and their superior cooking skills.
Robert William Ney, the representative who spearheaded the "Freedom Fries" renaming fiasco, was eventually forced to resign in disgrace and had to serve time in prison for his role in the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal. Ney's formal operations directive was apparently rescinded sometime in 2012. As for stereotypes I would advise against using generic cafeteria chow as a proxy for judging foreign cuisine.

You mean like the stereotype of the USA offering great customer service...
Is this a real stereotype or is it some sort of meme?
 
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