Cardinal Points

Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Shumpei Kishi Freshman Josh Weiner takes a tray from Clinton Dining Hall before he eats. Sodexho is holding a contest in an effort to get missing items back. Every year Sodexho finds themselves missing large amounts of cups, plates, utensils and saucers.

One piece of fruit and an ice-cream cone. For some, resident dining hall rules for what's allowed to leave the premises isn't enough.

Each semester, Plattsburgh States Sodexho food services find themselves in a predicament with missing items like cups, plates, utensils and saucers.

Efforts have been put into effect in hopes for any equipment taken from the dining halls over the past semester to be returned.

"There are a lot of things missing from our inventory and it's a growing problem each semester which there hasn't been a way to prevent it," Josef Quirinale, Sodexho general manager, said.

Quirinale believes the missing items aren't so much a theft problem, but more people are accidentally borrowing items and simply forgetting where they came from.

This, according to Quirinale, occurs mostly at catered events.

After catering an event where silverware and plates are used, a lot of the people don't realize that the items need to be returned back to the dining services.

Quirinale said in the near future, they will set up a deposit program where all the items handed out are accounted for, and known when it comes time to return them.

Every spring Quirinale said Sodexho is spending more and more money on new items they need to replace.

"Things get rather costly after a while," Quirinale said.

Around $30,000 is spent on equipment, utensils and catering services annually, but meal plans have not risen due to lost items.

Inventory is done twice a semester. The second time, which is usually done at the end of the semester, is "funny", Quirinale said, due to all the items which are not accounted for.

Quirinale said the resident dining halls and students aren't culprits of missing equipment. He said that not using disposable utensils and not sending employees to retrieve the rented paraphernalia is where the dining service loses its money.

Continued...

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