All Millikin students are familiar with the Bistro; the fast food-esque haven for when you’ve missed dinner or are just dying for those chicken strips. This year many students have noticed a change within their beloved alternate dining option, the loss of the buzzers, which for some seems to have created a more chaotic and less effective service. But the people who work at the Bistro don’t see it that way.
Carla Franzene, a junior political science major who has worked at the bistro for three years, gave me some insight as to the missing buzzers, “We were told they stopped working. Also nearly half of the buzzers were stolen, so that might have played into it as well.”
She feels as though students have been over reacting to the absence of the buzzers, “Other fast food places call out numbers. Once you buy something, I feel like you have a personal responsibility to pay attention to it, like listening for when your number is called.”
Another Bistro employee, Serenity Barron, said, “It can be irritating to shout out numbers multiple times. Often we get attitude from the people who don’t hear their number, but as employees it feels like we’re constantly shouting the numbers.”
Barron has been working at the Bistro for two semesters now and says that beyond the mild annoyance of students who don’t feel like they’re getting their food fast enough, she has never experienced any serious rudeness from students.
Franzene disagrees. She said that she has been the target of rude comments in the past and feels as though some students act as though they are better than the people who are working behind the counter to prepare the food.
“Sometimes it can be frustrating to work there,” Franzene said. “When we get a rush or we get behind, it can get tense.”
Barron similarly stated that things can get tense as the workers try to fill the orders quickly and correctly.
“It can get really hot back there, too. The grills are hot, the fryers are hot and there are a bunch of people in a small space. That can add to the stress of getting everyone’s order done, especially when we have people come up to the counter wondering where their food is when the order was never printed back there.”
But both student employees are glad for their jobs and had many good things to say about the Bistro.
“Everyone is very positive, and all the supervisors are excited to be there which makes it a fun place to work,” Barron said. She got her job the end of her freshman year and plans on continuing to work there through her sophomore year.
“I adore my coworkers,” Franzine said. “I know I can count on them back there and just regularly.”
Although the Bistro has had a few changes that may seem like inconveniences to the students, it appears as though the employees of the Bistro have adapted. The buzzers do not seem likely to reappear in the near future, so it now seems to be up to the students to make that adaption and be more vigilant and appreciative of the Bistro workers. Hopefully as students realize this, the Bistro will become an even more efficient and delicious place to eat.