When a Food Quality Issue Goes Viral: The Case of Stop Bugging Me with the

Broccoli! $($Nissle et al$.,2020)$

Abstract

This case study examines a cafeteria food quality issue that became the catalyst to a negative social

media campaign, highlighting the power of social media and the importance of training and quality

control. Foodservice is a dynamic business dependent upon a series of events that must be executed

precisely to ensure customer satisfaction. Perhaps most challenging is ensuring line level

employees maintain choreography even under pressure. Customer satisfaction systems are

seemingly more important than others, as the impact of errors is exploitable through social media.

Investigatory questions are included to further explore potential issues associated with negative

social media.

Case

Introduction

Manufacturers commonly use contract foodservice companies to provide onsite cafeteria service

$($Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management, $2015).$ The cafeterias are open while

employees are working, often covering several shifts. Historically, cafeterias are viewed as an

important amenity, but with pressures to control or even reduce costs, facilities do not always

receive the investment needed to prevent aging infrastructure $($Rosales$,2014).$ This case took place

in a cafeteria built during the $1960$s$,$ where the contract foodservice company provided around

the clock foodservice at a site within the main manufacturing building. The broccoli incident took

place in a building within a larger corporate campus. The site where the incident occurred

employed union workers across a total of three shifts. On average, one$-$third of these employees

purchased items from the cafeteria each day, with the evening shift serving the lowest volume. The

cafeteria staff consisted of a small team who shared cooking, cashiering, serving, and cleaning

responsibilities. The manufacturing employees were regulated to a time enforced break; therefore,

it was critical they were served quickly after the moment they entered the cafeteria. During a recent

evening shift, the team underestimated the number of broccoli portions to prepare, causing

customers to wait while more was prepared. The broccoli was a side item served along with prime

rib, one of the top selling menu items. Events quickly spiraled out of control when a staff member

HRMT $7716$ Services Management Course Outline$-$Spring $2024$ Dr Hiran Roy

$2$

took a shortcut and failed to follow standard food preparation procedures. This led to a customer

discovering his undercooked vegetables crawling with small insects. He then addressed the issue

in one of the most impactful ways possible, beginning his own social media campaign.

Following the reading of the case study and completion of the discussion questions provided, the

reader should be able to:

$$ Describe some challenges unique to contract foodservice.

$$ Understand quality assurance and training in a contract food service setting.

$$ Explain how social media can impact foodservice establishments.

Story Background

The Environment

Fleet Incorporated $($Fleet$)$ is a prominent manufacturing company located in the Northeast United

States. Central to the ability of Fleet to maintain production efficiency is the requirement of a

quality foodservice operation located near their manufacturing lines. To ensure the quality of this

provision, Fleet recently hosted a foodservice evaluation process over a period of more than

eighteen months, resulting in the retention of their existing long$-$term foodservice contracting

company, Cater$-$Fresh, one of the largest on the Northeast Coast. The contract retention is an

indication that Fleet has been satisfied with the overall performance of Cater$-$Fresh.

Within this vast environment are numerous buildings, each provisioned with a cafeteria to provide

meal options for Fleet employees. Due to the size of the facility, there is no opportunity to leave

the location during a break; therefore, meals must be purchased in one of the cafeterias or brought

from home. The company employs over $10,000$ associates throughout a corporate campus with

nearly one thousand in the facility where the incident occurred. A unique aspect of the Fleet site

is that the facility follows strict security protocols which are tightly enforced, designed to prevent

unauthorized individuals from accessing the site.

Roughly $30\%$ of the employees choose to eat from the cafeterias, a metric that is consistent with

the manufacturing industry as a whole $($Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management,

$2015).$ Over three separate shifts, the cafeteria staff serves a total of $300$ meals, with the evening

shift providing $50$ meals nightly. The cafeterias offer a hot meal service as well as grab and go

options designed to support employee breaks that are regulated to $30$ minutes and strictly enforced.

The particular cafeteria referenced in this case is surrounded by other building