Monopoly is the perfect description of what is happening. When a company monopolizes a good or service, they pretty much decide everything, from quality of service to price of goods. If you are writing an economics paper about monopoly and its effect, you don’t have to go far; Chartwells is a great example here on campus. I’ve been at UMBC for five semesters now, and I have never seen/heard Chartwells organizing a program/event to assess its services or get a feel of what students think about its services.

Well, let me say a few things about what I feel/think and you will get a chance. And maybe that way, if Chartwells cares they will listen. First of all, the price of food on campus is expensive. I’m sure there might be a good reason for that, but that’s not my problem. I’m now more conscious about swiping my card every time I purchase meal because I had to live by myself last summer and pay for food using my credit card, each swipe cost money. That money adds up and it’s a lot. We might not feel it right away since it’s a meal deal and we have certain meals a week. Our focus is on how many meals we have left for the week rather than how much money we are paying for each meal exactly. Now, here is the issue: if we are paying that much money, why doesn’t the food at some places on campus meet the standard.  How neat are the workers? And how good is the service?

Speaking of service, really? really ChartWells? Can the workers get any ruder?

UMBC, voice your opinion