By Samuel Ingenito
Correspondent
Traditions is one of the most well-known and respected dining establishments at the College. Located in the Brower Student Center, students often go to Traditions to enjoy a sit-down meal, chosen from a menu with many options. Although the reputation of this establishment is quite high among students, I believe that our community is settling for less than we deserve, and recently, Traditions has been one of the worst places to dine.
Many students rave about how great Traditions is, but upon stepping through the restaurant's doors, it is apparent that this could not be further from the truth.
More times than not, I have been greeted by long lines, extremely slow service and half of the menu being unavailable to order. It is a very common occurrence to wait in line at Traditions, only to order and be told that the kitchen is out of chicken, lettuce, desserts and pretty much anything you could want.
There have been multiple occasions where they present a sticky note that features more items that they do not have, than items that they do. This creates an environment where the customer is already unsatisfied with their options, but feels compelled to order one of the limited options since they have already spent a lot of time waiting in line.
Once you have ordered the food that you did not necessarily want, you are directed to a table where you will be spending the next few hours of your day. After waiting for a bit, you’ll likely have to remind one of the workers of what you ordered to drink since there is a very high chance that it has been forgotten. When you are lucky enough to have your beverage at the table, try and savor it as long as possible because it may run out before your food comes.
In the dozens of times I have sat down in the dining room of Traditions, I can only count out a few in which my food arrived at my table in less than 30 minutes. In some instances, food has even taken over an hour to be brought to the table.
During my last dining experience with one of my friends, we waited an hour for our food, only to be told that they were all out of what she had ordered. As compensation, my friend was graciously offered a free meal voucher, which is very kind — until you realize that it is only good for just over a week. This disappointing experience left her having to settle for an item that she did not want, which was brought to the table much later and therefore caused her to be late to scheduled plans.
I had a similar experience just days prior after ordering at Traditions’ to-go window. I reluctantly decided to order from this window, where I was unsurprisingly told that they did not have the chicken fingers I wanted. I settled for a spinach wrap and was handed my pager to wait for my food.
When I ordered, I expected the process to take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes, but I ended up waiting over 55 minutes, which was extremely frustrating. I sat in the student center while other students’ pagers buzzed around me, signaling that their food was ready, even though they had ordered well after me. Right before I was about to ask if my pager was broken, it finally went off, and I was handed my lukewarm spinach wrap which turned cold by the time I made it back to my room.
To make things clear, the problem with Traditions is not with the workers themselves, but rather the system of service that they are working in. Dining at the College is already heavily criticized at places like Eickhoff Hall and the Lion's Den in the Student Center, and it is a shame to see respected places like Traditions following in their footsteps.
If Traditions implements some changes, it could live up to the hype that it receives. Simple additions like a more diverse menu or possibly more people in the kitchen would solve a lot of the problems and put traditions back in good grace within the campus community.
