anonymous baseball players are so reluctant to come to Kansas City for an All-Star Game.

<quote?Jobing.com Arena
Phoenix Coyotes
Vendors with critical violations: 33%

Inspection report excerpt: Inspectors spotted an employee scooping ice with his bare hands instead of using scoops.

In Arizona, the ice cream doesn’t stay solid enough to require a metal scooper…

University of Phoenix Stadium
Arizona Cardinals
Vendors with critical violations: 28%

Inspection report excerpt: Inspectors asked a vendor to toss seven hamburgers being held below the required 130-degree temperature for hot, ready-to-serve food.

In Arizona, 130 degrees is the temperature of ANYTHING.

Madison Square Garden
New York Knicks, New York Rangers
Vendors with critical violations: 61%

Inspection report excerpt: At one stand, inspectors found “53 mouse excreta” (38 on top of a metal box underneath the cash registers in the front food-prep/service area and 15 on top of a carbonated-beverage dispensing unit).

Do you think the inspector had to take a class in “identifying and counting mouse excreta”?

Arrowhead was run by Centerplate until just recently, when the Chiefs booted them out. Aramark now has that contract as well, with the Man-U game being their first event at that facility.

Also, I am embarrassed for our company. Some of Aramark’s other locations fared better than Kaufmann, which sorta validates my belief that Kauffman is a haven for their management trainees and castoffs, so to speak. (Not to excuse ANY of it – a company that purports to call itself an industry leader should strive for a clean record, PERIOD)

Last comment – all employees are actually required to attend a food safety course put on by KCMO and pass a test every 3 years by same. (Food Handler Course) . Before anyone snickers about the city doing this, etc. – the course is actually quite good, and covers basically every violation I can see in these reports. Managers and people in charge of stands attend an even longer course. Interesting that even the vendors you see in the aisles (like me), who handle only things like bags of peanuts and cups of frozen lemonade (in other words, things with virtually no risk of being a problem due to handling by me) are still required to take the course and pass it. Course is a full day, and the one for stand leaders/managers is longer, I believe.

So, what’s the problem? Well, like anything else – there’s always a disconnect between training to do what’s right, and managing for the same. Again, no excuses – but ultimately managment at Aramark is responsible for implementing proper food handling. This implies that they are unwilling to spend the money to properly supervise their people to ensure proper procedures are used. Fits right in with the shit I am experiencing as a vendor – unwilling to spend money on dry ice, so sometimes the malts and frozen lemonade you get will be soggy or soft. Unwilling to stock our commissary rooms adequately, so sometimes we run out of product. Unwilling to keep all commissary rooms open for all games, so sometimes vendors are asked to serve the 1B side while having to work out of the 3B commissary, which is located way down towards the foul line. This results in POOR service.

Wonder how long before the Royals get fed up with Aramark? Not sure how long their contract is.

Thanks for reading my rant!