2015 KIC Off Season Poll Series Week XIII: Kings Island Food Future

[BB1]

Many here on the site have distinct view points on what Kings Island has to offer in terms of food. It's something we discussed last week with our favorite food stands at the park, but now it is time to look forward. The park has a colorful history of the foods given at the park and have innovated from what we had before. But where should Kings Island's food collection go from here? Should they go and make more food stands or should they lessen the load? Are there places where a food stand should be? Any of these ideas and anything else are viable in the poll discussion.

[kingsislandfan1972]

There should be more food stands between the walk from Rivertown near where we saw Peanuts playing baseball. (Whatever happened to that?) I may be wrong if Kings Island doesn't already have it, but I would like to see Slurpee's, Coke Flavored please.

[kingsislandfan1972]

I like doing these polls BB1 keep em coming!

[The Interpreter]

Focus on Quality, Service and Cleanliness.

Until they once again get that down pat (I don't even expect value), expanding is merely putting lipstick on a pig.

The effort put towards the meal plans--get their money and serve them whatever slop you want at your own good time--is telling.

Slurpees are a 7/11--Six Flags exclusive.

Kings Island has Icee.

[silver2005]

I too think KI needs to improve food quality and service quality before adding new things.  Its been pretty bad and getting worse for the last few years.  As I've learned at Skyline, you can do both speed and quality- it just requires the proper training and mindset.  

 

However, once they do get their act together, I hope they add BLT's somewhere in the park.  

 

Question- do any of the stands serve wraps?  If so, what kinds?  Those are easy to make and would be a healthier entree option to add to the menu.

 

Smooties would be nice as well.   

 

EDIT: Also add some more sides and salad options to the menu at the Reds HOF Grille.

[Magenta Lizard]

Both Chicken Shack and Reds have wraps. The ones at CS use the breaded chicken fingers, but you can get a grilled chicken wrap at Reds.

[MDMC01]

In a perfect world, I'd like to have KI have Wendy's (honestly, the only large outdoor attraction that has a Wendy's was a zoo I went to one time (either Louisville or Columbus?)). But honestly, Food does need to step their game up in some ways. I was on I-Street Skyline one day at open (Noon) and there was already a line forming soon after I'd gotten in because there was only one person making food and one person taking orders. Also, even though Dollar Days is a huge hit, there's got to be a way to streamline people a bit faster. Even though I worked in Food for 5 years, I don't really have any suggestions to make the processes any better (more people out on Front Line, I suppose?). The food itself is pretty good, though, from Auntie Anne's to Starbucks, to Skyline's hotdogs (with no poppysead buns like in the water park!), Subway and LaRosas's pizza.  

[BeeastFarmer]

I don't know...I worked McDonald's when I was a teenager.  We worked our tails off and yet had fun.  Our managers were fierce and we knew QSC&V as it was constantly ingrained in us.

 

The food service people this year, while friendly, were mostly moving in slow motion, and at the Skyline Chili location in the area formerly known as Coney Mall, they were leaning on their elbows on the prep table while preparing food.

 

They need more workers who have a stronger work ethic--unfortunately this is a hard thing to find.

[The Interpreter]

...AND/OR they need managers who treat their people better THEN demand results.

See also WalMart.

Employees not treated well means customers not treated well.

[BeeastFarmer]

Fierce as in they had standards and expectations.  Not as in mistreatment.

 

I closed in the summer months and many nights were spent working hard, but laughing and having FUN.

 

Sharon was the manager who told me once, (jokingly) "I'd write you up for insubordination, if I could spell it!" after I told her she could wash some dishes, too.

[electricsun]

I agree with so much already written above. I would love for Kings Island to focus on their speed, consistency in service and food quality, and customer service within food service before attempting new things. Long lines with only one or two people assisting guests during their busiest times isn't acceptable. Many times that I grabbed food, or asked for water, there was no urgency or hustle to assist the guest. Seeing them walk around in slow motion to get something was really hard for me to watch. There is a way to provide solid high quality customer service in a speedy manner. 

[The Interpreter]

Fierce as in they had standards and expectations. Not as in mistreatment.

I closed in the summer months and many nights were spent working hard, but laughing and having FUN.

Sharon was the manager who told me once, (jokingly) "I'd write you up for insubordination, if I could spell it!" after I told her she could wash some dishes, too.

I understand that. It's the park food service I am referring to.

The employees there seem to be downtrodden, sad and unmotivated. Compare to rides, park services, games, merchandise, ....

Cedar Fair food service has serious issues.

Remember the fanfare when the chef was hired? Exactly what has he accomplished? Is he even still there?

[BeeastFarmer]

I'm not sure of what he accomplished...I had a great chicken wrap at the Reds HOFG, but I am not sure if that was his doing or not.  I just checked my Twitter and yes, Chef Nate had recently posted.

[Magenta Lizard]

I think he was behind the monthly special funnel cakes last season. I saw him around the park various times in that hat of his. He was up in the International Restaurant working on the buffet that went along with the Comedy Show I attended. He does seem to have a lot of enthusiasm for the food at KI, but I don't feel like the failings in food service are something that can be fixed by a chef.

Those working in food service have been given a nearly impossible job because of lack of staffing. When I was there on weekdays, it was not uncommon at all to see, at Chicken Shack for example, one person in the back making the chicken and fries, one person behind the counter serving and making wraps, and one cashier. At prime lunch or dinner rushes. Usually, the food was actually served impressively promptly due to the limited menu, the backup happened at the cashier, who had been directed to up sell (and apparently not also told that they could stop when there are five people or more waiting with food to check out), and had to deal with drinks as well (and those drink wrist bands which seemed to take a full minute each to buy and put on - fun when you're waiting behind a family of six who all have them*).

The employees can be forgiven, even when they don't deal with the lines perfectly. They didn't decide it was ok to run the place in a rush with only three people. What I saw that was unforgivable, to me, was that there was a manager holed up in the little room next to the Freestyle machine who occasionally could be drawn out by frantic employees when they had problems with the register, or couldn't find where something was stored. On more than one occasion, I saw this person take care of an immediate problem, glance at the eight or more people with full food trays (or plates in hand depending on the day) jammed in the area between the food and registers, and return to the little room to continue with important paper shuffling. In my opinion, a manager should act as a floater when the place is slammed, temporarily moving into whatever position is needed to keep things flowing. Usually this would involve getting behind a register. But going and grabbing stuff from storage, mopping up a spilled drink, etc. could have helped at times too.

What Kings Island needed was better management in food services, not a special chef, as much as I like Chef Nathan's enthusiasm.

* processing and applying those bands should not be done at the individual stands. They should have to be applied at a centralized location, possibly guest services.

[The Interpreter]

Completely agreed. The staffing levels I saw in food service last year were woefully inadequate.

Who could stay motivated in such working conditions?

Why do I suspect some computer model to dictate staffing has been implemented?

There is such a thing as penny wise and pound foolish. Cutting costs to get prosperity often works...in the short term.

A reputation for good quality food cheerfully and quickly delivered, once lost, is hard to get back.

Thus the meal plans--get people's money and de-incentivize them to leave the park.

[BeeastFarmer]

The Interpreter, have you heard of Tacos Too!? (Punctuation part of the name.)  Computer staffing vs. adequate staffing of Taco Tico.

[The Interpreter]

No, I haven't. The Taco Tico in Louisville is one of my favorites. It made 2015 Opening Day at Hartland worth it for me!

[BeeastFarmer]

Tacos Too was formed in central KY when the franchisee of all but one Lexington area Taco Tico decided to forgo Taco Tico's franchisor agreement.  Among many cost cutting measures, computer based scheduling was implemented.  I went to the joint once on a late Saturday afternoon and it was packed with only a cook and a manager.  This, along with lower quality food, led to the closure.  Which is a shame, because Taco Tico was always a favorite and seemed to do great business.

 

I know when I go to Lexington for the day, the one Taco Tico remains and is packed--and has enough staff to take care of the customers,

[jcgoble3]

I will be completely honest: while it was not the actual reason for my decision not to renew my season pass for 2016 (that ultimately came down to financial issues), the abysmal food service last year definitely made the decision much easier to swallow.

 

Walking into Reds Grille on closing day with a big group and being told that the wait for a table would be (IIRC) an hour and 45 minutes, because they only had two or three servers working and were thus using only one-quarter of the available tables, was the nail in the coffin. As late as the morning of closing day, I was still considering reversing my decision and renewing at the last minute that night, but the Reds Grille experience left such a sour taste in my mouth that it instantly killed that notion for good.

[malem]

Walking into Reds Grille on closing day with a big group and being told that the wait for a table would be (IIRC) an hour and 45 minutes

The estimated time to be seated that afternoon was 4 hours.

[marth555]

Computer based scheduling is the worst

[The Interpreter]

As bad as the wait would have been, no way would I do that to the overworked servers.

Again, the question is is the understaffing deliberate in a conscious attempt to cut costs? Related, is the apparent lack of sufficient training deliberate in an attempt to cut costs?

Cost cutting in a land of $4.49 soft drinks is pretty ridiculous. Think what would happen were they to cut staffing at the parking tolls.

Oh, wait. Aren't automated toll gates coming for season pass holders?