Clinton
I have been eating at Clinton Dining Hall for three going on four years and need to write about this. This is a shout-out and thank you to some, and hopefully a wake-up call or slap in the face to others.
Whenever I hear people talking about Clinton, their complaints usually sound like this:
“All the food is sh*t”.
“The food is always the same”.
“It makes my stomach hurt…gives me…”.
“The people are mean…seem angry…”.
While I am not always excited about every dish at Clinton, I always find enough healthy and tasty options to make good meal. Certain things are always available, but there is always variety; and there are always higher and lower qualities of food wherever you are eating; so, obviously, in an all day every day, all-you-can-eat buffet, some options will be of higher quality and nutrition than others (but you seem to know everything about that).
I know many of the staff by name and can happily say I have gotten to know a few of them; at least a little. I can at least always get food questions answered or issues addressed. The menu changes and I know everyone works hard to make it for us. The chefs make tasty and good food and serve it to us in a consistent and timely manner. The staff are polite and professional and work to keep things clean and running smoothly, creating a comfortable place for us to dine in.
The food is not all sh*t. The food is not always the same. It may not all always be grandma’s cooking but there is always a variety of tasty and quality food. If the same things always gives you stomach issues, maybe that is on you for always putting the same things on your plate; maybe the problem is that YOU, ALWAYS, CHOOSE, to eat the SAME, SH*TTY, food.
If the staff seem mean or angry, maybe (your) behavior has something to do with it; I have seen downright discourteous and disrespectful behavior from my fellow students directed at the facility and its employees. Maybe if YOU were a little more courteous, patient, said hello, smiled, shook a few hands, learned a few names, cleaned up after yourself, and acted a more like a responsible adult and a decent and polite human being, you might find the staff act a little more warmly towards you.
To everyone who is a part of dining hall operations and those I have gotten to know a little more personally, thank you. Thank you for making and continuing to make my experience at Plattsburgh a better one.
To my peers who have only have negative things to say about the dining hall’s food and staff, please look in the mirror, and check your attitude, behaviors, and expectations — yourself.
February 2017