Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Paper or Plastic? Why Not China?


If I have a few minutes between flights at airports to eat, I like to sit down and be served instead of grabbing a styrofoam box of food and eating at the gate. Just a little thing to give myself a false sense that travel really is nice.


So why is it that all the airport restaurants (dine in) are now serving me on a plastic plate with a piece of paper on it, my utensils are disposable and even the condiments are in individual servings? At the end of the meal, the waitress simply dumps the remains into a garbage can and restacks the plastic plate. Really, is this necessary?


I am in a restaurant and willing to pay a little more for service which to me includes an actual crockery plate, stainless cutlery, and a glass made out of real glass. They appear to have water to wash dishes and the ability to leave a ketchup bottle on the table so I am not sure of the reasoning. I am not going to suddently bolt out of my chair and down the concourse with my plate. Sure this is an environmental issue, but it isn't it about a level of service as well? When did this become an acceptable way to treat a guest?

In this industry we travel a lot and life on the road can be bumpy. Hotels are listening and implementing programs to make us feel more at home. Let's hope airports get onboard too.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I have been told that once we have gone through security, we are no longer able to have stainless cutlery, glass or china. The concern is that someone will take the above items on a plane and use them as weapons. Even the ketchup bottle is plastic!

The Green-Eyed Event Planner said...

I completely agree with you. It doesn't matter to me how great the food looks/tastes and how nice the wait staff are, as soon as I am handed my styro container or plastic plate with my order, it says to me that they do not care about me. If they cared about me and by extension what I care about, they would not serve me my food that way.

It is my pet peeve......

Judy Kucharuk
FMS Inc.

Nancy J. Zavada, CMP said...

It seems strange that the person behind the counter can have a huge knife for cutting a sandwich. You even get metal utensils when flying first class. Convenience or security--that is the question!