I have been to many RU basketball and football games over the last 40+ years. I have been to many other sporting events at many different venues in that same time frame.
I am comfortable stating that the RU basketball arena's concessions quality, set-up and service is UNEQUIVOCALLY the WORST concessions operation I have ever experienced.
Where are the greatest (not the only) problems?
1) Service: The service is simply hopeless. Hopelessly slow, hopelessly incompetent, hopelessly inefficient. Some examples? The cashier operators often seem to not operate the cashier machines. Often the machines do not take the credit cards on the 1st attempt. There are never enough cashiers. For example, last night, at one of the central, front food areas, there are only 2 cashier machines, which could not even keep up with the meager halftime "crowd" from last night. So a manager waved a bunch of people into a middle line ... but did not have a cashier machine to operate, but just a hand-held drawer. Of course he had no cash in the drawer, so for each order, even paid by cash (unless it was exact change), he still had to go to one of the 2 machines, and interrupt one of the 2 cashiers, to either run a credit card, or get change for cash payments. And of course, any time there was a problem with a customer complaint in a different line (which happened at least 3 times while I was standing on his line - and I was only the 4th person on line), he had to handle it, resulting in the people on his line standing and waiting ... and waiting ... and waiting. Often, unless you want a hot dog or a pre-packaged snack (like popcorn, nachos or other chips, etc.), the food is literally not ready, or there are not enough portions. This is especially true on the side concession stands with pizza and ESPECIALLY chicken fingers. Yet at the front they have one person solely dedicated to making endless quantities of popcorn (yes, I know popcorn is a big seller) - but not cooking the chicken fingers or pizza. Also, there is NEVER enough food. I arrived almost at tip-off last night, for example, and wanted chicken fingers or a burger, rather than a hot dog. So I hurried to the concession stand (only one) which serves those items. There were only 2 customers - but only one cashier being manned, I might add. But there were ZERO available chicken fingers or burgers ... amazing.
2) Set-Up: I cannot imagine a worse set-up. While it is true you can get hot dogs, soda, water and potato chips and candy at any of the 4 concession stands (2 at the front and 1 each on either side), everything else is totally segregated. So if you want pizza (bad pizza, true enough, but at least pizza), you can ONLY go to one side concession stand. If you want chicken fingers or burgers, you can ONLY go to the OTHER side concession stand ... not that it will do you any good, since there are usually not available chicken fingers or pizzas, so you have to wait until they are prepared. Also, if you want popcorn, I believe you can ONLY go tot he front concession stand. But what if you want both popcorn AND pizza or burgers? Then you have to go to 2 different concession stands. And what if you are on the 105/205 side? Then you need to go to the front and the OPPOSITE side of the arena to get burgers and popcorn ... 2 stops, 2 long lines, and far away from your seats. Also, the 105/205 side concession stand has several different types of food, including cookies (and maybe ice cream?). But if you want pizza you need to get on one line. If you want pretzels or whatever else they have, you have to get on another line. And if you want cookies, you have to get a a 3rd different line - and cannot pay for the cookies at the same cashier line as the other foods, even though it is at the same counter.
3) Quality: Oddly enough, the set-up and service are even worse than the quality of the food - which is a very difficult hurdle to achieve. But other than the popcorn and the chicken fingers, the food is really awful. Maybe the sausage sandwiches at the separate stands are good (I would not know since I cannot eat them for dietary reasons). I mean it is REALLY bad. The hot dogs are lukewarm, and okay (they are Hebrew National I think, a good hot dog), but never hot. The burgers are terrible. The pizza is pretty bad also.
4) Price: Considering the level of service and the horrendous quality of the food the prices are astoundingly high. I mean the prices are similar to many professional and high quality arena food options. And the same as the football pricing (though the football food offers more variety and is fresher and better). I mean $4 for a small bag of Lays potato chips, that can be bought in a corner store for $1, or $1.50 at most ... and the same for a bottle of water, which costs the same at most stores ($1 or $1.50)? $9 for 3 chicken fingers and some fries ... that are never available anyway? This is probably a common complaint at all sporting venues. Which is why when I can I bring my own food in (of course, I have to sneak it in, since they do not allow your own food in). I would not complain so much if I could actually get the food I wanted, in a timely fashion, at the proper temperature, without major hassle.
I am comfortable stating that the RU basketball arena's concessions quality, set-up and service is UNEQUIVOCALLY the WORST concessions operation I have ever experienced.
Where are the greatest (not the only) problems?
1) Service: The service is simply hopeless. Hopelessly slow, hopelessly incompetent, hopelessly inefficient. Some examples? The cashier operators often seem to not operate the cashier machines. Often the machines do not take the credit cards on the 1st attempt. There are never enough cashiers. For example, last night, at one of the central, front food areas, there are only 2 cashier machines, which could not even keep up with the meager halftime "crowd" from last night. So a manager waved a bunch of people into a middle line ... but did not have a cashier machine to operate, but just a hand-held drawer. Of course he had no cash in the drawer, so for each order, even paid by cash (unless it was exact change), he still had to go to one of the 2 machines, and interrupt one of the 2 cashiers, to either run a credit card, or get change for cash payments. And of course, any time there was a problem with a customer complaint in a different line (which happened at least 3 times while I was standing on his line - and I was only the 4th person on line), he had to handle it, resulting in the people on his line standing and waiting ... and waiting ... and waiting. Often, unless you want a hot dog or a pre-packaged snack (like popcorn, nachos or other chips, etc.), the food is literally not ready, or there are not enough portions. This is especially true on the side concession stands with pizza and ESPECIALLY chicken fingers. Yet at the front they have one person solely dedicated to making endless quantities of popcorn (yes, I know popcorn is a big seller) - but not cooking the chicken fingers or pizza. Also, there is NEVER enough food. I arrived almost at tip-off last night, for example, and wanted chicken fingers or a burger, rather than a hot dog. So I hurried to the concession stand (only one) which serves those items. There were only 2 customers - but only one cashier being manned, I might add. But there were ZERO available chicken fingers or burgers ... amazing.
2) Set-Up: I cannot imagine a worse set-up. While it is true you can get hot dogs, soda, water and potato chips and candy at any of the 4 concession stands (2 at the front and 1 each on either side), everything else is totally segregated. So if you want pizza (bad pizza, true enough, but at least pizza), you can ONLY go to one side concession stand. If you want chicken fingers or burgers, you can ONLY go to the OTHER side concession stand ... not that it will do you any good, since there are usually not available chicken fingers or pizzas, so you have to wait until they are prepared. Also, if you want popcorn, I believe you can ONLY go tot he front concession stand. But what if you want both popcorn AND pizza or burgers? Then you have to go to 2 different concession stands. And what if you are on the 105/205 side? Then you need to go to the front and the OPPOSITE side of the arena to get burgers and popcorn ... 2 stops, 2 long lines, and far away from your seats. Also, the 105/205 side concession stand has several different types of food, including cookies (and maybe ice cream?). But if you want pizza you need to get on one line. If you want pretzels or whatever else they have, you have to get on another line. And if you want cookies, you have to get a a 3rd different line - and cannot pay for the cookies at the same cashier line as the other foods, even though it is at the same counter.
3) Quality: Oddly enough, the set-up and service are even worse than the quality of the food - which is a very difficult hurdle to achieve. But other than the popcorn and the chicken fingers, the food is really awful. Maybe the sausage sandwiches at the separate stands are good (I would not know since I cannot eat them for dietary reasons). I mean it is REALLY bad. The hot dogs are lukewarm, and okay (they are Hebrew National I think, a good hot dog), but never hot. The burgers are terrible. The pizza is pretty bad also.
4) Price: Considering the level of service and the horrendous quality of the food the prices are astoundingly high. I mean the prices are similar to many professional and high quality arena food options. And the same as the football pricing (though the football food offers more variety and is fresher and better). I mean $4 for a small bag of Lays potato chips, that can be bought in a corner store for $1, or $1.50 at most ... and the same for a bottle of water, which costs the same at most stores ($1 or $1.50)? $9 for 3 chicken fingers and some fries ... that are never available anyway? This is probably a common complaint at all sporting venues. Which is why when I can I bring my own food in (of course, I have to sneak it in, since they do not allow your own food in). I would not complain so much if I could actually get the food I wanted, in a timely fashion, at the proper temperature, without major hassle.
