Two of ACU’s popular facilities, the “World Famous Bean” and the Campus Store, have made significant organizational changes to prepare for the rush of incoming freshmen.
The Bean and Campus Store serve hundreds of students, faculty and staff a day. With a 10 percent increase in freshman enrollment, these two locations have been forced to make changes in order to accommodate a much larger number of students.
The Bean has made several layout changes designed to improve employee work-flow and increase the speed of service, said Tom Arellano, senior food service director.
“We went from three stations serving the home zone to four stations which shortened the lines pretty dramatically,” Arellano said.
The Bean has also cleared out table spacing in the dining area, which allows the students to sit closer to the windows instead of bunched up by the food stations. Students seem to approve of the Bean’s new layout, and the lines at lunch time move faster and faster each day.
“The ‘World Famous Bean’ has improved a lot since last year. The workers are very attentive, welcome, and helpful. I enjoy the music and the people are always welcoming and kind,” said Gabrielle Thompson, sophomore vocal major from Los Angeles, CA.
The Bean has also added music to its dining service to liven the atmosphere.
“This year we wanted to change it up a little bit,” Arellano said. “The feedback has been really positive and the music draws people into the Bean.”
The Campus Store is used to large crowds of freshmen and returning students.
“Its not like anything we haven’t dealt with before, but we have been working on customer service issues and some of the things in the front of the store,” said Campus Store Director Scott Harsh.
The Campus Store changed their system from four lines to one big checkout line with four registers for easy service.
“The new look has worked great,” Harsh said. “I never liked that set up, so when we finally got the opportunity to change, it removed a lot of stress.”
The Campus Store has kept the book reserve service to make it easier for students to pick up books without having to come into a congested store.
“People don’t have to come down and find their own books when we go and pull them for them,” Harsh said. “Even if it’s 500-1000 orders, that’s 500 people that don’t have to come down here and add to the traffic.”