At What Other SEC Institution Would This Fly?

[ArcherSPS]

It is a damn disgrace that Bart Gregory had to step up and help run concessions on Saturday instead of getting to watch the game (although I’m sure he didn’t mind missing that **** show but that’s besides the point). Not even LT had that issue. John Cohen, I take up for you a ton, but my god I’ve been reading about how the chairbacks in 200 were covered in bird **** and dust, the club level had looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a year, the stadium hasn’t been pressure washed like normal years, and more. We had crowds of 60K+ in 2014 and 2015 and it was never this bad. We have a crowd of 40K maybe and it’s like the 2014 game at USA. Fans of other schools in the division wouldn’t tolerate this and neither should we.

John you wouldn’t let this happen at DNF. It’s run like a well oiled machine. By skipping over these little things and just kind of running football at its minimum, you’re going to lead to the fan base to just skipping over the hassle of coming and with our current recruiting budget the program is going to suffer. Please fix these small things they go a long way I promise.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

I get the cleanliness of the stadium outrage but not really with you on the concessions.

Comparing the baseball and football concessions is really not comparable because there’s probably at least double the work force needed for football and with the spike in covid I’m going to guess some people said no thanks. Pretty much every kind of food service business is having serious employment problems. It’s the same thing with concessions.

 

[ArcherSPS]

When there’s plenty of civic clubs chomping st the big to work concessions and make a little green, this issue is easily fixed.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

The scoreboard club was clean, well stocked and everything ran well.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Damn. I'm no Cohen apologist, but you would have to have your head buried in the sand to not recognize the labor shortage going on in the country these days, particularly in the service industry. Not going to hang that on Cohen. Or the stadium vendor. Everyone is struggling to hire.

 

[campshelbydog842003]

The scoreboard club was clean, well stocked and everything ran well.

Except they didn’t have lemonade in the drink machine. Small complaint but still. Wife uses that for her vodka and it was needed Saturday.

 

[mount lefroy]

There is a massive labor shortage like it or not.

It is a damn disgrace that Bart Gregory had to step up and help run concessions on Saturday instead of getting to watch the game (although I’m sure he didn’t mind missing that **** show but that’s besides the point). Not even LT had that issue. John Cohen, I take up for you a ton, but my god I’ve been reading about how the chairbacks in 200 were covered in bird **** and dust, the club level had looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a year, the stadium hasn’t been pressure washed like normal years, and more. We had crowds of 60K+ in 2014 and 2015 and it was never this bad. We have a crowd of 40K maybe and it’s like the 2014 game at USA. Fans of other schools in the division wouldn’t tolerate this and neither should we.

John you wouldn’t let this happen at DNF. It’s run like a well oiled machine. By skipping over these little things and just kind of running football at its minimum, you’re going to lead to the fan base to just skipping over the hassle of coming and with our current recruiting budget the program is going to suffer. Please fix these small things they go a long way I promise.

This isn't on Cohen. Operations had a 60% shortfall in labor. And are you really comparing 2014 and 2015 to a pandemic?

The willful ignorance of people is amazing.

 

[ronpolk]

Damn. I'm no Cohen apologist, but you would have to have your head buried in the sand to not recognize the labor shortage going on in the country these days, particularly in the service industry. Not going to hang that on Cohen. Or the stadium vendor. Everyone is struggling to hire.

This is the right take. I doubt Cohen has much control over the concession, expect for the contract with whatever vendor runs it. I doubt Cohen is involved in the day to day workings of that. Now he can definitely apply some pressure to make the vendor hire more people, but if they can’t hire more people, what is Cohen supposed to do? Fire the vendor for the same problem everyone else is having?

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Yup. The lazy take is that people don't want to work because they are getting paid to stay home. That hasn't been the case for a while. Most service workers moved on to other jobs that offer better and more consistent pay. My wife's underachieving cousin is a great example. He has worked in restaurants for 15 years after flunking out of college. After getting laid off during Covid, he went to welding school. That's the opposite of lazy in my book, it's finally showing some initiative.

Saw this graphic a few weeks ago in an article. Shows where people have come and gone industry wise since covid

View attachment 21656

Everytime I think about it, I ask myself what you would have to pay me to work that job. I worked construction and sold cars in college just to avoid working nights and weekends. The reality is, I don't know if there is a number where you can get a lot of folks to give up a Saturday afternoon or evening to work a job like that.

 

[ZombieKissinger]

They are advertising $20/hr at some of the McDonalds in western Montana

 

[missouridawg]

This isn't on Cohen. Operations had a 60% shortfall in labor. And are you really comparing 2014 and 2015 to a pandemic?

The willful ignorance of people is amazing.

There is not a labor shortage. There is a desire to work shortage.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Except they didn’t have lemonade in the drink machine. Small complaint but still. Wife uses that for her vodka and it was needed Saturday.

The powerade initially was weak too, but they fixed it. Glad it was serve yourself.

 

[GloryDawg]

You can't even get chips at the groceries store because they can't find no one to work. How in the hell are you going to find someone to clean up ****? Free money ends today. People will start to look for jobs.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

I never have understood why MSU contracts out concessions and food services.

 

[TrueMaroonGrind]

I never have understood why MSU contracts out concessions and food services.

Its the same reason everyone contracts. Money, lack of expertise and they don’t have to deal with it.

 

[hatfieldms]

Damn near every college in the country does it

 

[GloryDawg]

I thought it was a charity organization running it to help raise money.

 

[TheDawgSaint]

As mentioned above, Scoreboard Club was in great shape. I can’t imagine east club was any different. But, if you read it on the internet, it must be true!

 

[tbaydog]

I get the cleanliness of the stadium outrage but not really with you on the concessions.

Comparing the baseball and football concessions is really not comparable because there’s probably at least double the work force needed for football and with the spike in covid I’m going to guess some people said no thanks. Pretty much every kind of food service business is having serious employment problems. It’s the same thing with concessions.

In the Private Sector you " Eliminate Excuses."

 

[ArcherSPS]

Or it came from someone I know that sits in there?

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Gameday operations were a cluster 17 way before Covid.

 

[Maroonthirteen]

Its the same reason everyone contracts. Money, lack of expertise and they don’t have to deal with it.

...and this is why the service sucks. The service sucked before covid. Back in 2018 I first noticed it. Half the concession stands were closed on the east side for the opener v USM. Excuse was workers didnt show up.

the problem is concessions have been outsourced. Concessions needs to be given back to the local civic organizations and then the service will get a lot better.

 

[Duke Humphrey]

Have you been to a local civic club meeting of late?

... Concessions needs to be given back to the local civic organizations and then the service will get a lot better.

The membership levels have gone way down, and the average age is probably in the 70s. The younger folks don’t take time to join the Rotaries, Kiwanis, Lions, etc, and if they do, they don’t have time or manpower to run the concessions.

 

[The Usual Suspect]

The whole university is not kept as well as in the past.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

I’m really not sure civic clubs are up to snuff these days.

 

[Smoked Toag]

It is a damn disgrace that Bart Gregory had to step up and help run concessions on Saturday instead of getting to watch the game (although I’m sure he didn’t mind missing that **** show but that’s besides the point). Not even LT had that issue. John Cohen, I take up for you a ton, but my god I’ve been reading about how the chairbacks in 200 were covered in bird **** and dust, the club level had looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a year, the stadium hasn’t been pressure washed like normal years, and more. We had crowds of 60K+ in 2014 and 2015 and it was never this bad. We have a crowd of 40K maybe and it’s like the 2014 game at USA. Fans of other schools in the division wouldn’t tolerate this and neither should we.

John you wouldn’t let this happen at DNF. It’s run like a well oiled machine. By skipping over these little things and just kind of running football at its minimum, you’re going to lead to the fan base to just skipping over the hassle of coming and with our current recruiting budget the program is going to suffer. Please fix these small things they go a long way I promise.

You have been non-stop complaining since the game ended. My experience was the total opposite of yours and I have not ran into any others in real life that share your issues. If anything, the concessions were overstaffed and overly friendly.

Not that any of this matters because people like you cannot be helped, but I can only hope others read this and realize that your experience was not the only one. And bottom line, the west side is just older and more run down than the east, so if you sit over there, you know what you're getting.

 

[00Dawg]

Is the labor shortage also affecting groundskeeping?

The walk from the Hump past the Ag Engineering building was a tour of Southeastern weeds. The fully grown trees needed tending as well.

 

[BulldogBillyCrash]

You can't even get chips at the groceries store because they can't find no one to work. How in the hell are you going to find someone to clean up ****? Free money ends today. People will start to look for jobs.

People do want to work they just don’t want to work for next to nothing pay. Always blaming those for “not wanting to work” instead of those who don’t want to pay fair wages

 

[tired]

No matter, it's obvious Cohen's agenda, not that I don't understand, we're a powerhouse in baseball, but football pays the bills. I'm not really criticizing, just stating the obvious, or maybe I am, but not a situation I'd want to be in, or a decision I'd care to make, although he is paid the big bucks to do just that. It seems he has taken some attention away from football. It's a balancing act for a school like State. Maybe we just need put multiple restaurant chains in the stadium and be done with it. That works at professional stadiums.

 

[noxdog]

You have been non-stop complaining since the game ended. My experience was the total opposite of yours and I have not ran into any others in real life that share your issues. If anything, the concessions were overstaffed and overly friendly.

Not that any of this matters because people like you cannot be helped, but I can only hope others read this and realize that your experience was not the only one. And bottom line, the west side is just older and more run down than the east, so if you sit over there, you know what you're getting.

This was my experience as well.

If anything it was overstaffed and I sit on the west side.

 

[BrunswickDawg]

I wasnt there so I can't speak to conditions - but did most of you forget that a hurricane blew through that cut 2-3 days out of the prep schedule this past week? That can have a huge impact on cleaning something like an outdoor venue, disrupt the supply chain, limit available workforce etc

 

[anon1787432961]

Game day concessions aren't a protected right in the Mississippi or MSU constitution***

They are best effort and during a pandemic and we mentioned post hurricane a surprise plus. And all in all it went fine Saturday. Have you ever tried to wait in line at a regional or super regional at DNF? I think your speculation is without merit here.

 

[Cooterpoot]

Game day under Cohen has had issues since day one. You guys act like this is the first complaint. It needs to improve.

 

[patdog]

If it didn’t happen every damn year, you might could chalk it up to the labor shortage.

 

[The Usual Suspect]

No matter, it's obvious Cohen's agenda, not that I don't understand, we're a powerhouse in baseball, but football pays the bills. I'm not really criticizing, just stating the obvious, or maybe I am, but not a situation I'd want to be in, or a decision I'd care to make, although he is paid the big bucks to do just that. It seems he has taken some attention away from football. It's a balancing act for a school like State. Maybe we just need put multiple restaurant chains in the stadium and be done with it. That works at professional stadiums.

I don’t disagree with the OP or that there is a labor shortage. Just stating that our facilities (outside and apparently inside) are not being maintained like I have been accustomed to seeing for the 45 years I have been visiting.

 

[The Usual Suspect]

Game day concessions aren't a protected right in the Mississippi or MSU constitution***

They are best effort and during a pandemic and we mentioned post hurricane a surprise plus. And all in all it went fine Saturday. Have you ever tried to wait in line at a regional or super regional at DNF? I think your speculation is without merit here.

Neither is having 35,000 at the game.

 

[The Usual Suspect]

I wasnt there so I can't speak to conditions - but did most of you forget that a hurricane blew through that cut 2-3 days out of the prep schedule this past week? That can have a huge impact on cleaning something like an outdoor venue, disrupt the supply chain, limit available workforce etc

I’ll repeat again, this is a university wide issue that has been going downhill for months. It is not just a this week problem. But you are correct that there were bigger issues last week.

 

[BrunswickDawg]

I’ll repeat again, this is a university wide issue that has been going downhill for months. It is not just a this week problem. But you are correct that there were bigger issues last week.

All of which is likely related to labor issues everyone is seeing. A quick check of the MSU website shows 231 vacant positions on campus. A ton of which are maintenance related and service related. It means everything in those areas will suffer - grass won't get cut, buildings won't get pressure washed, and food won't get cooked or served. I know I see it here locally - unemployment is about 3.5%, and everything service and maintenance related in addition to construction is desperate for workers. It was that way starting in mid 2019 (pre-COVID) and has gotten only worse over the past 6-8 months.

 

[Cooterpoot]

All of which is likely related to labor issues everyone is seeing. A quick check of the MSU website shows 231 vacant positions on campus. A ton of which are maintenance related and service related. It means everything in those areas will suffer - grass won't get cut, buildings won't get pressure washed, and food won't get cooked or served. I know I see it here locally - unemployment is about 3.5%, and everything service and maintenance related in addition to construction is desperate for workers. It was that way starting in mid 2019 (pre-COVID) and has gotten only worse over the past 6-8 months.

No, it's been happening for a few years now. Just like that lack of proper landscaping around campus. Our administration is half-assing it. We don't lead either. We follow.

 

[BrunswickDawg]

No, it's been happening for a few years now. Just like that lack of proper landscaping around campus. Our administration is half-assing it. We don't lead either. We follow.

Campus has looked great in the half dozen times I've been there over the past 2-3 years - and as recently as April. I guess I just don't feel the need to nitpick every blade of grass like you do.