When summer vacation is over and TCS students are back in school, they start consuming yet again at the cafeteria both during their window and lunch breaks. This is not the exception for TCS highschool student, Samuel Villegas Cadavid. On August the 9th when this TCS students came back to class, Samuel noticed something entirely different at the school cafeteria when he was going to buy breakfast. The pancake, which he eats every morning, is not 2,000 pesos but it is now 2,600. Further on in lunch when he ordered an “asado,” he took out the ten thousand pesos bill to pay, which was the cost the year before, but he was missing money. The asado price went up to 11,500 pesos, so sadly that day Samuel was not able to have lunch because he did not have enough money to buy according with the new prices. TCS students feel there should be more consideration for cafeteria cost, given that the prices are growing a lot every year.

Students have a very negative point of view toward this issue, because it affects the amount of money they spend and how much that money can buy them. On the other hand, cafeteria staff member feel that the increase in price is totally justified and that they should keep increasing. Cafeteria worker Marcela Correa, who has been working in the food service provider Serviexpress for the last years stated that, “everything in life increases, bus tickets cost increase, the salary increases, rent increases, so the cafeteria prices have to go up too to sustain us all”. It is clear that prices must go up given that salaries have to go up too according to government laws. On 2017 the increase on the minimum salary went up on a 7%, meaning higher cost for the cafeteria, but that same year the asado increased a 15% of its value. The question remaining is that shouldn’t the prices go up according to the % of the cost and not more?

“My allowance is 70 thousand pesos a week, and with that money I must eat at school and go out on the weekend. The problem is that the prices in school go up but my allowance does not,” stated Samuel Villegas, who went on to say that “I can not eat asado all days as I did before because if I do I will won’t have enough money to go out of the weekend.”

But not everything that the cafeteria does between the breaks is something that the students do not like. According to Marcela every year the cafeteria does an analysis to, “increase our amounts of products but we also remove the ones that are not sold as much”: This has a positive effect on buyers because now the products they offer all are consumed and liked. For example Maria Ramirez High School secretary considered that, “there is a lot of variety in terms of the products they offer” and stated that she likes, “everything they have to offer”. Even Though all the products available are highly consumed and ar good quality products some feel that the quality in terms of health of the food could be better. Once again Maria Ramirez who previously priced the cafeteria service said, ” I think that they should implement healthier options” given that she considers that “ at times the food is very fat based”.

Cafeteria customer feel that the service provided, the quality and quantity of food, and the variety of product offered by Servi express are great. But even though they are happy with Serviexpress they do feel that  in order to improve the service they should consider the issue reagarthnihg prices.