As concession operators continue to feel the labor squeeze, they shouldn’t overlook a group of people who will work diligently and for free. Too good to be true?

Those workers aren’t hard to find. Across the nation, civic and charitable groups are giving of themselves and giving to others by volunteering their services behind snack counters and food carts.

Such arrangements have their pluses and minuses, which may run the gamut from higher quality, more motivated workers to lack of training and a ‘why not?’ attitude. But those operators who can work past the inevitable problems — as Gary Horvath, vice president of Leisure & Recreation Consulting, Bethel, Conn., says, "having to train them every time they show up because they’re new people, and the attitudes that some of the groups may have, that they’re volunteering their services so they should be able to party" — can find a major benefit.

Terry Conlon, CCM, director of concessions for the University of Illinois-Champaign-Urbana, says he has been using volunteers to man the counters "for as long as I’ve worked here, and that’s about 10 years. We’ve been very happy with it." Part of the appeal of volunteer labor is simply logistical, according to Conlon. If game time or other important factors change, "instead of making 450 phone calls, I just have to make 25. The group managers will then call their individual members."

Phil Noyes, president of MGR Food Services, Atlanta, the in-house concessionaire for the Georgia Dome and the Georgia World Congress Center, says he’s been using volunteer groups since the stadium opened in 1992.

"Our experience has been great," says Noyes, who taps about 145 different groups who work at various times. "Some of them are there with us every week, some of them only sporadically. Some groups bring three or four people and some groups bring as many as 60. We use a lot more of them in the stadium then we do in the convention center side of it."

Using volunteers "provides a source of good service personnel," says consultant Vince Pantuso of VJ Pantuso Services, Orlando, Fla. Such workers, he concedes, are "probably a cut above what you would normally find coming in as an employee because you get a lot of professional people who volunteer their services for a particular organization on a part-time basis." Another big plus, he notes, is the ability to work with a host of community and charitable groups, "so it’s an excellent public relations gesture."

VJ Pantuso Services works with a lot of smaller organizations, such as high school bands and church groups, that use the money they raise to buy equipment or uniforms or take trips. "It’s positive, and as such they’re not considered employees; therefore you don’t have to pay any taxes."

The use of volunteer labor at concessions is not a new concept. Pantuso recalls using volunteers for the first time about 25 years ago. "I was involved with a company that started it. At the time it was something completely new. But now, I think most every major foodservice operator in a major venue has some percentage of his workforce, anywhere from 15 percent to 50 percent, as volunteer groups."

Noyes stresses that finding and working with civic groups is not simple. "You’ve got to work at it. It probably pays to have somebody who deals with the groups specifically. They’ve got their own set of problems. The leads of the groups try to keep enthusiasm up for their team members," says Noyes. "You want to continuously do things for those people, to help them stay motivated. It’s a little different then dealing with straight employees. You’ve just got a different set of problems."

Noyes believes that volunteer groups mostly draw a "very high-caliber person compared to the normal concession worker, who may be a minimum-wage employee. You get everything from doctors to lawyers to nurses who are working behind the stands selling your product."

Another, less easily defined aspect is fun. Says Noyes, "It’s a little bit of a lark for them, so they’re highly energetic. It’s not something they do all the time, therefore they’re more enthusiastic about it."

Last year, MGR poured a total of $1.3 million into the coffers of charitable and nonprofit groups in the city through the program. "There’s a real upside too. A lot of folks who need money are finding a way to raise it."

"I think the main thing is that workers, at least here in Illinois, come really motivated to work," says Conlon. "They only work basically six days a year for the organization (there are only six home games), and it’s pretty much a good moneymaker for them all around."

Another obvious benefit is that the University doesn’t have to pay payroll taxes or unemployment insurance. Checks are cut to the organizations themselves. Recruiting and scheduling are two more concerns that are at least somewhat allayed by turning to volunteers. "Look at the nature of our business. This is not an everyday kind of business. How would you employ enough people on those peak periods to get the job done? We go up to about 2,500 people on game day, of which probably 1,800 are volunteers. Again, they may not work again for three or four weeks. So it’s hard to get employees to do that kind of an infrequent job," says Conlon.

Interestingly, dollar savings are not cited as one of the benefits. "I’m not sure we save anything," Noyes admits. "I really don’t know that we save any money at all by doing it. What I think we do is, again, get a better caliber of person. We may generate more sales because of that." Customer service can also be a plus. "We think it’s better and we’ve found that in surveys," says Noyes.

Conlon thinks volunteers are, on the whole, more dependable than paid staff members. "The main reason is the motivation to make money for their organizations."

He has also had very little problem with year-to-year turnover, as groups invariably return for the following season. He estimates his turnover rate at a paltry five percent. "There is usually one stand a year that will not come back, and I have a waiting list of approximately 20 groups waiting to get in."

One of the downsides, according to Noyes, is that operations lack some degree of continuity because the members of the groups turn over. In addition, he points out, each group is "about as motivated normally as whoever the group leaders are. You’re really dependent on that group leader to continue to recruit and train and do those types of things." In addition, he notes, "You really can’t use them for highly skilled positions. It’s got to be pretty simple stuff like pouring Cokes and cooking hot dogs."

"The only downside would be if the organization all of a sudden calls me the day before and says they don’t have enough people to show up, and they can’t man their stand," says Conlon. While a real problem, he is quick to add that it has only happened once in 10 years. "But that would be a nightmare to have happen the day before an event."

Liability for injuries that may result is not an issue, says Noyes, although it can be "if you don’t contractually deal with it. We’re held exempt from any liability. The volunteers themselves deal with their own liability."

Horvath notes that some parts of the country do not have that same overflow of groups waiting to work. Last year in Jackson, Tenn., for example, one of the groups working with Leisure & Recreation Consulting found that "they didn’t quite make enough, or it to work 70 games for baseball that they just couldn’t get the manpower to do it."

In Altoona, Pa., however, spanking new Blair County Stadium, the 6,000-seat home of the Altoona Curve Double-A League baseball team, has its foodservice facilities staffed entirely by volunteer groups.

According to Pantuso, usually "groups clamor to get those opportunities. In most cases I’ve dealt with there will actually be a waiting list of groups trying to get in." Having groups more or less competing for the chance to work means those who are selected will probably "pay more attention to the job they’re doing because they want to keep that source of revenue."

Pantuso emphasizes that contracts are made with the group, not with individuals. Thus, there may be "a whole lot of different people who come and go within that group. So you have a bit more training requirements."

"Ultimately, we’re responsible for getting all the concession stands staffed," Noyes concedes, "so the burden falls upon us. However, if the groups don’t work out well then we don’t continue to use them. We have a somewhat in-depth contract that we sign with them that lays all that out." Contracts are always for one year’s duration, and run from July through June. MGR maintains a full-time staff person who is responsible for coordinating the various volunteer groups.

The University of Illinois has 25 concession stands and a single group handles its six ice cream carts. The roster of paid employees is comprised heavily of students, with some local residents. In all, there are about 20 regular hourly employees who work on game days.

The University generally attracts flocks of church and civic groups, including the Boy Scouts and Explorers, high school bands and booster clubs. Indeed, the university itself has several groups on campus who work concessions, such as the Society of Women Engineers, the Illinois Women’s Hockey Team, and the University’s Bowling Team.

Conlon says it is up to the group itself to replace missing volunteers, and the group can be eliminated from taking part if people show up missing more than once in a season. He and his staff evaluate every group with which they have worked at the end of each season. "If we find out that they haven’t been operating at the capacity we require them to be, then next year they’ll find they’re on the outs."

Two of the groups with which the university has had the greatest success have been the Air Force and Navy ROTC programs. Says Conlon, "They’re our primary hawkers because they’re the ones who are in the best shape." Another benefit is that they are required to show up, "and if they don’t show up they can lose their scholarships."

The University gets a mixture of kids and adults. "We see a lot of kids working alongside their parents. We require them to be 16 if they’re working inside a concession stand. We also have some church groups that are more adults, and a lot of college organizations working. We try to make the environment kind of fun for all these volunteers. I think we’ve been pretty successful at it so far."

The most basic fact is that volunteers need to be told what to do — and what not to do. "You’re typically dealing with different people at almost every event that have to be trained," Horvath points out. But probably the biggest downside, he is quick to add, is that "you’re dealing with people who are volunteering for a group, and they think that since they’re volunteering they have the option of becoming a partner because it’s not costing their group anything. If you put them in a beer stand, they’re going to be standing around drinking your beer."

The response should be basic. "Tell them, ‘You can’t do it or you’re never going to work again.’"

MGR takes volunteer workers’ training seriously, using a combination of video and manuals and spending "a lot of time actually working with the leads who represent the group. We do pretty in-depth training with them." The company then becomes dependent upon those leads to pass that expertise along to their fellow volunteers each week.

"We’ve given them videos that they can pass around to their group members that helps them learn basics of the job," he explains. "Then, when they actually get into the unit, the leads take over and show them the specifics. It works pretty well." Among the groups working for MGR are the American Cancer Society and a variety of high school band parents’ groups, soccer clubs, booster sports clubs, and the Female Lawyers Club.

The University of Illinois-Champaign holds 4-hour seminars run by a health department professional that help prepare volunteers for basic food handling. Conlon describes it as a "mini-foodservice sanitation class. Attendance by at least two or three members of each group is expected. And then, we hope that they preach food safety and cleanliness to their staff working."

The typical commission for volunteer staffing is ten percent, although some report the percentage going as high as 20 percent. For some, the size of the commission is based on a complex formula that takes into account, among other factors, the number of volunteers, level of expertise required and just how physically demanding the job will be.

Noyes says the groups’ take varies according to the item they’re selling, their show factor — "If we’re expecting them to bring 30 people, if they can get all 30 there we try and reward that" — and other "points of evaluation." Generally, though, it ranges from ten to 15 percent.

Volunteers for U of I can collect anywhere from ten to 20 percent of the net depending upon their stand’s size and location. "If there’s a big group, or a stand that requires 40 people such as our hawking stands, we give them 20 percent," notes Conlon. "It’s a little more physical going up and down the stairs at Memorial Stadium."

The bottom line is that there aren’t many opportunities in life to serve yourself as you serve others. Using volunteers to work concessions makes sense from a variety of angles. And as long as operators approach such arrangements carefully and with their eyes open, the benefits should always outweigh the problems.

A Volunteer’s Point of View
by Susan Cross

As a volunteer for a group that staffs the Georgia Dome and Georgia World Congress Center for MGR Food Services, Doak Holloway has learned a great deal about the concessions industry. A quality control manager for a pre-cast concrete company, Holloway has been donating his time for the past three years to pop popcorn and sell beer for the Knights of Columbus, based in Newnan, Georgia, just southwest of Atlanta.

The group has been part of the MGR crew for about seven years, and has learned which types of events bring in the most money and highest per capitas. While every group is required by contract to work a certain amount of events, including all home football and college Bowl games, they are quick to jump at the opportunity to sell concessions at events like tractor pulls, moto-cross and monster truck rallies. "We sign up right away for events like that where people eat and drink a lot. Other events like track and field just don’t bring in as much money." The group also works some concerts, including U2 and the Rolling Stones, "because they’re fun and you can hear the music."

The group is responsible for one stand with four register positions and two push beer carts, and have also learned the value of location. They have the same stand at nearly all Dome events – on the first level, right by the ATM machine. "It comes in very handy to be selling beer right by that ATM machine," he laughs. He notes that they make about the same amount of money on the two push carts as they do on the large stand. Their portion of the Dome also goes by another name, according to the group. "We call ourselves the ‘Amen Corner’," he continues. "There’s our group, a nacho cart nearby staffed by a Baptist group, and the Methodists with a hot pretzel cart."

The group needs 16-18 volunteers for each event, and "it’s sometimes hard to fill the stand with just our group," he admits. "It’s not uncommon to do two days of events in a row." The K of C group also brings in other groups from their church to assist, like the Boy Scouts, PTA, and football boosters. If a group can’t fill their stand that day, their MGR supervisor fills it from MGR’s temp pool, and the pay comes out of the group’s profits. "You don’t want to do that often, or they won’t want you back," he notes. Each group has a leader who works closely with MGR. "Our lead guy puts in a lot of time, but he really enjoys it," states Holloway.

Groups are graded each week and evaluated each year, and selling, of course, is the most valuable skill. "It’s amazing to watch how people get so into selling things, like pushing the souvenir cups. You can tell the natural salespeople." The Newnan group is comprised of store owners, a supermarket manager, Delta Airlines executive and computer analyst, retirees, schoolteachers, and nurses, among others." "It draws a lot of people who make good salaries and are still willing to flip hot dogs for charity," says Holloway.

The benefits of volunteering for concessions duties are substantial. "What it does for groups like ours is this – you can do a whole lot of spaghetti suppers and fish fries where you spend almost as much as you make. We make more in one day here than in a lot of spaghetti suppers, and we don’t have to spend the night before browning hamburger."

All of the Newnan group’s income comes from their concessions work. The group gets ten percent of their profits, which can be up to $20,000 for a busy football game. There are also bonuses and incentives that they almost always qualify for.

In addition, the group typically makes $300-$500 in tips for a Sunday football game, which they donate to the church’s poor box. "Whoever decided to charge $4.50 for a beer was very smart," he says. The group uses their money for a variety of things, including providing funding for their church’s youth group. "Instead of having the youth group spend their time running car washes or selling candy to make money, we encourage them to do good works, like visiting nursing homes, etc. They tell us what they’ve done, and we pay them based on a point system."

Although they generally have a great time volunteering, Holloway says "it’s tough dealing with the public sometimes," and notes he has "a whole new respect for concessions." He does, however, find himself watching other venue’s concession stands more closely, "because I know what they should be doing."

Volunteer staff meets concessions labor crunch By Howard Reill

Volunteer staff meets concessions labor crunch
By Howard Reill