Ikea Should Manage Nursing Home Cafeterias
Have you ever eaten at an Ikea?
It’s not bad. I’ve dined at our local branch of the furniture giant a few times since they dropped a warehouse in midtown St. Louis. This week, I had two lunches in a row, as it’s been a marathon changing over our newly unoccupied apartment into a classy Airbnb in just three days.
The salmon with lemon dill sauce, and the juicy little meatballs, they’re actually pretty good. There is a roasted chicken leg that looks excellent right now, except it’s difficult for me to eat confinement chickens after being intimately acquainted with these amazing creatures.
What is amazing, though not surprising, is how efficient their operation is. Their cafeteria combines fresh grab and go, hot balanced meals, and a salad bar in such a way to keep everything moving. Anyone who has shopped at an Ikea knows how talented they are at herding consumers through their massive space, and the cafe procession is no different. When you’ve finished, you place your tray on a rolling shelf, hidden just enough behind blue walls that diners aren’t looking at piles of dirty dishes. I guess somewhere along the way someone did the math and determined it is more efficient for their crew to the sort trays than have you do it first. Their cost-saving prowess allows them to offer a full hot breakfast for $2, and a well-rounded dinner for $6 or $7.
Beth’s first job out of college was a dietitian at a nursing home. She basically had to push paper to show to insurance companies that their facility was meeting the minimum requirements. She hated the managed care environment so much it drove her to start her own business.
In her own words, she would “never eat at a furniture store.” However, for the second time while accompanying me, Beth suggested that Ikea should manage the cafeterias at nursing homes.
The difference between a business that needs to keep people happy and coming back for more, and meeting government protocols for the least cost and pocketing as much left over, no doubt messes with the dynamics. So it’s possible we’d need to start further up the chain to see changes.
Private businesses could also learn from the way the Swedes do it. Tonight, just so happens after scoring our last bedroom items, we had dinner at a favorite Southern joint. Instead of taking the disposable cup they give everyone, I went the Ikea route and asked for a glass instead.
