narvik

Exactly.
Surely UA can specify their requirements and follow-up and inspect the services provided and make sure they meet their specifications.


Extrapolating: I take it then, that the ORD Polaris Lounge is NOT operated by Sodexo?

transportprof

SFO operates under the city's "Minimum Compensation Ordinance" for public facilities. The minimum wage for for-profit tenants under MCO is currently $17 per hour.

See: SFO Minimum Compensation Ordinance

iluv2fly

It definitely is operated by Sodexo.

narvik

Interesting.
It appears then, that at ORD someone at UA applies stricter Sodexo enforcement regarding food quality!

SFO 1K

In my experience the last three times I've visited, getting wine or anything other than coffee requires the server to go to the bar to get the item. I think they input it on a terminal in the back, an order pops out at the bar and the server has to go and retrieve the drink. It's a bit awkward given the distance and at times I think the Dining Room servers get distracted by other duties and forget to go to the bar. Not making an excuse, but I think the logistical design of this service element is lacking overall thought. Rather than blame the server, I'd attribute this to Sodexo design.

With regard to UA inspecting what they expect, I have on all but one occasion seen UA management on site at SFO trying to ensure all service elements are being done correctly. I think the criticism here is a bit much.

roesner

After reading the last few pages I had very low expectations for my first visit to the SFO Polaris Lounge (visited ORD before).
I was there around 12pm last Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) and had to wait for a table for maybe 5 minutes.
I had my drink and meal order placed within 2 minutes of sitting down - my glass of champagne arrived within a minute,

5 minutes later my wedge salad was served and another 5 minutes later the bento box arrived. By then traffic in the dining
area had died down considerably.

After lunch I sat near the bar and servers constantly roamed and offered drinks. I was actually pleasantly surprised. My glass was never empty.
My only regret is that I should have gone for the burger....

All in all not a bad visit. Looking forward to a few more in 2019.

roesner

Maybe United's budget is the same for ORD and SFO, but SFO uses up most of it for salaries vs. food?

Kacee

I think everyone agrees the space is pretty nice. The food is subpar compared to top business class lounges elsewhere. The dining room option somewhat mitigates the what I feel is a very weak buffet, but it's only available limited hours (closed on 3 of my 5 visits).

transportprof

@:-) Winner @:-) Winner @:-)

Sodexo is not paying $17 an hour to staff in the ORD Polaris Lounge.

threeoh

From what I can tell Sodexo is subject to the airport contractor minimum of $13.45 + inflation.

malgudi

Getting a cappuccino now requires walking up to the bar and requesting them to make it ... why not use the illy machines as before?

After all, it's just the bartender pushing a button vs a barista

pushmyredbutton

Having visited this lounge prior to Thanksgiving, I was actually really disappointed by some of the offerings, and can't seem to understand some of the decisions that were made when constructing the space.

The space in the lounge is so variable when it comes to crowds. The bar, self-serve food, and dining area are all in one area, leaving this area incredibly dense with passengers. The far end of the 2nd floor remained ridiculously empty during my 4 hour stay while the food area was jam-packed.

Also, getting a table at the dining room during peak time was absolutely atrocious. There was approximately a 20 minute wait when I first arrived, and no clear queuing order or system to be added to the waitlist. The "host" had to be tracked down to add your name to the pad of paper. She would then yell out names quite loudly when your table was ready. Maybe I'm naive, but wouldn't a dedicated hostess and pagers be better to manage peak demand?

Also, the service at the dining area, like others have mentioned, definitely is on the low-side. I can't think of a nice way to say this, but there seems to be no incentive to go out of the way to serve customers. Not sure if it's the pay or lack of tips, but trying to get a server's attention appeared close to impossible.

The other Polaris lounges imo blow SFO out of the water.

Kacee

The absence of self-serve coffee machines is one of the more annoyingly inexplicable flaws at this lounge.

Zorak

Seems like it'd still be on UA for allocating the same budget to each location then. They're hardly the only enterprise operating multiple locations in different jurisdictions with different operating costs and others manage to deliver a consistent experience so it's certainly possible.

fumje

I think the primary issue at SFO is not the pay — although given cost of living in the Bay, higher pay surely would help — but headcount. At ORD there is one main server for essentially eight two-tops. SFO apparently has one server for essentially double that (depending on how the centre-island booths are accounted).



Same experience! It was my first time there. I eventually just went and got it myself. The server never apparently realised I served myself. Now I have learned to BYO.