Ron Hagen is an expert in spotting food service and hospitality problems and figuring out solutions.

As one of IHS’ most experienced CrossCheck evaluators, he goes to work in campus dining halls, c-stores, corporate cafes, and even hospital patient dining kitchens to identify challenges and propose solutions.

Here are some of Ron’s insights from several years as an evaluator and more than 20 years managing onsite food and hospitality programs across the country.

Question: What are the most common problems that you see in the field?

Ron Hagen: There are four fairly common problems that we detect across all verticals:

  1. Food temperature issues.
  2. Proper product labeling and dating.
  3. Accurate pricing and signage.
  4. Cleanliness of areas such as the walls behind equipment and glass surfaces.

Question: What are the primary trends that you’ve seen as an evaluator?

Ron Hagen: The fastest growing trend is technology – the rise of self-order, self-pay, self-checkout and mobile ordering. We’re seeing many of our clients implementing mobile app solutions where people can order right from their desk, classroom, or hospital bed, go down to the café, and have their order ready to be picked up or delivered.

A second trend is the emphasis on health and wellness. There’s a huge increase in the appetite for healthy foods. We’re seeing it gain more and more traction with our clients and their students, employees and patients. We recently implemented a customer preference survey for a client, and the second most requested feature for new dining options was healthy food alternatives.

Question: Why is it important for the person managing an onsite food and hospitality program to have detailed data such as in the reports that CrossCheck provides?

Ron Hagen: Most of our clients – the people responsible for the college, hospital, or company food service program – are not food service professionals. We want to educate and inspire them with CrossCheck. We are very prescriptive in our recommendations, which is extremely helpful for our clients so they can help in the management process for their operator. If there’s a deficiency, we want to make sure our reports are detailed enough so that the clients know exactly what the problem is and how to correct it.

Question: How do you select the test areas that the CrossCheck evaluation will evaluate?

Ron Hagen: We work with the client very closely to determine the priorities and preferences for their operation. Every client is different in what they expect. Based on the client feedback, we create a list that meets their needs. Then we collaborate with the operator – either the outsourced service provider or the self-operated team. It’s not meant to be a surprise “gotcha” audit. We’re going to make sure that the client’s expectations are being met from a quality-assurance standpoint.

Question: What reception do you typically get from the food service staff and managers on-site?

Ron Hagen: We want it to be a collaborative process with the operators. While I’m conducting an evaluation, if I have any questions, I’ll ask the operator right then and there just to get further clarity. We want to be noncombative – audits and assessments can sometimes feel that way, but we certainly want to establish a level of partnership with an operator.

Question: You started your career managing food service operations. How do you put the insights from that experience to work when doing a CrossCheck evaluation?

Ron Hagen: Having spent more than 20 years in food service, I’ve certainly developed an understanding of the flow of an operation – planning, purchasing, production, service, and hospitality. All those steps have allowed me to go in and have a really open view of an operation. When I’m conducting an evaluation, I know all the work that goes into running a food service operation safely and effectively.

Question: What sets CrossCheck apart from other quality assurance services?

Ron Hagen: The biggest factor is that we work to build that level of trust with the operator. Ultimately, our goal is to build a better partnership between our client and the operators. If we’re able to build that trust and make sure that both parties end up working efficiently and correct any issues that we find, we’ve been successful. If I can educate and inspire the operators as well as the client, I feel like I’ve done my job.