PKC. The only higher-ed dining consulting firm in North America that guarantees results.
Higher education leaders are under more pressure today than at any point in the last twenty years. Declining enrollment, rising labor costs, aging facilities, affordability concerns, and exhausted parents have created a storm that hits dining harder than almost any other campus function. Everyone wants more. Nobody wants to pay more. And institutions feel trapped in a no-win scenario.
But here is where Walt Disney had it right. It is fun to do the impossible. And in campus dining, what everyone else calls impossible, PKC calls a normal Tuesday.
Let me be direct. PKC is the only higher-ed dining consulting firm in North America willing to put its fee and reputation on the line for your institution. Everyone else talks about creating value, improving performance, or delivering a better contract. We guarantee it.
That is not marketing fluff. That is a performance promise backed by decades of experience.
The PKC No Fee Guarantee
Here is the simplest and strongest value proposition in higher education dining.
If we do not increase your bottom-line remuneration above your current level, you pay nothing.
Zero risk to you. Total accountability from us.
Your institution gets a complete strategic plan, a full rebid process, a fully negotiated dining contract, and a blueprint for a next-generation dining program. If we do not generate new revenue, you keep all of that work for free. No other consulting firm in this industry is willing to make that commitment.
You have to ask yourself why.
In my world, guarantees are simple. If we cannot create more value for your students and deliver real financial results for your institution, we do not deserve to be paid. That is accountability. That is alignment. And that is why presidents and CFOs lean in the moment they hear the words No-Fee Guarantee.
Now, let me explain what makes this model so powerful.
Where doing the impossible becomes fun
Most leaders believe that improving dining requires raising student meal plan pricing. They assume better hours, better menus, better labor, better retail, or better hospitality must lead to higher rates. They assume quality and affordability are locked in a constant tug of war.
That assumption is wrong. In fact, it is often the biggest barrier holding institutions back from creating the dining program they want and the financial outcomes they need.
When PKC rebuilds your dining strategy, five things happen immediately. And none of them require a price increase.
After we:
- Expand your program
- Add hours of operation
- Elevate menus
- Improve quality and customer service
- Modernize retail
- Elevate the student experience
…we still do not recommend raising student meal plan pricing.
Why?
Because the issue isn’t affordability.
The issue is your contract and perceived value.
And that’s the part most leaders have not fully grasped.
Your students are not the problem. Your contract is.
Old dining contracts frustrate students and quietly drain millions from institutions.
Here’s how it typically plays out:
- Operators protect their margin.
- Institutions absorb the loss.
- Meal plan participation declines.
- Student retention weakens.
- Revenue evaporates.
This is a national pattern, not a campus anomaly.
Most dining contracts older than four years have eroded so significantly that institutions are unknowingly losing hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars every year.
Why? Because:
- The contractor hasn’t competed for your business in years.
- Financial terms no longer keep pace with inflation.
- Transparency is limited.
- Catering valuations are outdated.
- Retail breakpoints are misaligned.
- Meal plan breakage is worsening.
- Capital contributions serve the contractor’s priorities, not the institution’s.
The result is predictable:
The contractor protects their margin.
Your institution absorbs the financial shortfalls.
What Happens When We Rebuild Your Contract
When we rebuild your strategy and rebid your dining contract, two things happen every time.
First, your dining program improves dramatically.
- Hours become flexible and aligned with “the student clock”.
- Menus become predictable, global, and freshly prepared.
- Retail becomes whole again.
- Allergen and nutrition integrity improve.
- Hospitality culture becomes consistent.
- Student trust increases.
- Meal plan participation rises.
- Retention stabilizes and increases.
- Housing occupancy improves.
- The dining program strengthens the campus community.
Second, your institution earns significantly more.
We modernize your financial terms.
- We modernize your financial terms.
- We remove confusing language designed to disadvantage and trap you.
- We structure transparent reporting.
- We build compliance directly into the contract.
- We force true operator competition.
- We remove vague language that disadvantages you.
- We align capital with your actual needs, while protecting your position of leverage.
- We increase bottom-line annual remuneration
in many cases, dramatically.
And again, we are willing to guarantee the outcome.
Why We Can Guarantee Our Results
Presidents and CFOs often hesitate when they hear our guarantee.
They ask how we can make such a promise.
The answer is simple:
- We know how much money is hidden in outdated dining contracts.
- We know how much performance is lost through misaligned expectations.
- We know the financial upside unlocked through true operator competition.
When we fix your program, we can fix the contract.
When you fix the program, participation rises.
When participation rises, retention rises.
When retention rises, tuition revenue rises.
When retention and participation rise together, housing revenue rises.
All without raising meal plan pricing.
If your consultant will not guarantee their results, ask why.
You’ll hear a lot of claims:
- Many firms say they can improve dining.
- Several say they can negotiate a stronger contract.
- Many say they create value.
- A few say they “know the operators.”
- Some say they improve the student experience.
But only one firm guarantees its results.
Only one firm takes the financial risk off your institution.
Only one firm ties compensation directly to performance.
Only one firm says: If we fail, you pay nothing.
PKC.
We do not hide from accountability.
We run toward it.
Because when you know you can deliver what others call impossible, it becomes fun.
