Will Rogers World Airport

[Josh Ryan]

Hey josh, I flew out last Saturday. I tried to find some breakfast but Tucker's was closed and so was Coolgreens, and Route 66 grill. Only options were Schlotsky's and Cinnabon so I passed and bought a granola bar at one of the convenience stores.

This was at 9am...

Was very odd.

I’ll check it out, thanks. I don’t know of anything that would have caused them to be short-handed.

[stile99]

I’ll check it out, thanks. I don’t know of anything that would have caused them to be short-handed.

The road conditions last Saturday morning weren't super awesome. If someone told me they were late to work that day I wouldn't blink an eye. According to the Will Rogers website, Coolgreens opens at 10:30, so being closed at 9 doesn't seem odd. Rt 66 says hours of operation subject to change. Tucker's doesn't have hours listed.

[catch22]

The road conditions last Saturday morning weren't super awesome. If someone told me they were late to work that day I wouldn't blink an eye. According to the Will Rogers website, Coolgreens opens at 10:30, so being closed at 9 doesn't seem odd. Rt 66 says hours of operation subject to change. Tucker's doesn't have hours listed.

That is true. I hadn't considered that.

[Josh Ryan]

That is true. I hadn't considered that.

Me neither, forgot about the snow. That is likely what it was. I wouldn't rely too much on posted times, all the restaurants are subject to change based on employee availability, passenger counts, etc.

[Richard at Remax]

Ditto on Tuckers showing breakfast hours. Was real disappointed

[no1cub17]

Not as disappointing as Coolgreens closing at 6 PM! Why wouldn't they stay open an hour later? Plenty of evening flights!

[shawnw]

Probably same reason they close downtown at like two. I think they'd make a killing if they stayed open for dinner.

[tfvc.org]

I know there have been times where I had a really early flight out or a late flight in and would have liked to get something to eat and drink and everything was closed, I wish the airport made places be open for a while before and after first/last flight times. I know it doesn't make business sense, but this is providing a service to passengers. Just like in malls, restaurants and other shops have to keep mall hours even if their normal hours are different. Most places charge more than normal menu prices anyway, so that extra cost seems to be subsidised already in the prices.

[bombermwc]

tfvc, you said it right there as to why. They dont make money by staying open, or else they would be open. The prices are higher because the rent is higher, not because they're artificially inflating the price on the customer. Will Rogers isn't a "captive" airport hub so you're not stuck there. Few people ever transfer (if ever) at Will Rogers, so either you would have eaten before you got to the airport, or you would go eat after you left. There just aren't enough people around to support keeping eateries open at those times. There's no conspiracy, it's just business.

[catch22]

Prices are definitely inflated, and I don’t think rent has a lot to do with it.

Portland has higher rent than Okc, and makes it part of their lease agreement that they can only charge street prices within 10% or so.

[oklip955]

I did have a friend fly through OKC. She was able to do a lay over of a few days so she could spend some time visiting. She gets cheap fares by going out of the way routes.

[OKCbyTRANSFER]

I tend to prefer grabbing something to eat or coffee in the morning after going through security, killing time since I like to give myself extra time before departure.

[BG918]

OKC and TUL had some Southwest layovers back in the Wright Amendment days. Alas those are now long gone.

[Jeepnokc]

I tend to prefer grabbing something to eat or coffee in the morning after going through security, killing time since I like to give myself extra time before departure.

They used to have the self serve coffee kiosk in the morning which was fantastic. I haven't seen it the last few times I have gone through early in morning.

[no1cub17]

Noticed the parking space indicator lights in the garage last time (but just in Garage B I think?) - a very nice addition indeed! If only we could do something about the depressingly nasty elevators though.

[CloudDeckMedia]

Noticed the parking space indicator lights in the garage last time (but just in Garage B I think?) - a very nice addition indeed!

These lights makes it quicker to find a parking space, and minimizes congestion. Win win.

[mugofbeer]

Even the flippin' coffee place closes at like, 6!

[brianinok]

Even the flippin' coffee place closes at like, 6!

They weren't even open at 6:00 AM the last time I had that early of a departure!

[no1cub17]

They weren't even open at 6:00 AM the last time I had that early of a departure!

Wow - I assume you guys mean Coffee Bean? That's really pathetic to not be open at 6 AM. Multiple flights from OKC depart around the 5 AM hour. Very frustrating to see such horrible hours. If they don't want to be open at times convenient to passengers, the airport ought to bring in vendors who will be!

[Mastermind]

Wow - I assume you guys mean Coffee Bean? That's really pathetic to not be open at 6 AM. Multiple flights from OKC depart around the 5 AM hour. Very frustrating to see such horrible hours. If they don't want to be open at times convenient to passengers, the airport ought to bring in vendors who will be!

I used to work there, and all the problems are due to how D.N. handles everything. They brought on Coffee Bean without knowing crap, and they still don't know crap.
I applied to Coffee Bean under the assumption that I would only be working there, and not the other places run by D.N., but then the managers changed their tune, which is why I quit.
In the beginning, D.N. kept it open until 7pm, but since it takes forever to clean up, and D.N. are cheapskates with wages ($10/hr is of course great, but not when they try to make sure you don't get enough hours for it), they don't want employees wasting time on such things.
I usually worked afternoon shifts, but know the morning lines were, and still are, inexcusably wrong, because they hire the most lazy people ever. I was fortunate to have been trained by an actual employee from CBTL corporate, but D.N. probably don't, and just put warm bodies there to serve crap lattes and provide crap service.

I'm sorry if you work for D.N. or know people who do, but their monopoly at the airport needs to end.

/disgruntled former employee rant

[oklip955]

I'm not a big time traveler but the last time (a year ago) I flew out of in the morning, nothing open. I was returning from Sioux Falls SD. Now that is a small airport with only 5 gates. People there don't ask what airline or what gate, just where you are going. I had one of the ealiest flights out around 5 -6 am. I was able to get a great cup of coffee and breakfast too if I wanted. I had great service from nice folks at the coffee bar. (there is also a resturant, but don't remember if that one was open) The coffee bar was behind the security check point. Got my coffee and had time to drink it before my flight.

[oklip955]

If I can get that in Sioux Falls why not in OKC??

[tfvc.org]

If I can get that in Sioux Falls why not in OKC??

It was the same thing when I flew out of Great Falls a few years ago. Early flight back to OKC and coffee.

Restaurant and Banquet Facilities
Restaurant
For your dining pleasure the Restaurant at the Great Falls International Airport is open from 5:30 am to 6:00 pm 7 days a week.

[brianinok]

I used to work there, and all the problems are due to how D.N. handles everything. They brought on Coffee Bean without knowing crap, and they still don't know crap.
I applied to Coffee Bean under the assumption that I would only be working there, and not the other places run by D.N., but then the managers changed their tune, which is why I quit.
In the beginning, D.N. kept it open until 7pm, but since it takes forever to clean up, and D.N. are cheapskates with wages ($10/hr is of course great, but not when they try to make sure you don't get enough hours for it), they don't want employees wasting time on such things.
I usually worked afternoon shifts, but know the morning lines were, and still are, inexcusably wrong, because they hire the most lazy people ever. I was fortunate to have been trained by an actual employee from CBTL corporate, but D.N. probably don't, and just put warm bodies there to serve crap lattes and provide crap service.

I'm sorry if you work for D.N. or know people who do, but their monopoly at the airport needs to end.

/disgruntled former employee rant

This has been my experience as a customer. I have been like 4-8 in line at Coffee Bean several times but given up after 20 minutes and gone and gotten a bottle of water or coke something in a store. One time I got to the front of the line, ordered coffee, went to put cream in it, there was none, and when I brought it to their attention they just said "we're out". No sign or anything; no telling people as they order the coffee. I don't particularly care for coffee black, but I was stuck with it at that point. Nearly all the places in the airport are SLOW, but Coffee Bean takes it to an art form.

[Josh Ryan]

This has been my experience as a customer. I have been like 4-8 in line at Coffee Bean several times but given up after 20 minutes and gone and gotten a bottle of water or coke something in a store. One time I got to the front of the line, ordered coffee, went to put cream in it, there was none, and when I brought it to their attention they just said "we're out". No sign or anything; no telling people as they order the coffee. I don't particularly care for coffee black, but I was stuck with it at that point. Nearly all the places in the airport are SLOW, but Coffee Bean takes it to an art form.

You may think at this point that your complaints would do no good, but I am giving you a personal invitation to send us these complaints when you receive poor service at the airport. We need details though. Date/time/location. We get this information into the hands of Delaware North management (all contractor management) and it helps them to figure out holes in their service or patterns that are popping up.

As Mastermind was saying, there are occasions when they are just having personnel issues and have to swap people around to the various positions they have at other restaurants. This can create a lot of frustration for everyone. The managers often tell us that they have a hard time getting people to come work out at the airport. There is some additional time and effort involved with coming to work out here. For someone who can work the same type of job, closer to their home, they will take a lower wage for the convenience. That creates a lot of turnover for each of our janitorial, retail & concession contractors.

If you are able to send us detailed info about your experiences in the future, it would be helpful: joshua.ryan@okc.gov, karen.carney@okc.gov or wrwa@okc.gov