Mayer blames some of the workers' apparent dissatisfaction on a culture of complaint.

"You have to apply a certain amount of perspective to what people say," Mayer explains. "Does that mean they're unhappy or is that just how they communicate?"

Unionized staff and some managers may protest, but the executives in Mayer's own office remain steadfast in their support of their boss.

"I think Ted is very supportive of managers...in the same way I know he is appreciative and grateful for the wonderful staff members that interact with our customers every day," says Executive Chef Michael Miller. "I know that for a fact."

Mealtime Messiah

The tensions in HUDS may be exacerbated by the memory of Mayer's predecessor, Michael P. Berry.

Dubbed the "Mealtime Messiah" who provided students with their every desire from festive meals to chocolate milk, Berry brought new life to HUDS for the first time in over 35 years.

"I couldn't understand what they were doing or why they were doing it," Berry says. "No one had asked the students what they wanted."

So he asked. Door by door.

At the beginning of each year, Berry would stop by every undergraduate room one at a time.

"It took many, many nights, but it was fun," Berry says. "We'd bring treats to the room."

His relationship with his staff was even stronger, Childs says.

"I knew every one of them," Berry recalls. "We didn't have one [union] arbitration in five years. When I announced I was leaving, there wasn't a dry eye in the place, including mine."

Just as Mayer has "participative management," Berry had a three-tiered-five-word-plan: "Yes, Wow and Give a Damn."

"If we were going to do this, we were going to do this right," Berry says. "I never had a bad day in five-and-a-half years."

The difference between the two management plans also reflects the vast differences in the two directors' personalities.