Frankly, if the standards of food and service are anything like some of the Messes I have stayed in in recent years, I don't think the Mess members will miss much.
At my last unit, after we transitioned to PAYD the livers-in voted with their feet and wallets after the quality and quantity of food plummeted. In fact it became so bad - for the contractor - that the Mess was forced to call an emergency meeting as the contractor complained that they were losing money. We pointed out that if they improved the quality and quantity of the food improved it might help matters, but until that time, Mess members would invariably go to Tescos and cook for themselves in the kitchen areas of the SLAM accommodation.
That's not to say contractors can't be a good thing. The contractors at Bentley Priory around 1999/2000 were fantastic and proved that you can have a symbiotic relationship where the company makes money and the Mess members are happy with the service being provided. It's the only contractorised Mess that I've seen where that was the case mind, but it does prove that it's possible if the company views us a human beings rather than walking cash machines.