Tapingo (pronounced like flamingo), a free app on both the App Store and Play Store, is set to launch at Colonel John’s, America’s Cup, Red & Gray, and Pierce Cafe when students return from Spring Break. As an online and mobile food ordering service, Tapingo will allow students, faculty, and staff to remotely order food at all retail locations on campus and have their meals ready upon arrival. “Stevens Dining is committed to the continuous improvement of the guest experience through innovative dining concepts,” explained Sean Hanlon from Stevens Dining. “Stevens is a university known for its commitment to groundbreaking innovation and technology; therefore, it seemed fitting that such a tech upgrade to dining services be introduced here.”
Upon downloading and logging into Tapingo with a myStevens account, users will have their meal plan and/or DuckBills integrated into the app for use. Credit or debit cards can also be added for purchases outside of the meal exchange system. After placing an order on their mobile device, users will receive an ETA for their meal pick-up, followed a short time later by a phone notification stating that the order is ready. Completed orders will have a yellow ticket attached with the buyer’s name and order number listed, and can be retrieved at labeled pick-up areas near the current cashier stations at retail locations.
“The estimated time for an order to be ready is shown to users in real time for each location prior to ordering. This constantly changing ETA is based on an algorithm made up of several factors, including the amount of orders in a given location’s queue and the varying preparation times required to complete the assortment of orders in that queue,” said Hanlon. This shift to online ordering during heavier meal times is predicted to streamline the order process for meal exchanges and potentially cut current wait times in half.
Specifically referring to CJ’s as an example, Hanlon said, “By eliminating the process of students waiting to input their orders on one of the two kiosks, then taking the receipt to get a buzzer, then waiting for that buzzer to ring, we’ll ideally eliminate 3-5 minutes in just that routine alone. Currently, students may spend ~10 minutes traveling to a retail location and then another ~10 minutes waiting to receive and swipe for their meal used in the exchange. Tapingo should effectively reduce that current 20+ minute process in half.” The official launch date for Tapingo is set for Monday, March 25, after students return from Spring Break; however, the app is currently live as part of a ‘soft launch’ where it can be used today at Colonel John’s, in both Sonos and Grill Nation sections.
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