Auburn students have seen many changes to the dining program throughout the school year, but one minor change that has had major effects is the addition of Tapingo, an app that allows people to order ahead of time, instead of having to wait in lines.
Tapingo focuses on college towns, but the main purpose is to allow customers to order food ahead of time, either being delivered or for pick-up. Although it targets college towns, Tapingo has also brought its services to many campuses. On a site visit to Clemson University, where the app was already in use, Tiger Dining employees saw how successful it was among Clemson students, and decided to bring it to Auburn’s campus when presented the opportunity.
Gwen Ward is a Tiger Dining Specialist, and has been working at Auburn for five years. When talking about the reasons for adding Tapingo, one of the main contributing factors was the student feedback that Tiger Dining has received.
“One of the constant things we’ve been hearing about, constant feedback is ‘What can you do about the lines?’” Ward said.
Tiger Dining wanted to find a way where students could order a meal while in class, then pick it up on their way to their next class, something that was difficult until Tapingo came into the picture. Ward added that the app even allows students to see how many orders are ahead of theirs, something most people don’t know about.
Another feature Ward emphasized was the customizability of the ordering process in the app. Students can not only order a basic item on the menu, but they can add different condiments, toppings and combinations to form their meal. Tiger Dining requested this feature when working with Tapingo.
“This app is a way for students to nourish their brains, nourish their bodies, keep themselves going, which is the whole idea of the dining program,” Ward said.
Kaylah Gupton, junior in health administration, works at the Foy Information Desk and said she has loved being able to utilize the app.
“I like it. We use it here a lot at the desk because we stay here and work, and you just order it and walk over and go get food,” Gupton said. “It’s really convenient, we really enjoy it a lot.”
While Tapingo impacted the student body, it also changed the way employees at different dining locations function. Kyra Hearn, a barista at the Starbucks in the Student Center, said there are kinks that still need to be worked out.
“The idea is nice, I see where it’s trying to go, but it definitely needs improvements,” Hearn said.
One of the improvements Hearn brought up was a button that let students know the exact time their order will be ready because sometimes the app will notify the student that their order is ready, but it’s actually still being prepared.
Tiger Dining agrees that the app isn’t perfect. Ward said the customizability in relation to food allergies doesn’t work as well as it should.
“One thing we are working on is if, for instance, someone has a dairy allergy,” Ward said. “Right now, for example, if I had a cheese allergy, there isn’t a no cheese option. We have brought that to our dining contractor’s attention and he is working on it.”
Ward highlighted that though there are some issues, Tapingo is still new, and Tiger Dining is still learning how to make it as efficient for students as possible.
The installation of Tapingo was only a part of the transformation of Tiger Dining. New restaurants such as Steak ‘n Shake will continue to be added to the app. Ward said that in the future, they hope to make a delivery option available to students as well.
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