Tapingo, the smartphone app that allows Auburn students to order food on-campus without waiting in line, has quickly become popular among students.
Glenn Loughridge, director of campus dining, said there has been a continual increase in users, with no sign of that number leveling off.
After its soft launch in early September 2018, Tapingo saw its user base grow considerably. During the fall semester, Tapingo facilitated roughly 77,000 orders, Loughridge said.
From the beginning of spring semester to mid-February, Tapingo processed 59,000 orders.
On average, there are 108 percent more orders per day in the spring semester compared to the fall semester.
“It’s exponentially growing; we not done growing yet, I don’t believe,” Loughridge said. “It’s clearly something that students want and are using.”
Tapingo charges a small fee on each of its orders. It ran a promotion where it removed the fee for a period of time to attract customers.
Loughridge said the biggest complaint of students tends to be the lines for dining. Long lines at popular dining locations contribute to students feeling time compressed, Loughridge said. Tapingo allows students to place their order and not wait in a long line.
“I think, ultimately, what it’s saying is students want to do business with their device,” Loughridge said.
Paul Mangarelli, chef manager for Aramark, said students aren’t using the primary appeal of Tapingo. The primary benefit of Tapingo is not having to wait in a line, he said, but students order through the app and wait at the location for their meal to be ready, defeating the purpose.
Mangarelli manages Olilo, Fresh from the Plains and Salad Works. He said Salad Works has a large congestion problem, although it is getting better.
According to Mangarelli, Salad Works recently optimized their system via the integration of an iPad to scan tickets when the order is ready. Additionally, the number of tickets in queue cannot exceed nine to help with the congestion.
Loughridge said there is an internal parameter in Tapingo that is set by dining location that estimates how long it would take that location to prepare a Tapingo order at a specific time of the day. For some locations, he said, that system works fine, but for places like Chick-fil-A and Salad Works, it couldn’t keep up.
Mangarelli said Olilo and Fresh from the Plains usually receive about seven to 10 orders a day, while Salad Works can receive up to 200 orders per day and Chick-fil-A can receive up to 600.
In those locations, they installed the iPads to scan the tickets, which notify students that their order is ready for them to pick up. In the other system, students are notified that their order should be ready after an amount of time set by the internal parameter of a location has passed.
Mangarelli said the new system helped the congestion, but they are planning on installing shelves where students can pick up their Tapingo orders.
Loughridge said Tapingo was recently purchased by GrubHub, so there could be new opportunities in the future, but Auburn has not been approached about any as of now.
He said dining services would like to offer delivery, but it would have a significant cost and negate the purpose of campus dining.
The community aspect of dining is important, Loughridge said. They want students to be together when they eat, not holed up in their dorm rooms.
“Our hope is that we create spaces that students want to be in,” Loughridge said, ”and therefore, they get to see each other and interact and we have that social connection as well as, you know, that collegiate connection where you’re in a class together.“
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