Tapingo is the smartphone app that allows Rowan students to order food on the go through the campus Marketplace.  While Tapingo is suppose to make ordering food more efficient, there are some disadvantages that come with the application.  This week we will be weighing in on the pros and cons of the Tapingo app.

Advantages:

Order Food from Anywhere

In class? Studying at the library?  At the gym? Order food from any of these places through the Tapingo app.  With food apps, it makes ordering food much more convenient. Through the app, it tells you the wait time for each vendor.  Ordering on the go eliminates the time you would be spending in line for your food.

Easily Customizable Food Orders

Customization allows the customer to pick what they want and get what they want.  If you want cheese on your burrito bowl? Add it. If you don’t want lettuce on your Jersey Mike’s sub?  Remove it. Allowing customers to build orders catered to them keeps the possibilities endless.

Can be Purchased Using Meal Plans or Credit Cards

On the Tapingo app, food can be purchased using any meal plan.  In addition, you can also pay using a debit/credit card. This choice is great for commuters or any students and faculty that do not have a meal plan.  In the app, click on the sidebar and go to payment methods. You can easily add your Rowan card or credit card as payment options.

Disadvantages:

Inaccurate Wait Times

Many students experience the inaccurate wait times for their food through the Tapingo app.  This can be extremely unfair when you have somewhere to be such as class. Nobody wants to wait for their food an additional 5-10 minutes or show up for their food late that is now starting to become cold.

Missing Food Orders

This happened to me when I ordered food from Chef Jet.  I ordered my food and went right over to the vendor as soon as the app told me it was ready.  Once I get there, I look at the order numbers and none of them are mine. I stand in front of the food pick-up area and wait for 5 minutes.  I notice that the order numbers are going up and my food still isn’t ready. Another student next to me was waiting for their food too.  We both were waiting the same amount of time and both of our orders were missing! After 15 minutes went by, we both went up to one of the workers and told them what happened.  The worker apologized and quickly got us our food. Unfortunately, the noodles I ordered with my meal were gone so I had to pick something else. This can be extremely frustrating when you don’t receive the food you ordered and waited longer than necessary.

Receiving the Review Days Later

It’s great that you can give a review on the food; however, the review shows up on your phone days later.  Sometimes it is hard to even remember what you ate days ago. When I go back onto the app, I will quickly click through the review not paying much attention.  The review allows you to rate the food out of 5 stars. If you give the food less than 5 stars, the app will give you a list of what went wrong with your food along with a box for additional comments.  Since the review shows up days later, it lends itself a few questions. Do they really look at these reviews? If so, are they really improving their food and services?

Let us know your thoughts and experiences using the Tapingo app!