Starbucks and on-campus vendors are keeping up with the long lines of students hoping to re-energize after pulling all-nighters.
“We make sure we have more of everything in stock so that we don’t run out of anything,” said Shivani Desai, a 22-year-old UF biology graduate student and a Starbucks employee in the Hub.
Aramark marketing manager Jill Rodriguez said the busiest Starbucks location is at Library West.
“At Library West, we will see close to a 50% increase in customers during finals week,” she wrote in an email. “We make sure we have plenty of staff scheduled to handle the extra traffic.”
The cold weather brings in more customers, and employees have been working additional hours, Desai said.
“It’s busier,” Desai said, “a lot busier. Normally, I work about 20 to 25 (hours), but I’m trying to get at least 30 a week until finals week ends.”
Desai said the Hub location has had about two-thirds more customers than usual.
“Our sales went up like crazy,” she said.
For some students like Jacqueline Chavez, the coffee lines are a small inconvenience during a night of studying. Chavez, a UF international studies and political science junior, said during busy times, she’s been waiting about 10 to 15 minutes for her orders.
“If the line goes outside, then it’s not worth it,” the 18-year-old said. “But, if I’m lacking sleep, it’s worth it.”
[A version of this story ran on page 13 on 12/10/2014]
Hanna Smith (left), a 20-year-old UF philosophy sophomore, stands in the line at the Starbucks in Library West on Monday afternoon. Smith said she was studying for her agricultural ecology final. “I was falling asleep up there, so I thought it was time for a Starbucks run.”
