Tapingo is a valuable service offered on the UF campus. It helps busy students secure their meals without having to wait in the long lines accrued by some of the fine eateries scattered across campus. At least, that is what Tapingo could be, but too many students deal with horrific delays and order mistakes. While the app provides an avenue to rate the service and give feedback to the restaurants, it is not much more than a consolation prize when the poor service has already cost students some heinous combination of their time, money, energy and will to live.
The promise of Tapingo is evident in online ordering services provided by fast food corporations from Dunkin Donuts to Taco Bell. But unlike these services, Tapingo is problematic because it must provide an ordering service for a wide range of different restaurants on campus. The Chipotle app can offer a tailored online ordering experience because the biggest difference in customer orders it receives is whether the oversized burrito it makes is in a tortilla or a bowl. Tapingo services 17 menus as opposed to one, which increases the margin of error a significant amount.
Delays and mishaps exist and are worth noting for two prominent reasons: Tapingo is often used by students in between classes or clubs with little to no time for that delay. Tapingo mistakes also tend to be massive. An example will serve to demonstrate what I mean.
Last week, I decided to make the terrible dietary decision of eating dinner at Wendy’s. The classic Baconator accompanied by a perhaps more risqué baked potato — what one could describe as a classic. I had a 15-minute window between an advising appointment and an officer meeting for the French Club, so as my right arm was extended, shaking my advisor’s hand, my left was racing through the familiar motions of securing my Tapingo order on my phone. It was 6:45 p.m. when I ordered and I was notified my food would be ready by 6:53 p.m., which provided me enough time to get from the Reitz Union to Turlington with a burger that would send my fellow French officers into a frenzy of envy. Upon arriving at the Wendy’s, the plot thickened.
At the same time I strode over to the Tapingo section of the Wendy’s, expecting to find a bag with my name plastered on it, a scrawny man with a Red Sox hat entered the monstrous line next to me. I chuckled at him before peering down onto the sea of greasy bags that did not include my own. It was roughly 6:55 p.m. By 7:05 p.m., I was understandably a bit peeved. Mr. Red Sox Hat had just ordered, I assumed he went for a kids hamburger or a two-piece chicken tender meal. Still, my Tapingo meal was nowhere in sight. To make matters worse, I saw my ticket sitting in the dispenser. I fought hard to suppress the urge to vault over the counter and construct my Baconator myself. After another 10 minutes and irritated inquiries into the delay of my order, the woman behind the counter called out “Kevin!” Mr. Boston himself went up to the counter and retrieved his meal, proceeding to mock me by saying “It’s a Baconator” with a depraved smile on his face. Another ten minutes later at 7:25 p.m., I was finally given my food, with the exception of the baked potato, which they replaced with fries. The officer meeting was over and I was left fuming at the inequality of it all, that Kevin could have ordered ten minutes after I had and still left before me.
Sure, Tapingo should not be expected to be perfect, but most students at UF have important places to be. It should never be the case that an entire line and then some takes priority over one Tapingo customer. While it came back to haunt them with my scathing review and now this article, I doubt either of my attacks will result in much change. Though with some shifting of focus, I think these issues could be ironed out. When that day arrives, I will go once more to Wendy’s and order a Baconator with Tapingo.
Kyle Cunningham is a UF English and history freshman. His column appears on Fridays.
