Written by Laura Sands. Graphic by Ananya Panchal.
Students were welcomed back from winter break with giant banners in the dining halls declaring OrderUp dead. OrderUp was the app used to order SCAD dining options for pickup, and in some cases, the only way to order food from specific places, such as Amigos Nuevos. With SCAD’s multitude of apps needed to do anything—one for buses, two for safety, about ten for communicating with different people, millions for major specific work—one less should have been a good thing, but it wasn’t.
Those blue banners also redirected students to use SCAD’s main app to order food. Now, where we used to see dining dollars and meal swipes, there is an additional menu to order from all of SCAD’s dining options under “more,” and then “dining.” While students were skeptical of the change from the start, as the quarter moves on, frustrations are growing.
The biggest annoyance with this new ordering system is the lack of accuracy when orders are placed. OrderUp had these same issues; however, an email was always sent when the order was ready, so customers weren’t left guessing if their food was ready or not.
For example, when I attempted to place an order for lunch on Jan. 27, the suggested pick-up time was 10 p.m. on Jan. 23. Even smaller discrepancies happen more often, and pick-up times are usually at least 20 minutes off. This new way of ordering does not have any way to inform when the food is actually done. It only shows the estimated time, which is often inaccurate.
OrderUp also had specialized QR codes to scan when a student picked up their food to ensure the right order was received by the right student. On the SCAD app, there are no more QR codes. Instead, an employee just asks a student their name before presenting the food (if it’s ready). This has caused meals to be given to incorrect students, but more drastically, it takes a lot more time—especially in the morning rush hour at BeeFuel cafe.
BeeFuel offers Starbucks drinks in the freshman housing area, and it is always packed before morning classes. When OrderUp was around, students had a place to scan the QR code and pick up their drinks without even talking to the employees. This kept the pace flowing as they made dozens of drinks every morning. Now, an already long line grows longer as students try to figure out which iced caramel macchiato is theirs.
OrderUp had incorrect time estimates, displayed unavailable foods as available, and occasionally glitched. If this new way of ordering food through the SCAD app has all of those issues as well, what’s the real benefit of the change? Students are unhappy about this new app, and after a couple of weeks, SCAD administration listened to their complaints somewhat. The app now has an Order History section, lists food restrictions, and allows you to add a credit or debit card as a form of payment, in addition to meal swipes and dining dollars. However, there is still no email confirming food is ready, no QR code, and poorly estimated pick-up times. Other colleges still use the OrderUp app, so it’s no loss to the app’s company, yet it is a huge loss to the SCAD student community. Students grieve the ease of OrderUp each time they want nachos from Amigos, sushi from Boathouse, or a Frappuccino from BeeFuel.
