The start of a new semester at Villanova promises endless, wondrous possibilities and opportunities for those that have come to call it home. Whether it is the newly paved Wildcat Path or the undertaking of an “in-the-works” project for a new library, students and faculty have returned to the University to find it in a state of constant augmentation and improvement, like the empires of old.
Perhaps the most intriguing innovations of the new semester can be found in our beloved Café Nova, which has entered its digital age. Sayonara to unbearable queues and the incessant, chaotic cacophony of verbal ordering, as Café Nova has implemented Grubhub as its primary medium for ordering, which is aimed at improving establishment efficiency.
“Over 4,700 students, staff and faculty [have] download[ed] the app within the first few weeks of the semester,” Michael McGuckin, Director of Dining Services, said.
Using the Grubhub app via a cell phone or one of the kiosks on-site, Villanovans can place an order for their favorite bowl of nachos, a slice of bbq chicken pizza or a scoop of strawberry cheesecake gelato. Grubhub makes meal payment seamless: the app connects directly to a Villanovan’s meal plan and allows for compatibility with Apple or Google Pay.
“Individuals can track an order’s live wait-time and receive a notification once it’s ready for pick-up,” McGuckin said.
This is especially beneficial if students are rushing from place to place as they can order their food in advance, so that it is ready by the time they arrive at Café Nova.
Nevertheless, with Café Nova being one of the most popular places to dine on campus during the week, the high volume of demand has impacted Grubhub’s promised efficiency. Students have expressed their complaints verbally to friends and via Fizz, an anonymous discussion and news feed application popularized by students at colleges and universities.
A poll was posted last Wednesday asking users their opinion about the new system. 74% responded negatively. The subsequent “Fizzes” that followed shared sentiments of frustration and impatience, with some claiming that Café Nova is the only chance for students to get “good food on campus,” so they are particularly peeved about it shutting down without notice.
However, the paramount qualm is Grubhub’s ability to shut Café Nova down completely if the application experiences a bug or glitch. The inconvenience of the system’s complications may outweigh its benefits for some students, as was seen after a shutdown just last week.
Another student commented that she hasn’t downloaded the Grubhub app, nor visited Café Nova since hearing about its transition to mobile ordering, because she “doesn’t want to deal with the extra steps.”
Dining Services is aware of the system’s fallibility; this is partially due to it being relatively new for Villanovans to navigate.
“Our dedicated staff is adapting to the updated ordering process and order flow,” McGuckin said. “Over the coming weeks, we will closely monitor the system to fine-tune it as needed.”
As the adage goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” but they were laying bricks every hour. With each new improvement to Villanova’s campus comes some sort of kink that needs to and will be ironed out over time. In the meantime, the additions to Café Nova prove to have great potential for collective satisfaction with the ordering process on campus.
