Tapingo wait times lengthen as popularity increases

Wait times have substantially increased one year after the introduction of the Tapingo app at USD.

Aramark contributes lengthy wait times to a growth in popularity on campus, at times even tripling last years average numbers. For example, on Sept. 17 there were 1,354 orders. 

In an email interview with The Volante, Stacy Kauer, Aramark’s marketing coordinator, said the Tapingo system can process as much as 72 orders an hour, or 1 order every 50 seconds.

“These aren’t the only customers we have though, we also have the orders from the people in front of us, and these can sometimes be multiple orders a minute.”

Occasionally restaurants are forced to shut down Tapingo services completely, Kauer said.

“Tapingo may get shut off due to too many orders and us physically not being able to keep up,” Kauer said. “This could be due to an excessively busy time period or something malfunctioning with Tapingo.”

Liz Paz, first-year theatre major, said she has also noticed extended wait times with Tapingo.

“It seems like a lot, especially with Chick-fil-A. I’m waiting forever for my food even if I Tapingo it thirty minutes before I want it,” Paz said. 

Meredith Ellis, sophomore nursing major, said she has also witnessed services shut down.

“I waited 40 minutes last week for Chick-fil-A. I feel like Qdoba is just as bad,” Ellis said. “There’s been a few times I’ve just went home and came back later to eat.”

Aramark said wait times aren’t expected to decrease, but students knowing how to use the app more efficiently may help.

Tips from Aramark include:

• Order before getting to the location
• Special requests like asking for no salt on a fry order slow down the process
• Only ordering a drink does not guarantee a quicker wait time as the tickets are served in numerical order
• Requests for items with an additional cost in the comments will not be honored
• Avoiding busy times of 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.