Many students decide to use their 15-30-minute break from class to grab a quick bite to eat at the HUB. Unfortunately, this does not always go as planned.
A kiosk machine should be simple and easy to use, but the first month of school showed otherwise.
They aren’t reliable. Some days they work fine. Other days they don’t read your card. Sometimes when they’re feeling quirky, they take a break in the middle of your order. I didn’t know technology needed a break.
If you think you can bypass the issues by using the GrubHub app — something ULM Dining has heavily promoted — you still have a chance to have it canceled as soon as you place the order.
Once, I had a break and wanted to get some Chick-fil-A. Based on the number of people in the line, I thought that using the kiosk machine was faster.
Wrong.
I touched the screen, and it automatically went out of service. I thought that the problem was with that machine alone.
The next machine let me input my order but went out of service at the payment part. Eventually, I just brought a snack from the Pod because I did not want to be late for class or hungry.
There are also kiosk machines that don’t have a card swipe for your student ID, so you can’t even use your flex money.
The machines not working is a bad look in the first place, but it looks even worse to first-year students.
Their interpretation of the HUB is now an unorganized, broken mess.
The obvious main concern this brings to students is the inconvenience it can cause. Students in a hurry to get to class will run into a problem with the broken machines and likely miss out on potentially their only break of the day.
Some students want to waste no time in the HUB and make a quick trip. With the machine malfunctioning, any hopes for a short trip are dashed.
Whatever needs to be done, it needs to be quick. Students already have enough to worry about in college. A broken kiosk machine shouldn’t be one of these concerns.
