Shark Dining brings Grubhub app to campus

By Anaum Hussain •

NSU’s dining hall is going through some changes this semester thanks to a Grubhub collaboration.

Now, food can be ordered at the new kiosks in front of the restaurants and through the Grubhub app on mobile devices.

Mike Alkurdi, resident district manager for Chartwells and Shark Dining, said the new Grubhub collaboration is an effort by Shark Dining to improve the dining experience on campus.

“For over a couple of years, we’ve been exploring and searching for digital solutions that can help and deliver [a better] kind of experience to our student population,” Alkurdi said.

Students at NSU have mixed feelings about these new kiosks.

“I like [the kiosks and app], but me and my friends have been noticing that they are glitchy. So my friend is gluten-free, and she went to order something gluten-free, but the app didn’t let her know that it was out-of-stock,” said Katie Rysdeck, freshman marine biology major.

If students have concerns with their diet when ordering food, Alkurdi said that they should immediately ask for assistance.

“Students shouldn’t come across an experience that could be risky or unsafe, dietary-wise. My advice to students in that situation would be to get a manager on duty right away. Don’t wait. There’s always supervisors and managers on duty, just politely ask [the employees] for someone.”

There is also a text line, Text-to-Chat, that goes directly to all of the Shark Dining managers if one of them cannot be found at the moment. Students can text 954- 398-5398 and the managers will receive their message and will be there as soon as possible.

Rysdeck also said that swiping her SharkCard sometimes takes multiple attempts.

Alkurdi said the scanners are sensitive, and it may take multiple swipes for the purchase to go through.

“I noticed some students swipe their cards, and it gets declined or doesn’t work because students are not selecting the right tender. You have to select the meal plan that has money, because you have multiple meal plans. Some of it says zero, and some of it says the actual amount. So if you don’t have money in the right [plan], it gets declined,” Alkurdi said.

Despite some concerns, Shark Dining staff is optimistic about the future and believes that they will keep improving the app and kiosks.

“As you launch any new technology, there’s always some kinks in the beginning that you try to work out and fix as you go. I feel like we’re in a very good standing at the moment,” Alkurdi said.