Students noticed a new charge on their normal Tapingo orders last week after the food ordering app Tapingo added a new 59-cent service fee for orders.
Tapingo is an app that allows students to place orders with various vendors on and around Main Campus like those in the Student Center Food Court or at Cosí.
The new service fee will be deducted from students’ Diamond Dollars if the total cost is more than the equivalent of one meal swipe. This is separate from the existing $2.99 delivery charge and was added last week without most people being aware.
“It’s not cheap to set up good service,” said Vivek Wagle, the head of brand and culture for Tapingo. “This helps us to defer costs and maintain good service for students. That’s our number one priority.”
Several days after the fee was first charged, Tapingo sent an email to students that said “we wanted to give you a heads up” about the fee.
“I didn’t know they’d added a fee,” said Idan Zonshein, a junior neuroscience major who uses Tapingo once or twice a day to avoid waiting in line. He said he’s not sure whether this new fee will affect how much he uses the app.
“I wouldn’t mind paying 59 cents to beat the lines and get my food faster,” he added.
“I think I noticed the fee last night,” University Studies freshman Max Klemmer said. He uses Tapingo to save time in the morning. “I might use it a little less, but I’ll probably still use it 3 times a week.”
Though Tapingo’s contract with the university is through Sodexo, Wagle said that they are committed to working with the university. Tapingo will continue its partnership with Aramark when it becomes the university’s food service provider.
Jacob Garnjost can be reached at jacob.garnjost@temple.edu.
CORRECTION: A previous headline for this article has been clarified to say “pick-up” transactions.
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