University starts iPad tableside ordering

OXFORD, Ohio — First Stop may not be the last stop for electronic food ordering at Miami University.

First Stop, the all-day breakfast restaurant at MapleStreet Station and in the West Lobby of Harris Dining Hall, is the only dining facility on campus that has students order and pay on iPads. Although it is the only dining hall that uses this system, it is also one of a select few who have workers serve students restaurant-style.

Since First Stop is one of the only dining options with a full service setup, rather than a stop-and-go process, it was given the iPads for placing orders, Manager of Culinary Services Mary Barrera said.

“I love actually being able to serve people,” sophomore First Stop employee Andy Tu said. “The only difficult part is that the cards don’t always read and it takes multiple tries to be able to start someone’s order.”

Miami paid for the project using a budget specifically for electronic purchases and fees. The iPads were not funded by students’ tuition dollars. Half of the project plan for First Stop was to be more high-tech and save on labor, and the other half was to produce faster service, Senior Director of Dining and Culinary Support Services Nancy Heidtman said.

Students either sit at a table with an iPad already stationed and ready to take an order or a server comes with a portable iPad to get the order. All tables serve
drinks separately.