THE AVION
B2 Technology
Tapingo-ing, Going, Gone. Hello Grubhub Ana and Ameer are students in the Research in User eXperience (RUX) Lab in the Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology. RUX investigates the usability and user experience of technology in our everyday world. This is a regular column that explores different technologies typically used by Embry-Riddle students.
Ana Gonzalez and Ameer Hosein Graduate Researchers
User's Account The Grubhub app will give new users the option to create an acAs probably many of you have count or link your Facebook or seen, Tapingo is now being re- Gmail account. To use Grubhub placed by Grubhub. on-campus, you will have to follow additional instructions to be able to access on-campus restaurants available on Grubhub. These instructions aren't the most intuitive, as you will have to do extra work to add this function to your account. After logging-in or creating an you Image Courtesy/Grubhub and Ana Gonzalez account, will have to go What is Grubhub? to your account page, access the Grubhub is one of the leading online campus dining setting, and search food ordering and delivery compa- for your school. One interesting nies. Their services allow you to or- point is having to answer quesder food for takeout or delivery by tions regarding your class standconnecting you with local restau- ing and graduation year. As one rants. You can download the app of the lab members stated: "Why to your smartphone or access their does class matter?" You will need website (www.grubhub.com) and to enter your ERNIE login ID to start place your food order. Unlike Tap- using the on-campus dining expeingo, Grubhub has the capability rience. The set-up seems easy, but of supporting on-campus food op- the challenge is finding where to tions as well as off-campus restau- go to add on-campus dining. You rants. They don't only pair with na- will have to search for it on the app, tional chain restaurants; they also phone a friend that has used it, or connect with favorite local restau- use Google to find out how to add rants. If you want to be more specif- your school. Other than having to ic about your food options, you can search for the on-campus dining search by cuisine, restaurant name, setting, the app was easy to signor menu item. Grubhub offers local up for and log in. deals and specials through their recently unveiled exclusive 'Perks,' Placing an order which will help you save up to $100. You have most likely walked into the Student Union, seen the long We wanted to find out how easy it is lines at the different restaurants, for someone to download the app and realized you don't want to wait and use it to place an order. There- that long to get food. What do you fore, we asked RUX lab members to do? Using the Grubhub app, you evaluate the user experience with are able to place orders anywhere four tasks: finding and download- and pick-up whenever you chose. ing the Grubhub app, creating an First, select which restaurant you account or linking an existing ac- want food from. Just as it was with count, placing an order, and pick- Tapingo, all the restaurants on caming up the order placed. pus are listed individually. Another similar feature Grubhub gives you is Downloading the app an estimated wait time by showing Finding the Grubhub app was an your place in line. One thing Grubeffortless and straightforward task. hub provides is the choice between Just search for "Grubhub" in the App a ‘Meal Exchange’ (option for purStore or Play Store. Due to the high chasing using a student meal plan) demand for food delivery services, and ‘Regular Menu’. The app disthe search results will show oth- plays different menus depending er food delivery apps. Grubhub's on whether it is a meal exchange app in the Play Store has a review or not. While there is an inconsistent of 4.0/5, and in Apple's App Store it layout throughout the restaurant is #5 in the Food & Drinks category menus, it is clear what food items and is rated 4.7/5. As for the app's are available. When placing orders interface, Grubhub has the same through Grubhub, some restaurants design for iPhones and Androids. limit the amount of customization of
your order. Our lab members experienced restrictions with substitutions and side items when ordering from Starbucks, Qdoba, and Chick-fil-A.
sign above the designated area. Once you arrive, you can skip the lines, give the employees your name, and they will hand you your order. But remember to check your order! Sometimes your order can be wrong; in that case, you would have to go back and get it corrected. We had four RUX Lab members order food to test the app. Two ordered from Chick-fil-A, one from Starbucks and one from Qdoba. Two of the orders were correct, while the remaining two had mistakes. The Starbucks' order was missing whipped cream, while the order from Qdoba had an item substituted without their consent and a missing item. The employee mentioned that they were out of Queso and didn't substitute for the spicy one as not many people like spicy. However, they had substituted steak for chicken, without consent. At the time of pick-up steak was available, and they offered to add steak to the meal with chicken.
Image Courtesy/Ameer Hosein. Qdoba offers the ‘impossible meat’ as a substitution, but it isn’t offered on the app.
Our members liked being able to edit their selected items and to add notes while checking out. However, Grubhub seems to not store payment information used for previous orders and adds a 59-cent service fee. After placing an order, you will receive an order confirmation email. Our members noticed inconsistent pricing information between the app and the email. The app showed a tax and service fee and the email didn’t.
Final thoughts After using Grubhub, who remembers Tapingo? Grubhub helps alleviate some of the problems from Tapingo, such as providing two menu options: ‘Regular Menu’ and ‘Meal Exchange.’ The food options available on the app aren't as customizable as in-person; and they also depend on your choice of restaurant. This variability can drastically change one's experience with using the app. Also, note the service fee of 59-cents extra. Overall, if you need your food quickly, don't mind the extra fee, and can't wait in line, Grubhub is the way to go.
Pick up Your Food Once you order your food, there are separate areas for Grubhub pick-up at each restaurant with a
Image Courtesy/Ana Gonzalez