Tapingo introduces app to ’SC

Tapingo, a food ordering app geared toward college students, has just launched at USC.

Tapingo, which calls itself an “Online & Mobile Food Directory,” allows students to place meal delivery and takeout orders either online or via their smartphones to eateries in the local area. The app is compatible with both the iPhone and the Android operating system.

Students can use Tapingo at USC to order and pick up food from eateries at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center, Starbucks and Coffee Bean. The app accepts discretionary funds from school IDs, as well as credit or PayPal. Students can also use Tapingo to order food to be delivered from local restaurants, including Pizza Rustica and Viztango Cafe.

With the slogan “Great Food. Less Waiting,” the service advertises its ability to allow users to avoid long lines and wait times. Users have the option to either call ahead and pick up or have the food delivered right to their doorstep. Orders are customizable, and the app remembers preferences, such as specific restaurant favorites and topping choices.

In a press release, Tapingo CEO Daniel Almog expressed his excitement over joining the USC community.

“We are proud to have USC join the existing 25 universities to have successfully launched Tapingo on campus,” Almog said. “The deal brings us one step closer to our vision of Tapingo as a lifestyle app that transforms the everyday shopping experiences of the modern consumer.”

Dirk De Jong, associate director of operations for USC Hospitality, believes that Tapingo will benefit student life.

“Tapingo represents exactly the kind of tech-driven innovation USC seeks to deliver and inspire among its world-class student body,” De Jong said. “By streamlining the process of ordering and picking up food, students can spend more time working and socializing. In that sense, Tapingo is the perfect complement to USC’s brand and educational experience.”

Campus administrators said they considered other food ordering applications and tried to develop their own before they eventually decided to partner with Tapingo.

“We spoke to a few different companies that offered similar solutions,” USC Director of Hospitality Kris Klinger said. “Tapingo had the best depth and breadth, particularly in regard to the higher education space.”

According to Klinger, there are plans for Tapingo to expand to all the campus dining facilities, as well as more local quick service eateries in the near future.

For many students on campus, the new addition of Tapingo will ease the stress of lunchtime lines. On its Facebook page, Tapingo claims that students spend an average of eight days a year waiting in lines for food.

Darrin Jin, a junior majoring in psychology, is excited to use the app to cut down on the time it takes to get food.

“I absolutely hate waiting in lines during the midday rush. As a full time student balancing a job, this definitely could make life a little easier,” Jin said.

Many believe the app will simply make ordering food more convenient and enjoyable.

“I think it’s a cool concept,” said Jade Ponciano, a freshman majoring in neuroscience. “That’d definitely be nice to be able to order food right from my phone and not sit around in line.”

Caroline Heer, a senior majoring in fine art, finds the concept of Tapingo useful, even though she often eats at home.

“It sounds kind of tempting. I think a lot of people, especially those in dorms, could use this,” Heer said.

The administration is expecting positive responses to the partnership with this app.

“It’s about convenience more than anything else,” Klinger said. “It’s something the students have been asking for.”

 

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