On Wednesday, Aug. 30, Aramark and Campus Dining launched a robot delivery service through Grubhub on campus. Students and faculty can order food from campus restaurants and have it delivered via Starship robot delivery.
Operating hours for the robots are Monday-Thursday from 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Friday from 7 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. They can deliver to any building on campus. While the robots do not officially have names, some students have given the robots nicknames such as “Grubby” and “Grubella.”
The robot delivery process starts on Grubhub. Users choose an on-campus restaurant that offers robot delivery and then the location for delivery. Once the location has been set, the user can place an order and return to the app for status updates.
When the delivery robot receives the order from the restaurant, it begins its journey to your location. The app provides interactive tracking and an estimated time of arrival. Orders typically take around 30-40 minutes from order submission to delivery.
After the robot reaches its destination point, Grubhub will alert the user of its arrival. The app then allows the user to open the robot and once the order is removed, the robot is sent away. If the robot reaches its delivery point and the order is not claimed after about ten minutes, it returns to the restaurant.
Robin Parker, the director of marketing and strategic initiatives, elaborated on this recent development.
“In surveys and focus groups, delivery services were something students had indicated wanting to see introduced to campus. College campuses across the country have experienced great success with robot food delivery services during the past several years,” Parker said.
Currently, there are eight robots roaming campus, but there are plans to bring in more as demand increases.
The robots have largely received positive feedback from the campus community, according to Parker.
“Initial feedback has been extremely positive, with many students saying things like ‘They’re so cute’ and ‘They make me happy,’ to looking forward to getting a bite to eat while studying without having to leave their residence hall to do so,” Parker said.
Biology major Makena Johnson is among the community members giving the robots a warm welcome. “I like the robots. It’s cool that the school is trying them out,” Johnson said.
Johnson also shared some criticisms about her first experience with the robots.
“I think it would have been better if there was some beta testing or something, because the first time I ordered from the robot, it wouldn’t give me the food I ordered,” Johnson shared.
Since their initial launch, the robots have had a few minor issues, but Aramark continues to work with Grubhub to resolve them as quickly as possible.
“The robots bring students, faculty and staff an efficient, cost-effective, sustainable method of delivery. With the exception of a few system glitches upon launch, there are really no disadvantages to having the robots on campus,” Parker commented.
For questions or concerns regarding the robots or delivery in general, contact Aramark at [email protected] or (985) 549-2286.
