The WKU Restaurant Group has transitioned this semester from using the Dining Sidekick on-campus dining app to Grubhub, an online food and delivery service app.
“It’s an absolute game changer for many of your on-campus food cravings,” the WKU Restaurant Group said on their Instagram.
Offering a wider range of features compared to Dining Sidekick, Grubhub added three new participating on-campus restaurants in addition to the ones on the previously used app: Panda Express, Road Trip America and Rising Roll.
Junior Emily Arnett from Tompkinsville said she enjoys the time-saving aspect of Grubhub. With more restaurants to choose from, she said Grubhub is more convenient for students who don’t want to wait in line.
“I remember waiting in line to get Panda Express, and it took at least 30 minutes to get to the front of the line and that was really inconvenient and time-consuming,” Arnett said.
Additionally, Grubhub’s already existing widespread use means many students may already be familiar with its interface, potentially reducing the learning curve associated with the transition.
Senior Rhionna Myers-Borraga from Elizabethtown said the transition has been convenient for her.
“It’s pretty neat because we can see how many people are in front of us to show more of an accurate representation of timing,” Myers-Borraga said. “It is way more convenient because I don’t live on campus, so there are more options for when I am on the go.”
When WKU was using Sidekick, students were given an estimated wait time to determine when orders would be ready for pickup. The app would inform students how long the order would take to prepare, but not indicate how many orders were in front of them. With Grubhub, after an order has been placed, students are given an order number, estimated pickup time and can see how many people are ahead of them.
Senior Emilee Kerney from Glasgow said she appreciates the new switch and has not seen any issues.
“I think Grubhub is great, the layout of the app is a lot easier to use than Sidekick,” Kerney said. “The main perk of Grubhub is that it saves my information, which cuts down on time for me.”
Grubhub is available on all Android and IOS devices. The WKU Restaurant Group said on their Facebook that after downloading the app and making an account, students can go to their account and click “Campus Dining” to hook their meal plan to their Grrubhub account. Once students are connected to their meal plan, they can use the app to order food on campus.
While the transition from Sidekick to Grubhub on the Hill is fairly new, the WKU Restaurant Group has provided proper support and communication by addressing frequently asked questions through all of its social media platforms. In return, this helps students adapt to the new app and enjoy an improved on-campus dining experience.