For over a year, Tufts students and administrators have worked to add a fifth restaurant to the popular Merchants on Points (MOPS) program, which lets students charge meals from four local restaurants to their Points Plus account. The major push from students is for the inclusion of a local Chinese eatery, open late, that will compliment the established MOPS restaurants - Espresso's Pizza, Wing Works, Near East Caf?©, and Urban Gourmet. However, according to the Director of Dining Services Patti Lee, expanding the MOPS program is a less-than simple process.
Dating back to the 1999 spring semester, Lee has worked closely with the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate Services Committee on this project. Along the way, the group encountered many obstacles in its efforts to add a fifth restaurant. Dining Services' computer system cannot handle another restaurant with its current capabilities, said Lee. The computer system restriction, coupled with apparent funding issues within Dining Services, further complicated the process.
"We would like it now, but there are steps that we have to take to make sure that it can actually happen before they make commitments. A funding source will have to be identified," Lee said.
Dining Services faces a number of budgetary restrictions that might not accommodate increased MOPS business.
"Dining services has a quota of money that they have to bring in every year," TCU Senate Services Committee Chair Melinda Coolidge said. "If [Dining Services] encouraged money that would be spent on food on campus to be spent off campus, then it puts them in debt. So basically, [Lee] has to evaluate if Dining Services can handle that money going off campus."
After a significant delay, Coolidge thinks there seems to be some movement toward a resolution.
"It's sort of interesting because I think that there seems to be some confusion about how we would get upgraded. In the spring of 1999 [the upgrade problem was the reason] why [Lee] told us we couldn't get another restaurant on MOPS. Then she said the system wasn't a problem, but there's a funds issue.
"The last time I met with [Lee]... she was excited because she seemed confident that she could get the upgrade," Coolidge said.
Lee also noted that Dining Services has been working on a number of initiatives, and that they cannot all happen simultaneously. This year, adding a Chinese restaurant to MOPS is a Dining Services priority, she said. And it may be just in time, especially considering that Dining Services' new revisions on meal plans rely heavily on points and dining dollars.
"Last Sunday night, a delivery guy was arriving at the dorm every five minutes," sophomore Anabella Nieves said. "With MOPS it's easier to spend the dining dollars you have, because it's money you don't see. If the money's already available, and I don't use it, it's going to go to waste. It can be used only for food," Nieves said.
The MOPS plan began approximately five years ago, when Lee, along with the Senate, sought a way for students to use their points to purchase food from local restaurants when cafeterias and other campus eating facilities are closed. Today, students can order a delivery from any of the four restaurants after 7 p.m. on weeknights and 1 p.m. on weekends.
In order to join the program restaurants have to acquire special computer hardware. "The restaurant has to be able to identify the student in order to know if he or she had enough money to pay for the order," Lee explained.
Each restaurant pays a 15 percent commission to Tufts for every MOPS order. The arrangement draws both positive and negative feedback from restaurants and students. The exact commission charge was arrived upon after a focus group at which Lee spoke with students and restaurant owners interested in instituting the MOPS program. Over 12 restaurants were invited to the meeting and the four that responded - College Pizza, China Inn, Espresso's, and Wing Works - became the MOPS pioneers.
In organizing the program and choosing the commission charge, Lee looked to Duke University, as it was one of the first places to offer students a similar option. Taking commission "is a standard practice when you outsource a service," Lee said. "There is a shared profit."
The Near East Caf?© manager commented that its business at Tufts has increased "substantially" since joining MOPS. However, he complained that the 15 percent commission is "a lot."
The University has 12 dining options, of which 11 are available to students. The 15 percent commission from MOPS helps pay for the overhead lights, maintenance, cleaning, replaced articles, and food that is needed to feed the Tufts community.
