Points machines whose screen displays read "error" have been common this semester, leaving students aggravated and unable to refill their ID cards. But Dining Services is working to upgrade the machines, and hopes that recent servicing will rectify the problems.
The reason for the malfunctioning, according to Dining Services Director Patti Lee Klos, is that the cash-to-point machines are serviced infrequently, and when a machine accumulate a certain amount of money, it can no longer perform transactions.
The majority of student complaints have come from residents of Hill and Houston halls, the two dorms on campus with cash-to-points machines that allow students to insert cash to transfer money onto the vending stripe on their ID cards. Residents say these machines are frequently out of service, which has led to a variety of inconveniences.
"When I do my laundry, I want to use points. It's cheaper and easier, but since the machines are always broken, I'm always on the search for quarters," said Katie Finkelstein, a sophomore in Houston Hall.
Shortly after winter break, freshman Aaron Orenstein, a resident of Houston Hall, had a $10 bill eaten by a points machine. He e-mailed a complaint to the Canteen Corporation, the company responsible for maintaining the points and vending machines, but did not receive his money back for two months.
"I was really frustrated," Orenstein said. "How could it possibly take two months to do something so simple?"
Dining Services has been working to improve its communication with Canteen, according to Lee Klos, and there have been efforts to have Canteen representatives come to campus more often to service machines that are currently left inoperable for extended periods of time.
One reason that points machine problems often go unaddressed is that Dining Services relies on students to report problems. "We don't have a staff person that can go around and check on them," Lee Klos said.
Once the problems are reported, staff members of Canteen, which subtracts with Coca Cola, are dispatched. If someone from Coca Cola notices the problem, he or she must call Canteen to make the necessary repairs.
Students have also complained that many of the vending machines in dorms do not accept their dollar bills and cards. According to Lee Klos, this problem should be resolved soon.
"What in fact has been happening is in the cash mechanism, they had to be upgraded so they would recognize the new currency, and that has been done over the past few weeks," Lee Klos said. Fixing the technology that reads the cards is a fairly simple process and is also a priority of Dining Services, according to administrators.
Much of the technology on campus is aging, and Dining Services has talked to Canteen about the possibility of upgrading all of the software to reduce problems. That is unlikely to occur by the end of this year, but could possibly be completed next year.
Dining Services will also be installing an automatic debit machine (ADM) in Eaton Hall, similar to the machines in Carmichael, Dewick, and the campus center. These ADMs allow students to transfer money to the vending stripe, the narrow stripe on the back of the student ID card that can be used for the laundry machines as well as over 70 vending machines across campus.
South Hall, the most-populated resident hall on campus, houses no points machines.
"The other day, I had to go to the campus center only to find it wasn't working. The inconvenience is really frustrating," South resident Caroline Levy said.
According to Klos, there used to be a points machine in South, but it was removed after being damaged by students several times. "When we have vending machines that are repeatedly vandalized, they take them out," she said.
Cost is the primary reason that points machines have not been added to other dorms on campus. While Dining Services has not identified additional places to install machines, Klos said that adding more is not out of the realm of possibility.
