Students looking forward to the sweet smell of Rose's will only have to wait a few more days, as the Boston Ave. Chinese food vendor begins service in the Merchants on Points (MOPS) program next week. Dining Services confirmed Wednesday that Rose's will be added as soon as software allowing the restaurant to accept Tufts' dining points arrives.
In October, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate Services committee and Dining Services polled 857 students on their favorite of six local restaurants. Rose's, which received 289 votes, and Golden Light in Davis Square, with 106 votes, were the top two choices.
The restaurants' hours were not displayed on the survey, and in the following month, students expressed concern over Medford zoning restrictions that require Rose's to close by 11:00 p.m. "I think there are other, more popular Chinese restaurants because Rose's doesn't deliver as late as the others," junior Rebecca McCormick said.
Dining Services explored other options, and before winter break the Daily reported that Dining Services negotiations with Golden Light were coming to a close.
But communication difficulties with Golden Light over the break prompted Dining Services to approach Rose's again. "They haven't been very responsive," Dining Services director Patti Lee Klos said.
Members of the Senate have said that after numerous visits and attempts to contact the restaurant, Golden Light representatives were unable to communicate with Tufts. Citing language barrier problems, Senator Ed Schwehm said, "We had to assume that they didn't really want to be on MOPS or be bothered by us anymore."
Schwehm said he is frustrated by how long the process of adding a fourth vendor has taken, criticizing the efforts of both sides. "We're trying to provide the service to students, and it's upsetting to me personally that it's taking so long," Schwehm said. "It's been the whole semester and now starting a second semester without a fourth MOPS vendor. Personally, I think that's almost unacceptable."
He said that because the appropriate steps were taken in the fall, including the student poll, the fourth vendor should have been established within the MOPS system much sooner.
Partially accountable for the delay were problems with the program's hardware supplier. When Klos placed an order over break with Blackboard, the equipment provider, the company was working to upgrade the system. Orders for this type of system are not placed very frequently, so Tufts had to wait for new software compatible with its system and the upgraded hardware needed to connect Rose's. Klos said the system should be ready next week.
"They've escalated this service call a little higher up in their system," Klos said of Blackboard.
Last semester, students ordering from MOPS vendors experienced long waits for food - sometimes up to three hours. The addition of a fourth restaurant comes as a relief to many students. "Now you can have pizza, sandwiches, and Chinese all on points. It's perfect," sophomore Alexis Margolin said.
The MOPS program continues to grow because student demand placed on participating restaurants is high. Klos said there may be some lag time in Rose's adjustment to its increased number of orders, especially since the delivery restaurant will need to train new drivers. Last fall, MOPS participants as a whole saw their transactions double and their dollar intake triple.
Klos is confident that Rose's will make the necessary adjustments and hopes that students will react positively to the addition. "We hope that they will be favorably received. It will remain to be seen," Klos said.
Senators, however, are less confident and anticipate that students will be frustrated with Rose's 11 p.m. closing time. At the end of the semester, "student opinion may be for getting rid of Rose's and contacting other vendors," Schwehm said. Klos hopes that Rose's will continue in the MOPS program.
"There is an expectation that students will be satisfied with the quality and service," Klos said. The program will be reevaluated at the end of the semester.
