With just few taps of the finger, salads and sandwiches at Houston Market will be ready in record time. In response to complaints of long lines, dining officials have installed two point-of-sale kiosks -- allowing customers to select and place their orders through "Wawa-style" touch screens, according to Aramark Marketing Manager Maeve Duska. "We're really hoping that it expedites the service here," Duska said. As a result, Aramark officials contacted Radiant Systems, which is responsible for Wawa's point-of-sale kiosks. Now, instead of waiting to order, waiting for their food to be prepared and then waiting again to pay, students will be able to order their salads or deli sandwiches electronically using the touch screens and then head straight for the cashier, receipt in hand, to pay while their food is prepared. "The line completely empties out within a minute," Anthony Fedor, an Aramark business analyst said about Friday afternoon's lunch rush. "When there's a little bit of volume on this, it works really well," Fedor said. "Today, from the numbers, [Houston Market workers] are saying they've been able to get about 20 percent more" orders. In addition to faster lines, Aramark officials say they hope to utilize the ability of point-of-sale kiosks to store data to help track numbers for stocking and ordering. The kiosks are currently being piloted at The Wall station in Houston Market, which serves salads and deli sandwiches. Aramark officials said they will consider expanding to other stations if the trial is successful. "The reason we wanted to pilot at a place like this is that students are very innovative," Director of Information Technology Campus Services for Aramark Jim Accordi said. Although Accordi was on hand to guide customers through the food-ordering process on Friday, he noted that most students seemed to navigate the system with ease. "I'm really excited," Wharton junior Amee Kamdar said, adding that the touch screens make ordering sandwiches easier. "Houston is supposed to be a quick place to get something... but if you're getting a salad, it'll be like 15 to 20 minutes waiting," Kamdar said. "Hopefully, this will speed things up." But not all students were thrilled with the new system. "It's not personable.... It's not approachable," Wharton sophomore Joana Cordeiro said as she waited in line to order her salad Friday afternoon. However, customers will still be able to give their orders or clarify what they want in person if they wish, Fedor said.
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