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Opinion: Dining delivery from Dave’s Boathouse faces delays, communication issues

App improvements could make delivery process more efficient for customers, employees

It is extremely nice to have the option for dining delivery; however, there are ways to update the system that would make it more efficient and smoother for both sides of the delivery.

At the beginning of the school year, the delivery system worked almost flawlessly. The food would arrive within minutes of getting a delivery notification with all food products present. Delivery was a good option for those who were up late writing a paper, not feeling well, or just didn’t have the energy to walk to Dave’s Boathouse. 

However, since the spring semester started, I’ve noticed some issues within the delivery system.

First, they’re running behind. The estimated delivery time might say twenty minutes; however, it can be an hour before students receive their food. This is not necessarily Dave’s Boathouse’s fault, since employees can’t control the high volume of orders they’ve been receiving recently, especially with more people living on campus. However, better communication could help with the delivery process.

The bare minimum would be easy access to Dave’s Boathouse’s phone number on their app. This access would open up communication between the workers at Dave’s and students so there is less confusion. If Rollins takes it a step further, it can practically imitate Uber Eats and create an option in the delivery app that allows for direct communication to someone at Dave’s. 

Communication is necessary for solving many issues that Dave’s faces. There have been instances of students missing items in their meal, and they are unable to contact the Boathouse about this mistake. 

For example, once I start working on schoolwork, I can’t stop. One night, I was determined on finishing a paper, but I still needed to order dinner. I placed an order from Dave’s, and, when it arrived, half of my dessert order was missing. This isn’t a life or death situation, but it can easily be corrected. If students have a way of contacting Dave’s, they could clear up the issue. 

Better communication would be helpful in the other direction as well. If Dave’s Boathouse knows an item isn’t in stock and needs to inform the student, they need to have a way of notifying them. Whether it’s instant messaging or direct phone calls, communication is key in any relationship, especially when it involves food.

If communication seems too risky to instill, the app could update and include a feature similar to the Uber Eats order tracking page. This would allow students to see if they have missed their order and how far away the food is. Updating the app in this way would solve the issues that students have with extensive delivery delays.

I’m sure there are many other ways to streamline this delivery process that I didn’t list, but these are the key to the issues I have noticed. I’m proud that Rollins offers delivery amidst the pandemic and that it has worked well thus far; but as always, there are ways to improve the system, and we should strive towards better service.

The opinions on this page do not necessarily reflect those of The Sandspur or Rollins College.

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