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When I started going to this school I was happy to learn about the MaineCard off-campus Merchant Program, or MOM for short. I don’t pretend to understand the significance or justification of the acronym, but I was pleased with the concept. The school’s Web site sums up the MOM program by saying, “The MOM program will allow students to use their dining funds on their MaineCard to pay for on-campus deliveries from off-campus merchants. Simply pick up the phone, and tell the merchant you want to order pizza using your MaineCard.” Unfortunately, the MOM program has a lot of flaws that become painfully obvious after using it just a few times. In a related story, the investigation by the National Acronym-Deception Agency is still underway.
The biggest problem I’ve noticed is that every restaurant takes forever to deliver to the dorms. Most students take it out on the person who delivers their food. Everyone assumes that if it takes two hours for a pizza to get to your room, it’s because the delivery guy spent an hour and a half goofing off. Having worked in the pizza delivery industry, I can assure you the people delivering want to get it to you as fast as they can. They make less than minimum wage, just like a waitress, and rely on tips. They want to do as many deliveries as they can in a night so they’ll make more money. Whenever it took me more than 45 minutes to deliver, it was always because we had too many orders and not enough workers. Unfortunately, two hour deliveries are the norm here and the only logical explanation is that the restaurants are not adequately staffed.
Another unfortunate surprise is the service charge that all of the delivery places tack on to your bill. The University of Maine does not mention anywhere on its Web site that it leeches a whopping 20 percent of the total cost of your bill away from the merchant. All of the restaurants are forced to increase your bill by 20 percent to make up for the charge. Keep in mind none of this money goes to the below-minimum wage driver.
Let’s not forget the horror stories we’ve all heard. A casual acquaintance told me about ordering chicken parmesan from Orono House of Pizza last month and finding a staple where one would expect to find a condiment. She called OHOP, but the owner did not believe her story and hung up on her. She called back but the only progress was this time she received vulgarities before being hung up on again. She kept calling and was offered a replacement sandwich, but wasn’t in the mood for it anymore.
Many students have experienced a rush of anger after driving to one of the restaurants and being told that dining funds only work for deliveries from the off-campus merchants. What’s the harm in allowing students to use their dining funds at the same restaurants when they go out? I can think of zero logical flaws in ending the delivery-only rule. A lot of other schools allow students to buy food at off-campus restaurants. Students with cars would have a few more options when they run out of meal swipes for the week, and not have to wait two hours for their food.
Mike Hartwell is a junior journalism major.
