From now on, comfort food on campus will be even more comfortable. Thanks to a couple of RSM students, you can now order your sunny side-up eggs, kebab or sandwich with a simple smartphone app.
In 2014, RSM students Martine Gatsonides and Bart Pleysier followed the minor in Entrepeneurship. As part of the class, the two students researched paying methods on campus. They discovered a wide variety of methods, Pleysier says. The now defunct ‘chipknip’ for parking lots, bank cards in the canteens, cash for the vending machines and a dedicated card for printing. The two went on a mission to simplify this.
Gatsonides and Pleysier came up with a smartphone app as a payment solution. “The head of the EUR finance department, John van Barneveld, was really enthusiastic about it. He was already thinking about a similar solution and was glad we wanted to work on it”, Pleysier explains. Together with Dutch bank Rabobank and a couple of restaurants on campus, the adventure continued after the minor.
Fellow student Marco van Delft joined the team and together, they formed a new company called Dnktnk. Eighteen months later and the system is going live. The dream of replacing all existing payment systems by just one isn’t fulfilled yet, but there are various places already where you’ll be able to use MyOrder, for example at the Erasmus Sportcafé, New Fork, HAS Döner Kebab and Tosti World. The Erasmus Pavilion will also join soon. And of course, you are still able to use the app to recharge your print credits. MyOrder is available for both iPhone and Android.
Simple ordering system
After installing the app, placing an order is quite straightforward: click on the restaurant of your preference, choose your meal or drink, select a time slot and pay. Your food will be ready at the selected time. No more queues, no more cash money needed.
‘Ambassador’ Bente Sluyter has tested the system already. “I’ve been using it since Monday and I like it very much. There were exams so I spent a lot of time in the Library. The credit they gave is already depleted!” The restaurant staff adapted to the system very quickly, Bente says. “At first, it felt a bit weird to skip the queue and get your sandwich immediately, but the staff understands it now.”
MyOrder has been available on Campus since Tuesday. According to Gatsonides and Pleysier, discounts are to be expected on a regular basis. ES