Post Classifieds
Phone app buys food on campus
By Spencer Trotman
On March 13, 2013
Chartwells dining services has a new phone app, giving students a faster, easier way to pay for food.
The app is called Level Up and can be downloaded on any smart phone, iPhone or Android. Once
downloaded, the student registers their credit or debit card to the app. When ready to make payment,
the app presents a barcode which can be scanned at several of the dining outlets on campus and in the
Union.
"I'll tell all my friends who don't have a meal plan about this," said Haslee Cameron, a junior from
Brooklyn. "They can use it on their phones instead of using their credit cards. Sometimes they forget
their credit cards at home so they could always have lunch on their phone."
According to Marissa Dinello, marketing director for Chartwells, students are becoming more familiar
with the app as more transactions come through.
"Last week we did a marketing promotional event speaking to students and it's been catching on since,"
she said.
Buffalo State and Northeastern University are the only colleges in the country to add this system into
their school dining halls, Dinello said.
"We are a guinea pig for Level Up," Dinello said. "Buffalo State is one of the first colleges to test this."
Manny Lezama, food service director of Chartwells said he plans on being an innovator.
"I submit for all the new testing products we get offered," he said. "My goal is to put Buffalo State on
the map."
Lezama said the main reason for the app is to benefit the student and make it easier for them to pay for
food on campus.
"We're not making money from Level Up Right now. We're losing money, but its a benefit to the
students," Lezama said. "Because of the demand of the students with social media, we have to keep up
with modern technology and we have to educate."
Lezama also said the app will help speed up service and shorten lines, especially during Bengal pause.
Instead of printing each receipt, Chartwells will email it to the customer.
"Level up will maximize the time waiting in lines because of quicker transaction," Lezama said. "The
ultimate part is to levitate the transactions from the cashier. You're protecting your business because
they can no longer do cash handling. It limits the shortage of financial human error."
Level Up is the United States' leading mobile technology payment provider, according to Dinello. She
said it has over one million users.
Lezama said students can feel safe in using the app. He said if any suspicious activity occurs with the
application, he will be able to track it with security cameras and transactions that go through the system
and report it to the University Police.
"The security bridge in here is intense, I trust it," he said.
Dinello said Chartwells hopes that businesses on Elmwood Avenue will also utilize the app in the near
future so students can have more options.
Spencer Trotman can be reached by email at trotman.record@live.com.
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