IVYLEE ROSARIO — Staff Writer
When a student can’t find prices, don’t receive a receipt and don’t know how much money they have left on their HootLoot card—there is reason to complain, said Lauren Sullivan.
She said the unknown prices in North Campus Market have gone unnoticed.
“I’ve never really thought about it. I know some items have prices, but I’ve never taken out the time to check,” said Sullivan, a 19-year-old biology major. “The school gives us a certain amount of food loot to use each semester and it doesn’t roll over so we have to use it anyway. I just go in there, get whatever food I want or need and then just charge it. If there is a lack of prices it doesn’t really bother me, and the cashier always tells me how much I have left on my card.”
There have been complaints from students regarding the lack of price tags on products in the North Campus Market, as well as not receiving receipts at the end of a purchase. The market is located on the first floor of the North Campus residence hall.
This destination offers convenient items and grab-and-go favorites. Many students flock to the North Campus Market for the famous warm cookies, according to Southern’s dining web page.
Although there have been complaints recently, Roberta Read, the cashier at the North Campus Market, insisted all products have prices and receipts are always given out.
“I haven’t had any students come up to me and complain, but I assure you that every product has a price tag. I put up the tags myself as soon as I get them,” said Read. “We also have all the prices in the computer so if a student doesn’t know the price of something, they can come ask me and I’ll be more than happy to tell them. Sometimes the prices are on the bottom of the box, so the students just need to look a little closer.”
Depending on which meal plan a student chooses—platinum, gold or silver—determines how many meal exchanges and how much money they receive on their hoot loot card for each semester. Students can use this food loot at any of the Chartwells food stations on campus.
“I think it’s a good thing that we get to choose our own meal plans because then we can pick whichever amount works best for us,” said Christine Moylan, a 20-year-old psychology major. “I think if we are getting ‘free money,’ in a way, then nobody should be complaining about there not being any prices on stuff in the market. From when I’ve been there I’ve never had a problem, so I don’t know what everyone else is talking about.”
Not having prices in the market and not giving out receipts can create confusion among students, said Sullivan, because they will have to constantly guess how much food loot they have left.
“At the same time, I’ve never seen this problem happen ever and I go to the market often, so I think people are just being dramatic because they couldn’t find a sticker once on a box,” said Sullivan.
The tags given for the products at the market are up as soon as possible, Read said.
“I always make sure the items in here have prices on them. I was surprised to find out students were saying there were prices missing and receipts not being passed out,” said Read.
