What’s Up With Usdan Receipts?

Apparently there’s a Usdan receipt conspiracy. I’ve been hearing around campus lately that the Marketplace has been failing to give receipts to students, most notably at brunch. Maybe it’s deliberate, or maybe it’s a minor slip-up. Either way, at this point in the semester, most of us are dangerously low on meals or points (or maybe both), and getting our receipts is quite helpful. So I set out to investigate the matter.

For one, this required actually going to Usdan, which I barely do. But I Usdan-ed religiously this week, motivated by the quest to get to the bottom of this receipt dilemma.

On Monday and Tuesday, I stopped by Usdan for lunch. Sure enough, Irene, the lovely Bon Appetit cashier, handed me a receipt each time. For the sake of the experiment, I decided to try Usdan’s To-Go option. I figured that since this requires two separate transactions–meals for the meal itself and points for the plastic container–there’s no way I’ll get the two receipts. But Irene gave me two receipts each time. At this point, I was pretty convinced there was no receipt conspiracy after all.

Being a frosh, I had never experienced the absolute shitshow/carb-filled culinary experience that is Usdan Thanksgiving. So on Wednesday evening, I waited in a ridiculously long line for access to Marketplace. (Shameless self-promo: Wesleying actually live blogged Usdan Thanksgiving, and you should check it out here). Anyway, I finally made it to the front of the line, gave Irene my card to swipe, and…no receipt. To be fair, I totally understand the lack of receipts at Usdan Thanksgiving. The Bon Appetit staff are truly impressive for handling that many students so well. So I figured I should go to Usdan a few more times to reach an official conclusion on the receipt conundrum.

Thursday night at dinner, Irene gave me a receipt yet again. But the receipt was nothing compared to the smile she gave me! In the midst of investigating what could be a massive receipt conspiracy, I’ve found that Bon Appetit workers are the kindest individuals–possibly ever–and that they remain calm under pressure, even when that pressure is hundreds of very hungry/loud/impatient/intoxicated/hungover students swarming into Usdan.

Anyway, Saturday at brunch confirmed my receipt suspicions. Before I went to brunch, I asked a few of my friends if they had received receipts. “No way,” said one frosh who asked to remain anonymous. Ze suggested that Bon Appetit avoids giving out receipts during high-traffic times, citing the lack of receipts at Usdan Thanksgiving, brunch, and other peak times as evidence. “I think they don’t refill the paper [during especially busy meals],” which helps people get through the line faster, ze said. Another friend has noticed that sometimes, one Bon Appetit cashier will print receipts while the other won’t. At other times, cashiers are printing receipts but students won’t take them.

I received no receipt at brunch on Saturday. In fact, I’m fairly sure the printer wasn’t even in its usual spot. Admittedly, that’s a little shady. So maybe there is a receipt conspiracy after all, and we’re all being deluded. But it’s far more likely that Bon Appetit workers aren’t printing receipts at certain meals simply because of the high number of students trying to get through Usdan quickly.