The Bakersfield College cafeteria may be receiving new cash registers in the near future.
Currently in the approval stages, Food Services manager Alex Gomez proposed the $14,000 renovation in October of last year. According to Gomez, the current registers are “over 10 years old” and the new ones will bring the cafeteria “up to the times.”
All four registers in the cafeteria will be replaced by new touch-screen models. The new models were chosen because they are “easy to teach,” customizable and compatible with credit cards, according to Gomez. Compatibility with credit and ATM cards means students will be able to purchase food without having to deal with physical money. This feature also has other advantages, such as students who use credit cards that aren’t issued by Kern Schools Federal Credit Union will no longer have to pay the withdrawal fee for using campus ATM machines.
When asked how they felt about the idea of the new registers, students were generally excited.
“That’d be awesome. No one carries cash anymore,” said history major Matt Eden.
Students were also excited about the idea of being able to avoid the ATM. Janet Morales, child development major, said, “Sometimes you just have your card and can’t get out money because the line is too long.”
However, among the praise there were concerns. There is a possibility that “transactions will be slowed,” according to Gomez. However, Gomez said that the new machines are much faster than previous card-compatible models.
The staff is also excited about the change. Student worker Rashad Brisco said, “It’s about time.”
Food services staff is hopeful that the machines will ease transactions for all parties involved and make purchasing food more convenient for students. Cashier Anna Reading said, “It would help them [students] and it would help us. It’s a win-win,” when asked about the new registers.
The new auxiliary services manager and analyst Laura Lorigo, who began working on Feb. 1, said “the plan is still in the approval phases,” so currently no implementation date is set. Gomez, however, is hopeful that the new registers will be in place by summer term.