NC State Dining’s TxtandTell program has been in place for more than three months now, and it has already provided valuable feedback to NC State Dining. As of April 1, TxtandTell has garnered more than 700 responses. Data gathered from the survey and from specific comments have helped dining staff to focus on what students prioritize when it comes to meals.
TxtandTell, which had been in the planning stages at NC State for over a year, was adopted to gain better insight into students’ experiences with campus dining and businesses. Students are able to either take a five-question survey about their experience or send in more specific or personalized comments, questions, and even pictures.
Paul Matney, business manager for NC State Dining, shared that in the short time since the feedback program was launched, TxtandTell has been especially helpful for, as he put it, “micro-adjustments.”
“The high level of engagement from our students about what they want on campus allows us to create personalized spaces and decisions for them,”
Paul Matney
“These adjustments may have previously seemed to a student like they weren’t worth going to the trouble of pointing out, however, with the ease and directness of communication, the comments have flooded in,” said Matney, “and they have proven to have potential to change a good dining experience to a stellar one.”
These micro-adjustments are minor changes. For example, if something is too salty or oily, shortages in food and dishware are being improved quickly and efficiently, or even updating menus to better reflect what students enjoy.
Over the course of the first three months, NC State’s dining halls have received the highest level of engagement across all TxtandTell sites on campus. Additionally, the dining halls have also been met with the most optimistic and positive feedback, this is due largely to the potential for connection at dining halls and consistency in the menu there. Students using TxtandTell at on-campus restaurants are more likely to be seeking improvement for something that has gone wrong, especially if they aren’t staying to dine in.
When asked about TxtandTell, Keith Smith, NC State’s director of residential dining, emphasized the high level of engagement with students and expressed how pleased he was to have ready access to feedback.
“It has been everything we were hoping, for if not more,” he said.
He is especially excited about the ability to base decisions on patterns specific to NC State’s campus, rather than industry standards.
“The high level of engagement from our students about what they want on campus allows us to create personalized spaces and decisions for them,” he said. “We can almost always meet their wants and needs if they tell us.”