News Department
Until recently, a glitch in the YU-card system allowed students to use their meal plans toward purchases from the General Store. That glitch has now been fixed, much to the disappointment of some students.
First-year design student Erika Madsen from British Columbia always assumed her meal plan would be accepted at the General Store.
“I’ve been using my YU-card at all the places in York Lanes, including the General Store,” she says. “Last time I went there, I bought folders. I didn’t even buy food.”
Madsen was surprised to learn from a fellow first-year student that her meal plan would no longer be accepted.
Anthony Barbisan, director of food services and the YU-card office, explains the store will continue to accept YU-cards—just not on the meal plan.
The change, he says, is due to an upgrade to the store’s terminal system that was reprogrammed incorrectly since August 29.
“It was enabling them to accept meal plan funds, so we corrected the terminal to only accept Flex dollars,” says Barbisan, explaining every terminal on campus was reprogrammed in August.
During the process, the General Store was mistakenly treated as a food vendor and not a Flex vendor. While Flex dollars can be used anywhere—including at the General Store and York Bookstore—meal plans are restricted to the purchase of prepared meals.
According to Barbisan, the mistake was caught and corrected October 3.
“There were no losses, per se,” says Barbisan, when asked whether the YU-card office or the General Store accrued any losses. “The General Store was paid out for the goods that they sold, and that’s really it. […] Students can consider that time a sort of ‘bonus’ period.”
The General Store says they were not aware of the glitch, and only found out about the error when they were informed by the YU-card office.
With files from Stefanie Kennedy
