The WKU Restaurant Group’s new register system has gone into effect this semester, cutting down on the workload for some restaurant employees on campus.

Since early in the Spring 2019 semester, the register replacement process has been in the works, according to the WKU Restaurant Group. At the beginning of the Fall 2019 semester, students across campus experienced slight delays while paying for food as the new registers were being installed and employees learned the new system.

“Anytime you have a project of this magnitude something will not run as smoothly as you’d hope,” the WKU Restaurant Group said in an email. “There were some things that needed to be worked through and tweaked with registers at certain locations.”

According to the WKU Restaurant Group, these new registers were a necessary improvement compared to the old system, which would be decommissioned as of Jan. 1, 2020.

“As with anything electronic, these new registers have more capabilities than the older system that was being used,” the WKU Restaurant Group said in an email.

According to the WKU Restaurant Group’s email, employees also needed time to be able to learn and understand the new register and its processes.

After the initial time period it took for employees to get used to the new system, the WKU Restaurant Group described a more efficient experience for students and employees alike.

“The ordering/checking out process at some locations is now smoother than before,” the WKU Restaurant Group said in its email. “At Einstein Bros. Bagels, for example, employees no longer have to manually fill out paper forms for each order and customers can now pay as their order is taken.”

Many students noticed a lessened wait at locations in the DSU Food Court. WKU freshman Sam Boyd was one of these students and was unsure about the connection.

“Steak ‘n Shake’s line has been pretty short recently,” Boyd said. “I don’t know if that’s due to the systems or not.”

Sa’Koria Kimbley, a freshman, was another student who noticed the change in wait times.

“I’ve seen the lines shortened, yeah, especially in the Chick-fil-A line,” Kimbley said. “It’s a lot better than before. At the beginning the line was all the way to the offices. Now it’s to the end of Steak ‘n Shake at its longest.”

News reporter Abbey Nutter can be reached at abbigail.nutter168@topper. wku.edu. Follow her on Twitter at @abbeynutter.

News reporter Cassady Lamb can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @ lambp0p.