Paw Points disappoint, vendors say

When the University introduced Paw Points in September, Stu Orefice, director of dining services and one of the original organizers of the program, was not sure what to expect, he said.

Nearly five months later, Paw Points — a system that allows students, faculty and staff to make deposits on their PUID and then use it as a debit card at participating businesses— has attracted a moderate number of participants and continued growth is anticipated, Orefice said.

"We have over 750 students and approximately 100 faculty and staff currently participating in the program," he said. "Deposits have been healthy especially considering that we've only had this program for a semester."

A total of $100,200 dollars has been deposited in Paw Points and $59,000 of it has been used, said Liz Chase, office coordinator of dining services.

Paw Points is run through Student Advantage — a media and commerce company that markets itself to college students — and mirrors similar programs at universities across the country.

While the number of University students who participate in the program is lower than at other schools, the per-transaction amount is higher than average, said OIT Director Andy Rosenau.

"Most schools that participate in this program have very mature debit card programs which is not the case with Princeton," he said. "This is a new type of service for the University and students are just starting to get used to it."

Though the University is satisfied with student participation, some of the participating vendors are frustrated by the small number of students who have actually used Paw Points in their establishments.

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"Paw Points are used very little at the Annex," said Rich Carnevale, one of the restaurant managers. "The program doesn't seem to be catching on, and we do pay a fee to participate in the program."

Other vendors such as Panera and Karen's Chinese said they have not noticed a significant increase in sales since the inception of the program while others, such as Winberies, said they have had moderate gains.

Students tend to spend the most money at the U-Store, Panera and Olive's, Rosenau said.

Vendors have complained about the lack of publicity for the program, saying that Student Advantage and the University have not done enough to inform students of the promotions and discounts offered through Paw Points.

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Orefice, however, said that publicity is not the job of the University, which does not allow vendors to advertise on campus.

"Publicity for the program is really a two-part effort," he said. "One part is Student Advantage but the other part is the vendor, not the University. The successful businesses are those that advertise in their stores as well as out in the community."

Many students have purchased Paw Points so they can use their PUID cards to make photocopies on campus, and some students said they have found it inconvenient to use Paw Points elsewhere.

"Basically I started using Paw Points because I needed to make a lot of copies at the library," said Robert Wai Wong '06. "I recently used the card at Winberies, but it was a hassle because it took so long to process. It was like using a credit card except it took three times as long to go through. I don't think the restaurant gets Paw Points very often so the employees aren't always sure how to deal with them."

While the University receives less than $1000 as well as a fraction of a percent of each transaction for using the program, Orefice said that the main goal is to increase the number of functions available on the PUID. This effort would allow students to carry less cash and fewer cards. Orefice and Rosenau are also considering adding other features to the PUID, such as ATM capability.

The University hopes to see the program grow by about 500 students by next year, and plans to recruit additional vendors.

"We are looking to branch out from just restaurants and include other types of vendors such as the Wawa," Orefice said. "The more options we can offer, the more student interest in Paw Points will grow."