Access to sQuid Loyalty Rewards is slowly being rolled out to the student body after weeks of system errors. Students are being contacted in waves so they can download their loyalty balance at the single working terminal in the cafeteria on the fourth floor of the Old Building, whilst the other terminals are rebuilt.
Problems with the system began as students attempted to use their Loyalty Rewards after being notified of their balance update in mid-October. The terminals were not able to access the loyalty rewards purse prompting an inquiry by LSE’s Catering Department. This was due to a software error that prevented the terminals from accessing the Loyalty Rewards balance on students’ sQuid cards.
Email communication from Jacqui Beazley, Head of Catering at LSE, acknowledged that the process is “frustrating for all concerned” but also said that once the loyalty balance has been downloaded to students’ cards, they will work at all outlets on campus. This has not necessarily been the case, with students reporting issues with use in some outlets, such as the Bean Counter, at 32 Lincoln´s Inn Field.
According to a member of staff at an LSE Catering outlet, “on the whole students have been understanding”. He stressed that the catering staff understood the frustration of students who were left having to spend their own money on a drink or meal when “they wouldn’t have otherwise bought something” with their loyalty rewards.
Loyalty balances are due to expire at the end of July 2018, leaving students questioning whether or not there will be an extension to this date, given that more than half of Michaelmas term has already gone by, and some students are still waiting for access.
