Although Ruby Tuesday is contractually obligated to accept J-CASH this semester, the restaurant will not participate in the program until January 2002. The Johns Hopkins University and Student Advantage cited technical difficulties associated with Ruby Tuesday's current computer system as the reason for the delay.
According to Managing Partner Robert Wolfe, the biggest problem concerned "getting the JCard out of the restaurant's system."
Normally, when a credit card is processed in the restaurant, the card goes through a phone line, back to the credit card company. The transaction is then complete and the table can be closed and reopened for business. Hardware and software incompatibilities made it impossible for Ruby Tuesday to process the JCard out of its system, thus making it impossible for the restaurant to complete any transactions made with the card.
Wolfe said that in a worst-case scenario, not being able to process the JCard out of their system could cause tremendous backlogs, causing the restaurant to be unable to give out paychecks or open tables.
"Obviously, it would never get to that point," said Wolfe. "We would have our tech guys come in and try to fix it. But we didn't have the answer to the problem and it was serious enough for the corporate people to feel uneasy about it."
Due to the uncertainty involved in processing the JCard, Wolfe's corporate superiors instructed him to hold off on the J-CASH program until January.
"I gave the [Student Advantage and Hopkins] representatives my reasons," said Wolfe. "Obviously they weren't thrilled, but in the end it was okay."
Wolfe's contract technically obligated him to participate in the J-CASH program starting this semester. The University and Student Advantage hoped they could resolve the problem to make it happen.
"We worked with them and tried to come up with a solution," said Student Advantage Account Manager Tara Gross. "In the end, they just weren't comfortable, so we decided to let them wait until January."
Gross said that Student Advantage is excited about bringing Ruby Tuesday aboard the program and therefore it wasn't prudent to pressure the restaurant into complying with their contract.
"We believe our relationship with Ruby Tuesday is important enough for us to work with them on problems," said Gross. "Yes, we could have pushed them, but Robert was very adamant that they couldn't get it done this fall and we didn't need to strain the relationship. They're excited about the program, so if we can get them for January, that's fine."
Wolfe acknowledged that he has positive feelings about the J-CASH program.
"When I first heard they were going to do it, I thought it was awesome," said Wolfe. "I really want to do things for the community. I do intend to honor my commitment. The corporate people just had enough questions to want to hold off until January."
Wolfe was enthusiastic enough to sign a contract in the fall of 2000, when Hopkins attempted to launch a program comparable to J-CASH. Hopkins had its own technical difficulties and had to wait until this fall to launch the program. Wolfe's contractual commitment remained, but the technical problems were too great for the restaurant to begin accepting J-CASH this fall.
In addition, Gross pointed out that forcing Wolfe to go on the program now could do a disservice to students.
"If we make a merchant go forward when they're not totally comfortable, it could make the students' experience bad," said Gross. "We don't want a situation where students have an unpleasant experience because the merchant isn't ready."
Discussions between Ruby Tuesday and J-CASH representatives were, for the most part, amiable, according to the parties involved.
"They were a bit upset when I told them [we had to wait until January]," said Wolfe. "We're a big name. Parents would probably feel more comfortable about the program seeing us on it rather than an establishment they hadn't heard of, so Hopkins definitely was not ecstatic. But once they had assurances that we would come on in January, they were okay with it."
Gross described the reasons Wolfe gave for holding off this semester as "vague" but said the reasons were good enough for Student Advantage to want to reach a compromise. Gross did confirm that the "getting the card out of the system" issue was a main concern raised by Wolfe.
"We deal with a lot of merchants and we're used to working things out," said Gross. "We want to be community friendly. We have to what's best for both the merchants and the students. In the end, they weren't gonna be able to do it so we're comfortable with them coming on in January."
Fallout in regard to Ruby Tuesday's fall withdrawal concerned advertising. Ruby Tuesday was listed as a J-CASH participant in brochures that were printed and mailed to students.
"No one really expected this," said Director of ID Card Services Michael J. Kendzejeski. "We were very disappointed because of all the marketing we did."
As a result, signs are posted informing the public that Ruby Tuesday will not be on the J-CASH program until this January.
Gross was concerned about how well the public would be informed.
"We don't want a situation where a student goes to Ruby Tuesday, tries to pay with their JCard and then is informed they are not allowed to do so," said Gross. "That's embarrassing for everyone."
In addition to signs posted on campus, a sign rests on the wall at the front of Ruby Tuesday, explaining that the restaurant cannot accept J-CASH now.
Wolfe intends to work out the necessary details to have the program be compatible at the start of the New Year. Both Ruby Tuesday and Hopkins remained excited and committed to eventually implementing the program.
"They're a great merchant to have on board and they should generate a lot of business," said Kendzejeski. "Hopefully everything will go well in January."
The J-CASH program, which began this fall, allows students to use their JCards as debit cards at on-campus and area retailers.
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