Set the record straight

In the Oct. 25 Chronicle article discussing the suspension of Gourmet Dining & Bakery's services to Duke students ("Officials work to solve food-delivery issues"), I was disappointed to read Kemel Dawkins' remarks regarding potential security concerns with GDB software. I write to set the record straight. GDB has never had a security incident or even a report of such an issue in the two years it has served the Duke student community. To the contrary, nothing is more important to our company than online security and the privacy of our customers.

Dawkins never points to a specific security problem. Instead, he said he thinks it is "problematic" that GDB software "has to interact with the University financial system." Before we ever launched our online delivery service two years ago, several technology administrators outlined the specific security measures that Duke required of us before our software could interact with the University's financial system. Not only did GDB fully comply with Duke's security requirements, GDB also went several steps beyond Duke's requirements by adding an array of online-banking security features that are used by the most secure online transaction platforms.

When Duke Dining questioned GDB's online security measures shortly before school began, we were surprised. We had implemented a security package that far exceeded what Duke required, and we have never had a security issue in the operation of our website. All the same, without hesitation, Gourmet Dining invited any Duke representative to examine the entirety of our internal software system. We invited them to speak directly with the software developer. But not one Duke representative has ever taken us up on our invitation to fully review our servers, backend or any other internal component. Our invitation to examine our software remains open today, as does our wish to resume our online ordering service for the Duke community.

GDB was founded as a service for the students to make Merchants On Points (MOP) ordering faster, easier and more secure. We have worked tirelessly with administrators for many years to ensure we met all of their demands and succeed. Indeed, Duke has done well also. Last year, MOP sales jumped $500,000 with the use of our service. The Administration's decision to prevent Duke students from using their DukeCard came without warning to our company and without consultation with Duke students. It is worth remembering that, while the DukeCard is issued by Duke, the funds in the DukeCard accounts belong to Duke students, faculty and staff. Duke's decision to prevent GDB from serving the Duke community harms consumers by depriving them of a valued service, and it harms local restaurants by depriving them of customers who cannot drive to their establishments. We are hopeful that Duke will allow GDB to resume the services we provided to the Duke community, and we are committed to working with Duke Dining, Kemel Dawkins and Jim Wulforst to resolve any issues or concerns that they may have.

Garrett Bean

Trinity '06

President, Gourmet Dining & Bakery