Deep Thoughts on the Food Tech Revolution by Captain Obvious McClure

I stopped reading after a few paragraphs; it's not necessary to write crappy english to get your point across. Most restaurant owners have neither the resources or knowledge to run as some kind of food startup. This author seems to think that people actually want better technology instead of better food or pricing or service. I can't eat a digital menu.

all restaurants should be mcdonalds!

uh no, kindly fuck off.

This has been done to a degree, and it failed pretty quickly, faster than most. uWink opened a restaurant in Mountain View with tablets for ordering food and playing games while you wait.

The tablets had menu items complete with photos, reviews, and it took about 15 minutes for the food to arrive to your table. Typically the waitstaff would only bring you your drinks and food. The Mountain View location of uWink was open for less than a year.. about 9 months, so you can all guess how well that went. Most restaurants, even terrible ones, managed to stay open for more than that!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UWink

I tend to agree, but digital pics could easily be updated for whatever was fresh. Just take the pic that morning and put it in the system.

Thinking about it, I bet there's a way to use pics effectively even in a high end place. Sell the chef with the pics, or better yet, sell the prep process. The extraordinary cooking process, etc.

In the end, though, you're right. High end is about the experience and you want that personal touch.

"While some smart restaurants do feature a few specials (some even with pictures), most places fail at this very simple (largely offline!) innovation. Fewer items with pictures & more obvious recommendations would streamline production, reduce cost, reduce time for customers to order, for kitchens to prepare, and increase customer satisfaction."

Restaurateurs are actually a far more sophisticated bunch than McClure knows. Decisions about where items are listed, what is bolded, etc. are frequently made with the intent to increase ordering of items with higher margins. The idea that menus are designed without care, or that they a painful source of cost and inefficiency for restaurants, is naive.

"places i visit frequently should give discounts to come back regularly"

Why? If you are already a frequent diner, I have less incentive to give you an outright discount. That said, restaurants frequently reward their most loyal patrons in other ways. If you are a regular and need a last minute reservation on a Friday night, chances are you'll be accommodated if at all possible.

"places i visit infrequently should give discounts to try them once or twice"

Discounting to get customers through the door isn't always a bad idea, but as many less experienced restaurant owners have learned the hard way from services like Groupon, it's difficult to build a profitable customer base by targeting people who are only interested in trying your food because they're saving a buck or two.

"while waiting/eating, i might enjoy music, movies, games, or other media"

There are plenty of restaurants that provide entertainment (live music, televised sports events). If McClure wants someone to baby sit him, however, there are better options than a restaurant.

"First, it would be great if the restaurant knew something about my order history and user profile data, and customized the menu selection to my favorite tastes and interests. Obviously if i’m a vegetarian or a person with special dietary constraints, it would be a high priority to match food options with my specific lifestyle choices or health needs. This would again streamline choice, reduce time & confusion, and increase customer satisfaction. Also, new dishes could be recommended that i might like to try for the first time."

A good restaurant is rarely defined solely by its food. It is defined in part by the experience it offers. A properly-trained waiter is not only more likely to be able to provide satisfactory recommendations, he or she will be able to do so via a human interaction that makes the dining experience more enjoyable.

It seems that McClure's vision for what a restaurant should be is everything that a good restaurant isn't. He's in a rush, doesn't like making decisions, can't do research on his own, wants to minimize interaction with restaurant staff, is afraid to ask questions, prefers external entertainment to the enjoyment that comes from eating a good meal with company, etc. Instead of investing in a space that he appears to know little about, however, I'd simply suggest that he stop by the drive-thru at the nearest McDonald's the next time he's hungry. I think he'll find it to be everything he dreams of, and perhaps it'll even exceed his expectations.