> and even calculates the tip Who the hell are you tipping?
The person that brings you your food and takes away your plates?
+ all the other people they have to tip out to like the host, bussers, etc
Tablets take waiting out of restaurants: E la Carte on the cover of SF Chronicle
11–20 of 53 posts
Re: Tablets take waiting out of restaurants: E la Carte on the cover of SF Chronicle
#12Didn't Nolan Bushnell try something similar to this in Mountain View not long ago?
Re: Tablets take waiting out of restaurants: E la Carte on the cover of SF Chronicle
#13I can't think of a way to complement this with out pointing out the obviousness of it. Good job and good timing! In a way I'm surprised the large chains haven't already started to use customer-facing touch screen ordering, especially with the huge bump paper and printing costs went through several years ago.
McDonald's has been testing self-service kiosks on-and-off since at least 2004. There must be some barrier to adoption that's holding it back. That, plus most quick service restaurants do a majority of their business in the drive-through now. Ever see a line of cars out to the street and then go inside the store? Empty counters.
True, and there's an element of the McDonalds crowd that would be uncomfortable with touchscreens. I was thinking chains like Luby's, Bob Evans, Applebees, etc, more than fast food. There's a labor issue at work here, too. You're not cutting into labor with sit-down restaurants like you are with fast food. Just making the existing labor more efficient.
Re: Tablets take waiting out of restaurants: E la Carte on the cover of SF Chronicle
#14...prefers to order his lunch from a computer rather than a server.
This sentence confused me momentarily. "Hmm. Isn't a server just a type of computer?"
Re: Tablets take waiting out of restaurants: E la Carte on the cover of SF Chronicle
#15hooray! (i'm an investor)
Re: Tablets take waiting out of restaurants: E la Carte on the cover of SF Chronicle
#16I can't think of a way to complement this with out pointing out the obviousness of it. Good job and good timing! In a way I'm surprised the large chains haven't already started to use customer-facing touch screen ordering, especially with the huge bump paper and printing costs went through several years ago.
Wawa (covenience store that also sold sandwiches like subway) was using touch screens for ordering since at least 03 or 04. It was great and I've wanted to see it used everywhere since then, I agree that it's surprising it's not already widespread.
Re: Tablets take waiting out of restaurants: E la Carte on the cover of SF Chronicle
#17"I actually dread human interaction of any kind"
> Well ok, necessity is the mother of invention.
"People say it's very inhospitable. But it's the epitome of hospitality. It empowers the guest to get in and to get out."
> Wow, the irony (and sadness) are overflowing.
The only time I can really see this being more useful to me, is when I can't get a hold of my wait(er/ress) to bring the check or run my card. And here's a better idea that I'm a give you all for free. Near field communication with cellphones and a chip in the table. Open up my payment app, close and pay for the check with my cellphone. Put a few bucks tip on the table and leave like it's the old days before credit cards.
Re: Tablets take waiting out of restaurants: E la Carte on the cover of SF Chronicle
#18Great, now all restaurants can have the ambiance/experience of a Sheetz or Wawa gas station!
Re: Tablets take waiting out of restaurants: E la Carte on the cover of SF Chronicle
#19Anything would be better than sitting at your table waiting for your waiter to wander by so you can ask for the check, then wait to get it, then wait for the waiter to come back for your credit card, then wait for the stupid slip of paper you sign that nobody will ever look at.
Re: Tablets take waiting out of restaurants: E la Carte on the cover of SF Chronicle
#20With all the Android (and the iPad) options out there, why do they have to roll out their own tablet hardware at all? (besides the obvious "because it's rugged" answer, which could obviously be solved with a case on any other tablet)
No reason you couldn't do both, and just have the smartphone app interface with the same system the in-house tablets do. (And not everyone will leave a smartphone.) Menu systems are simple, and don't need much in the way of processing power. They don't need to be full-featured web browsers, or be able to run high-end games. An e-Ink screen would be enough for most places. This approach even makes sense from a recycli…
pushing out your own hardware costs more than just building software for a widespread platform...
Another fine example: the Kno