E la Carte Signs Deal With Applebee’s to bring 100k Tableside Tablets to the US

Post by melatoned » Tue, Dec 03, 2013, 2:43 AM UTC

SilasX wrote: post #14

RandallBrown wrote: post #6

I used one of these at an Outback Steakhouse a few weeks ago. It was a bit awkward, because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use the tablet or not. The waitress still came and took our order, then put it in on the tablet. At the end, we saw we could pay (and we did) but the waitress still brought us a check. I guess the weirdness could be solved by better communication from the wait staff. The best thing was that i…

Who puts out a new item like that without instructions?

Post by melatoned » Tue, Dec 03, 2013, 2:44 AM UTC

physcab wrote: post #8

This is a really good idea for chain/ casual restaurants where people are constrained by time and value, ie Applebees. But if some of the nicer restaurants I go to start using this, it will degrade the experience as a whole because the server acts more like an MC at a show. Not having them will be a loss.

Post by melatoned » Tue, Dec 03, 2013, 2:48 AM UTC

samstave wrote: post #3

As someone who ate at my local (alameda, CA) applebees for the first time in a decade - I can say that I would never again go there, but do have a question: Why is there not a GPS enabled menu app which will load the restaurant's menu when you launch it and it detect which place you are dining at and allow you to make your order. To confirm you are in the establishment and making a valid order - have a QR code on the…

Post by tptacek » Tue, Dec 03, 2013, 3:00 AM UTC

joonix wrote: post #19

RandallBrown wrote: post #6

I used one of these at an Outback Steakhouse a few weeks ago. It was a bit awkward, because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use the tablet or not. The waitress still came and took our order, then put it in on the tablet. At the end, we saw we could pay (and we did) but the waitress still brought us a check. I guess the weirdness could be solved by better communication from the wait staff. The best thing was that i…

I would prefer they get rid of waiters entirely and just have runners for the food. Then I can stop stressing about tips and grumpy waiters. In NYC, the waiter actually improves rather than detracts from my dining experience less than 5% of the time.

Post by joezydeco » Tue, Dec 03, 2013, 3:15 AM UTC

SheepSlapper wrote: post #9

Good on em. I used to work for an E La Carte competitor that used iPads instead of Android devices, and it's a tough market right now. There exists a lot of resistance from the waitstaff who see tabletop devices as job killers, and customers are pretty much divided down the middle (they either love em or hate em). It seems like dining was always going to trend towards something like this, it was just a matter of when…