Went to Outback this evening out of a random whim. Turns out the one I went to have these tablets (weighed down and held up by stands) at each table that you can use to order (it beams the order directly to the kitchen, with whatever notes and alterations you want to make to the dish), play games to pass the time (the tablets are networked of course, so you can enter scores and see who agreed with your choice in “Would You Rather,” etc), and pay.
Of course, live waiters still bring you your food, and are available to ask questions (I don’t think I saw anyone around me use the tablet to order, but I did, just to try it out), and I have no idea how the tablet handles who gets what order, if at all - that may be for the live waiters to work out.
What do you think about such a device? I’m not sure how much of a niche it’ll find outside of chain casual restaurants, but it seems, at first blush, kind of neat. The best part of it is the payment option; that always seems to be the most annoying part of the meal, having to flag down a waiter to pay or having the waiter asking you constantly if you’re done. It even calculates tip automatically based on what percentage you say you want to give. (That was the weirdest part for me: deciding how much to tip when the live waiter, who actually remembered me from other visits somehow, did less work.)
Then again, of course, there’s the loss of the human contact, but if there’s one thing this forum has taught me, it’s that people tend to be divided over that kind of thing. So what do you think of the technology?
Over time they’ll work out the interface and find a way to use it in some category of restaurants. I’m sure something like that will be fairly common someday. Later when the robots come, we’ll talk about in the old days you had to order from the tablet on the table. Then sometime later we’ll talk about how the robots used to work for us.
I like the idea - and I saw this spiffy invoicing system online which would work out great with something like the tablet.
I like my netbook [it has been a lifesaver with my laptop dead in the water] but I am considering getting a tablet for when I am away from the house as it would be easier to tuck into my purse and is better with battery life, or so I understand.
There was one tablet per table? Or one per seat at each table?
If they’re posted upon weighted stands, one per seat seems like it would be pretty obtrusive. On the other hand, one per table means that the other people have to either relay their order to the person sitting at the tablet or get up out of their seat and walk around the table to use the tablet to place their order- which seems pretty annoying.
I don’t see this really taking off until they’ve got the screen within the table top with an interface for each seat.
Sounds expensive, and unless they’ve made them watertight I foresee a lot of problems if someone spills their drink and turns one into a $500 paperweight. I can’t see it catching on.
All tech becomes less expensive over time and the linked image in my previous post is a coffee table- presumably the coffee table design takes spills into account. Again, I’m presenting the idea of the tablet within the table top, not on it.
Also, I’m not really offering an opinion as to whether or not it would catch on in the manner I described, just that I can’t see it catching on in the manner described in the OP.
One of the things waiters are supposed to do is upsell the customer on things like desserts, wine, specialty drinks, etc. I would think the tablets would interfere with that, especially at chain restaurants where people are already pretty set in their menu. I wonder how this affects the staff’s tips?
The OP’s experience was not that the server carried a tablet in place of the traditional pad of paper on which to enter the guest’s order.
The scenario described in the OP takes the server out of the equation. The diner enters his own order and sends it to the kitchen via tablet situated at the table. Servers are apparantly available for questions/recommendations/or to take orders old school for those uncomfortable with the tablets.
I have no experience with the system described in the OP but can easily see it incorporating upselling quite handily. The guest orders only an entree, and a suggestion pops up offering an appetizer- complete with a graphic depicting a recommended appetizer, the image further strengthening the power of suggestion. It could even be programmed to suggest appetizers statistically most likely to be ordered based upon the entree choice.
I have used touch screen self-service kiosks for movie theater snack bars and they definitely employ upselling techniques. Order a small soda and a graphic will pop up offering a large (“For only 50c More!”). You can’t get by not ordering popcorn without it being offered, and you’re sure to have the combo deal suggested.
And as someone who generally reacts strongly against upselling (“If I had wanted popcorn I would have ordered popcorn!!!”), I have to admit that the power of suggestion is stronger when the image pops up on the screen as opposed to a verbal suggestion from the snack bar cashier (or, in the case of restaurants, the waiter).
The tabletop interface may not be very practical if it’s covered by dishes, and that seems like a very expensive alternative when a single screen could suffice.
Many restaurants in Japan (and perhaps elsewhere) have these nifty touchscreen tablets for ordering. There’s one per table, and it simply rests on a stand and can be passed around to each diner. And they’re multilingual!
After seeing these gizmos in action, I’m amused by this debate regarding their feasability in the US. Give it a few years. (On the other hand, they may languish in too-cool-for-America obscurity like the electronic toilet.)
soon there will be pods instead of booths. you won’t get food or let out of the pod until you’ve reached the dolor amount in food and tips to pay for all this tech stuff.
if you don’t pay they used to make you wash dishes, now techies might be valued as nonpayers to fix robotics.
I’d like it if it eliminated the waiter altogether and thus saved me the cost of the tip. But I’d be just as happy if I could walk up to a counter and place my order and get my food. Why can I do this at Panera, but not at an upscale kind of place where it’d actually save me a lot more? Am I the only person on earth who likes fancy food sometimes but just doesn’t care about being waited on?
How often will they disinfect the damn things?
I really don’t want to use one worrying if the guy who had the table before me had the flu and was sneezing all over it.
I like the idea. More time to pore over the menu and make your decision without a waiter hovering over you or feeling put on the spot. I have been to a restaurant that had call buttons on the table if you needed something, and I thought that was a great idea also. Not for really upscale restaurants obviously, would ruin the ambiance, but for a casual/sorta nice sit down place, it seems efficient.
Waiters hovering? Tell them to go away (“we need a few minutes”). Order drinks and appetizers if you like. They’re there to attend your needs, not the other way round.
