The concept of sitting down at a table to order a meal at a restaurant is nothing new. However, more and more fast food joints and full service restaurants are now trying to use technology to make the interaction between the client and the server less awkward and more accommodating then before. Many restaurants are deploying pilot projects where customers order directly from the tables on i Pads specifically deployed to the tables for that purpose. According to the 2013 Restaurant Industry Forecast by the National Restaurant Association, in-house iPad menus are one of the hottest trends of the year for the nation’s bars and restaurants.
For example, you can use the tablet to custom-build your meal, pay for the bill, and even prepay for the bill ahead of time so that you have more time to enjoy your meal without worrying about the bill at the end. Another example of the benefits of the tablet devices would be educating the customer on a difficult product choice such as wine. Many individuals don’t know much about what type of wine to pair with a specific meal and the tablet can help make the customer make the right selection with their meal. Another great thing about these tablets is that they provide a distraction for kids at the dinner table. Tablets can be used to provide games for young children which will keep them from crying or jumping up and down from boredom. This can allow parents a chance to relax after a long day without worrying about their kids giving them headaches. Overall, let’s look at some of the pros from purchasing these items…
Pros:
-Entertain guests which might force them to stay longer and purchase more items
-Distract kids long enough for their parents to enjoy a quiet meal
-Increase interaction and engagement with customers
-Improve service efficiency
-Educate customers on complex purchases
Tablets aren’t all roses and sunshine. A tough economy means that most restaurants simply can’t afford these expensive devices. Also, if these devices cost the restaurant a lot of money to purchase; won’t they be worried about theft? At most restaurants we went to, these devices were given out like candy and weren’t strapped down to the table. A good thief could just walk out of the restaurant with the tablet and have a new toy to play with. Gift cards and coupons aren’t as readily available on these devices yet. If gift cards and coupons require a waiter to purchase an item; it makes the tablet seem useless in functionality. In addition, how do waiters get tipped with tablet devices? Unless every table in the restaurant is equipped with a tablet, chances are that the wait staff will give extra priority to the tables that don’t have tablets in order to receive more of a tip from those customers. What about special requests? The tablet’s menu will be limited with choices. There’s always the customer that would like lemon in their water or their food served in a very specific manner.
This will throw a curve ball into the menu selection. There’s also a lack of security with pin numbers and receipts. Restaurants may need a printed receipt for tax purposes such as debit and credit transactions. Finally, how do you justify the return on purchasing a tablet. Is there a way to value how much money you will make back by purchasing each tablet? It seems that each purchase will be a sunken cost that will improve service but will be difficult to evaluate if the restaurant made more money from each purchase. Overall, let’s look at some cons from these items…
Cons:
-High cost of purchasing tablets
-Tablet thefts
-Gift cards and coupons not accessible
-Non-motivated wait staff
-Security breaches for receipts
-Low ROI
If we look at the results, it seems obvious that these devices will only help restaurants that are flush with cash and have the money to service the debt on these gadgets. However, there are many great ideas that restaurants can use to have tablets play a key role without having to purchase these devices. For example, a restaurant can offer free WI-FI and allow customers the opportunity to bring their own I Pads or tablets to the restaurant. The benefit is the same as before if you have a strong online website but don’t need to purchase the tablets yourself. You can offer a small discount on the meal for any customer that brings their own device and decreases the risk of the tablets being stolen. In addition, you can use social media apps to encourage customers to find out information about promotions or discounts. Again, this is another method of interacting with your customers and allowing them to use their own mobile devices and not spending extra money. Finally, there’s a good chance that the restaurant that you’re eating at has fancy flat screen televisions in every corner. The owners should take advantage of these devices by posting trivia or interesting facts on the screens rather than simply playing a random channel. This will give an opportunity to distract the kids again by using a device that’s already at your disposal in the restaurant. Let’s finish off by looking at some ideas that restaurants can use to help increase service without spending lots of money on tablets…
Ideas:
-Free WI-FI in restaurant
-Discounts for customers that bring their own tablets
-Social media buzz
-Trivia or games on flat screen televisions
As we see online table ordering become more than just a trend; it will be interesting to see which restaurants and fast food joints take advantage of these devices to help improve their bottom line and make the interaction between client and wait staff as efficient as it can be.
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