Restaurant Social Media
Touchscreens -- yay or nay?
Technology is taking hold of restaurants. Check out this ditty about a Chinese eatery in NYC that's utilizing self-service touchscreens.
Great idea? Or is the potential for error or frustration too great?
Tags: customer, service, touchscreen
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Debra Straka on -
Like touch screens for voting, it will be a novelty for awhile, but when there is no one to blame for their order being wrong, or they just want that human touch they will be looking for their servers in a hurry.
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Permalink Reply by Marinonet on -
What about the tips. Would a guest give 15-20% to a person that plops food down in front of them? I think not. Restaurants who now enjoy cheap labor utilizing the tip credit laws will see their labor costs rise, having to make up the difference to insure a server makes at least minimum wage. If you take the server out of the equation, an employer would have to pay a full minimum wage to the person who he now pays, in Florida, $3.37 per hour. I agree with Erle, there are places for this type of experience, but not in the majority of restaurants today.
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Permalink Reply by Eric on -
Another restaurant with a similar concept - uWink - just opened across the street from us in Mountain View, CA. They're run by the founder of Atari and Chuck-e-Cheese - could it be this is the common theme here?
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Permalink Reply by Mark Moeller on -
I agree with Debra, this too shall pass. On the surface they seem like a no brainer - no labor cost, the perception of taking the employee out of the oops I made a mistake arena, no cash handling. Especially for the novice they seem to be a perfect answer to age old issues.
You lose too much with these - no guest service, the owner/manager will still take the heat for the mistakes since they are responsible for the programming, no suggestive or upselling, so on and so on.
I had a client that wanted to put these types of machines into a restaurant in Manhattan, NY. He expected first year revenue of $4 million, can you say disaster waiing to happen? After hours of debate and argument, he finally understood and changed his mind.
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Permalink Reply by Keith Bernhardt on -
I have not seen these. I had heard they were "On the horizon" in the development stage.
This would be another way for "the robots" to take over. I agree with mark, there would be no guest service, the manager would still be the fall guy.
Another point, is I think this type of program takes away the ambiance of the restaurant.
A similar "enhancement" are those vibrating buzzers that the restaurant hostess gives you to hold on, until your table is ready.
\in short, this deal would be too much of a risky investment for an uncertainty.
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Permalink Reply by Erle Dardick on -
I think this conversation is confusing two issues. Touchscreens and Kiosks. These are two very different things. Touchscreens have been at play for many, many years. Many, if not all, POS systems have touch screens and the servers are trained on how to use them.
This article, is specific to Kiosks. That is, devices that allow a consumer to place an order through a touchscreen interface.
There is a place for this type of experience. But, you are all correct, that it will never replace the human interaction. So, if operators are to use this effectively, they need to implement it strictly as a customer service based tool. Meaning, it is meant to help with high volumes and long line ups, for those customers that know what they want.
With the advent of web based ordering systems, the kiosk device is outfitted with a touchscreen. The Kiosk's have internet access or access to the POS system in the store. And so, in reality, it is no different then placing a web order.
I do agree with all of you, that the ROI on a Kiosk for ordering food is not clear. There are certain instances where the application of this technology might work well, but I do agree with all of you, that it is and will not be the norm.
Hope this helps.....
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Permalink Reply by Susan Perry on -
We manufacture an audio menu that reads the menu for baby boomers and the visually impaired and translates it into other languages for those not comfortable reading english. It is amazing how many people ask me if it will "send orders to the kitchen". When I tell them that we are not trying to replace servers but only save time, help with green initiatives and increase service it's amazing how many people still think it should be an ordering vehicle. When I ask about ordering incorrectly they just shrug as if that is not possible. These are the same people who ask me why my audio menu "doesn't have a touch screen"?
I personally go to the grocery lines that have people instead of machines. And I go to restaurants and are happy to have a server to talk to and on occasion consult with. But there is a whole generation of young people who seem to think that touch screens are wonderful. And there are many technology companies that are banking on the acceptance of this kind of technology.
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Permalink Reply by Devin McMillan on -
This is a great idea for places such as coffee shops that people attend every morning and order the same thing, saying that it is a smart system that you would swipe a card and it would keep track of your last few purchases. In a restaurant setting, it would never stand the test of time. It would be easier to go through the drive through. If you are paying any amount of money over fast food price I would think that you would want some kind of service.
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Permalink Reply by Andrea on -
Well they cant blame it on the waitstaff that there order wasnt right if they placed it themselves.
It it cost effective?
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Permalink Reply by Julie on -
One of the QS restaurants in California Adventure @ Disneyland in CA has a self service ordering system, which for me being in POS and a geek is kind of cool. But... that place is also quick service. For quick service I could justify it, not a table service restaurant. Part of the reason people go to restaurants is to have someone wait on them. So while it may catch on in faster speed environments... nothing can replace the skill and experience of good wait staff. Personally the geek in me says yay, the foodie says nay.
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