Tablets Replacing Wait Staff in Applebees and Elsewhere

[DaveO]

Applebees Installing tablets and will cut back on wait staff and bartenders.

OMG.   This is a significant technological change that will have severe repercussions on front of the house staffing.   The tablets can take orders accept payments and have entertainment capabilities.

Evidently other restaurants or chains are also making these changes.

[Joe H]

Do restaurants really want the image associated with automation like this?  A real comment on the front of the house which certainly seems to have absolutely no importance for them.

My guess is that there are people who are running restaurant groups now who absolutely have no interest in taste or in the overall experience.  Nor have they ever sat at a bar and talked to a bartender.  Or ever used a sommelier. Or trusted waitstaff. For that matter Appleby's will probably be the first to introduce Chinese wine.

And Robby the Robot from the Forbidden Planet will decant it.

[Joe H]

"Starting out, our goal was to create a way for guests to control when and how they pay their check. What we learned after nearly two years of testing is we can provide much more. The Presto tablet will deliver our guests a robust slate of offerings for not only transactions, but entertainment, social interaction and more, moving forward."

"Initially, the tablets will provide guests the ability to pay at their table, add additional drinks, desserts and other menu items to their order and a selection of games. During the next 18 months, enhanced functionality, such as video streaming, music, additional games, social media interaction with Applebee's active Facebook community and personal pages, sharing, gift card sales and more, will be added."

" we are fully aligned in our vision and commitment to bring the dining experience for restaurant guests into the 21st century."

So, our party of four is going to dinner.  Each of us will ignore the other and use the Presto tablet for entertainment, social interaction and more.  Better to focus on Facebook than those sitting across from us.

I wonder what it is like to go to dinner with the President of Applebee's?  Once upon a time someone must have asked him not to use his cellphone in their dining room.  This is his way of paying them back.

[DaveO]

I see the following scenario more often these days:   Two people out to dinner.  They don't converse.  Each one stares at his/her own mobile device.   Between eating food and interacting with one's own mobile not a word is spoken.    And by the way they aren't speaking to somebody on the mobile.  They could be texting, reading texts or whatever, or doing something else on the mobile...but they don't speak to one another.

Is that everywhere?  No.  Is it more frequent in some types of places and not others?  Probably so.  I certainly find it disconcerting to see and I don't do that when out with others, and frankly if I'm with others I cut mobile phone conversations.

But I see that social phenomena more and more.   Maybe that occurs a lot in Applebees and similar restaurants.  I don't know.  But if the trend is there...the restaurants would be diverting that into their own devices as opposed to the current self owned devices that people own and use.

Extensive usage of these devices would certainly cut down on the number of front of the house staff such restaurants would require.  I don't see that as a good thing.

On a related topic having to do with front of the house staff......

It made me think of the restaurants that use both wait staff and food servers.  That is supposed to free up wait staff to "upsell" and sell better.  Its stunned me at certain places where all I see are wait staff hanging out more and they never upsell or are never that knowledgeable about their menus.  Clyde's is one place where the waitstaff across the board has always seemed knowledgeable, updated and helpful while their food runners deliver food.  There are plenty of other places where I don't get that impression from the wait staff.

I wouldn't look forward to this technological trend.   On the other hand if the chains find that it cuts costs and actually enhances customer retention it may well take off.

[porcupine]

Something like this is already in the Toronto airport.  Doesn't seem out of place there.

[DaveO]

Something like this is already in the Toronto airport.  Doesn't seem out of place there.

I'd think that for fast turnover places, places where its more about eating and convenience than dining this type of technology would fit in.

It still looks to me like it would kill employment at the front of the house.  The effect could be dramatic across the country.  Being a waiter/waitress is one of the great and voluminous "first jobs" for millions of people.  Its also becomes a well developed skill for countless others.

It just seems to me that massive usage of this technology would cut the number of "first jobs" and more substantial jobs for a lot of people.

By example Applebees and IHOP are both under the control of the same corporation.  There are about 3500 of them around the world, most franchised and most in the US.  How many thousands in the US...I didn't check but I bet its a majority of that 3500 and that is a lot of waitstaff.   It just seems to me this would cut down on the number of jobs.

Then multiply that by all the Ruby Tuesdays, and all the other similar type establishments that are somewhat similar and it seems to me it would cut out a big massive volume of jobs.

[Pat]

I'd think that for fast turnover places, places where its more about eating and convenience than dining this type of technology would fit in.

It still looks to me like it would kill employment at the front of the house.  The effect could be dramatic across the country.  Being a waiter/waitress is one of the great and voluminous "first jobs" for millions of people.  Its also becomes a well developed skill for countless others.

It just seems to me that massive usage of this technology would cut the number of "first jobs" and more substantial jobs for a lot of people.

By example Applebees and IHOP are both under the control of the same corporation.  There are about 3500 of them around the world, most franchised and most in the US.  How many thousands in the US...I didn't check but I bet its a majority of that 3500 and that is a lot of waitstaff.   It just seems to me this would cut down on the number of jobs.

Then multiply that by all the Ruby Tuesdays, and all the other similar type establishments that are somewhat similar and it seems to me it would cut out a big massive volume of jobs.

This seems analogous at least some degree to self-checkout in supermarkets.  I know when it was first introduced, the management line was that it wouldn't cut into employee hours, but I could not understand how that could be the case.  There is a need for employees to supervise the usage of the machines and troubleshoot the inevitable problems, but that doesn't require the same number of people that pre-machine full staffing would. It would be interesting to see employment numbers for supermarkets pre-and-post implementation of self-checkout, in places wher it's become fairly well established.

[ChiantiandFava]

I would expect other corporate style restaurants to take advantage of this move by going the opposite direction and playing up their good ol' fashioned human hospitality (I'm looking at you cracker barrel). 

[lperry]

While I dislike the potential job losses, and wonder if food runners might overtake "servers," I'm going to play devil's advocate here.  The few occasions during which we eat at large, chain types of establishments are associated with travel during which there is a lack of choice or knowledge about other restaurants in the area.  In my experience, the typical service is poor and inattentive, with a few either horrific or excellent outliers.  In a nutshell, nine times out of ten, I would love to punch my order into a screen and have my food come and then pay without having to deal with an awful server.

[Barbara]

I see this as another step on the "inequality paradigm" that has been developing for years in this country. The folks who treat their local Applebee's as fine-dining (because it has table cloths and doesn't require a refi on the mortgage to eat there or because it is in the only non-fast food option in the vicinity) will probably be happier not to deal with a waitron.

Still, I see it as a dumbing down of the restaurant experience. Not that it hasn't already been occurring.

[The Hersch]

I ate at an Applbee's once, and that was a lifetime's worth. It was a long time ago. Do they really have tablecloths?

[Joe H]

I travelled heavily around the U. S. for thirty or more years with perhaps as many as 100 nights a year at an Appleby's, Outback, TGIFriday's, Macaroni Grill, Chili's or wherever I could find at 8:30 or 9:00 in the evening that was close to my hotel/motel in Davenport, Janesville, Waukesha, Owensboro, Valdosta and elsewhere.

There was a lot to be said for a friendly bartender and a human being to talk to for several minutes while having a glass or two of wine and some kind of grilled fish with steamed veggies.  My experience is that in small and medium size towns places like the above were popular with locals and really did represent their "night out."  I would suggest that many want interaction with waitstaff and barstaff.

A tablet is not going to make anybody feel special but a hostess, server and others can accomplish a lot.

But there's another point:  at a drive up I don't really care about the person who hands me my food and takes my money.  If I am sitting inside and I am having a couple of glasses of wine, an entree and a salad-all of which might cost $30-35 I want human interaction.  I seriously believe that this "dumbing down" of the dining experience is a reflection of a lack of social skills and disrespect for other diners in the same room.  I have absolutely no interest in sitting in a room where many at other tables play on their tablets rather than talking to each other.  Or THAT I CAN'T ASK A QUESTION OF ANYONE ABOUT WHAT I WANT TO EAT.  I have enough computers and simulated voices in my life.  I want to talk to a human being.

I sincerely hope that all whose business model involves tablets and laying off wait and barstaff find what an incredibly bad decision they've made, lose business and put their restaurants up for sale so that someone who cares can buy it and run it.

[kturkey88]

IMHO, there are times and places for dining "experiences" and other times, I just want to pay for food that's made for me by someone else. With young ones in tow now, a lot of times I eat out because I want to get the kids out of the house for a bit. I want to order quickly, eat as quietly and efficiently as possible and enjoy a little time with them. At this point of my life, I don't need FOH all of the time, everywhere, and I don't think it's such a bad decision for some places to re-evaluate whether or not servers are needed for every customer.

I also don't think it's a given that a place that doesn't use servers is "dumbing down" my experience. I think of Bobby's in rockville. It was good food that I ordered at a counter and paid, in my opinion, a pretty high price for quality products. I didn't need human interaction to enjoy what I ate or how spent my money.

Fast casual is invaluable to my sanity lately, so I personally might like it if more restaurants were suited to my somewhat frantic ordering/paying style.  I won't always be rushed, I won't always have babies in high chairs and I won't always be limited to the Applesbees of the restaurant genre, but I can see the value in having tablets be an option at some places. At least to see what happens and how much people still need a human at the end of the day...

[DaveO]

In the last 6 months I've eaten at appleby's, chilis and ruby tuesdays;  all large chains, all in the casual dining category, and all the types of restaurants that will (applebees) or could switch to tablets.

In none of the cases was the food memorable.  In all cases the food was adequate and met expectations.  (Expectations were not very high)

Each dining experience was fine.   The server at appleby's was extraordinary.  She connected.  She was enjoyable.  She had/has a great personality and would work well at any dining environment IMHO.

Regardless of the training no establishment teaches personality.  I've witnessed the Clyde's training program for waitstaff.  Its excellent.  There are other chains with similarly well developed training programs.  Regardless training programs and management and oversight of waitstaffs still don't improve upon personality.  That can be an innate skill or learned skill, but its a terrific skill in a dining environment.

I believe that expansion of tablets will both limit jobs at front of the house and probably limit the opportunities.  Its also technological progress.  If it proves to improve upon the bottom line I'm sure many chains will follow.

[ktmoomau]

What about all the people who will inevitably refuse to use it?  My mother would never use such a thing.  I actually detest using it.  I hate that type of functionality, scrolling through multiple menus, you can't easily customize things.  I foresee just like the automated grocery check out, that once installed many will switch back.  I have seen this work in a few fast casual places, but there are about as many staff as there would be without the technology.  I know some people who order meals from their iphone, I don't.  I guess at 30 I am becoming ancient, my desire for a human is obsolete and old-fashioned.  Not that I eat at these types a lot, but it would definitely deter me more.  How are they going to enforce carding and not over serving... what if the person has ordered and paid for their drink they shouldn't be served... Assuming someone still has to make these drinks, I just see it as a reason to have less staff and wait times going up for anything ordered.  Same person run 4 times the amount of food or make 4 times the drinks.  

[DameEdna]

Would a bored patron who is attending the annual family get together enjoy reviewing pictures of dessert possibilities? Would a wine geek enjoy examining the wine list in more detail, while waiting at the airport for the next flight? "Always the same order" person would like having the burger and fries arrive without saying a word. Possibilities are endless.

[SeanMike]

I hate that type of functionality, scrolling through multiple menus, you can't easily customize things.

While you're right about some people (the self-checkout lines are painful for me to watch because people seem incapable of looking at a screen, reading what's on it, and understanding it, though I've seen that problem for years ever since I worked tech support), I have to say on the point I quoted that I've seen the opposite.

At sandwich-type places I've visited - including McDonald's, Wawa,Sheetz, etc. - that had computer-based ordering systems, it was fantastic for customization! There were so many things I could change I didn't know about, so many possibilities, and it ensured that the sandwich maker knew exactly what I meant (like at Subway when I say I want the "lite mayo" and they give me "light mayo" i.e. not as much but of the regular).

As for the chains - I go there occasionally due to work. I almost always sit at the bar, because even though I'm not the most talkative guy in the world, I like having someone to talk to occasionally. However, there are many bars where I'd love to have something like this just to get my order in, and not have to wait for the person working the bar to notice me, hope that he heard me right, etc. (That's more at airports really but still.)

[Joe H]

I just can't believe that the CEO of Appleby's has good social skills.  I am guessing that he has spent the better part of his life in a phone booth calling a nonexistent exchange, waiting for the several seconds of silence between interference, and hoping another human being would intone, "hello" in the silence.

Failing that he turned to his iPad and dialed up a social network.

For some the human voice isn't important.

[DaveO]

Initial Results at Chili's after installing 45,000 tablets

The Atlantic just published a story about initial results after installing 45,000 tablets at its 88+ restaurants.   Early in the article it references a prior story published in Bloomburg Business Week from late September last year describing the results of an initial test with about 200 stores using tablets.

Both stories above reference that one result of the change are higher spends.  Its the change that is referenced the most.  It also has resulted in faster "turns".

From the business perspective should this data be true and sustained this really meets expectations.  It increases revenues.  Neither article focuses on the effect on employment.  Neither article references the service side.

About 2 weeks ago our bar school interviewed one of the bar/restaurant managers that has hired from us for years.   We haven't published the story yet.  This manager happened to represent a restaurant chain that is somewhat similar to Chili's.  Its interesting to reflect on the points he emphasized, the comments from above and the substance of the above article.

1.  Human interaction with servers/bar staff:   While the folks above referenced this a good bit, this wasn't referenced much or at all in the two articles, nor was "human interaction", especially from the perspective of the customer, a topic that came up in the interview.  It did come up though in terms of topics referenced in the articles.

2.  Customer spend.  The articles emphasized that the tablets are encouraging a higher spend.  More appetizers and deserts are being purchased.  People order quickly, especially deserts.  Great big attractive desert pictures help push the sale of desserts.  Additionally the tablets provide an "encouraged" 20% tip...and customers tend to respond.

In the interview the manager discussed server/bartender customer interaction in the context of encouraging "upselling" and selling appetizers, desserts, specialty items, etc.    All encouraged by the restaurant, the chain and within the industry...   But the focus is on customer interaction and being "hospitable" can help to push up sales.

3.  Having tablets on tables enables a customer to immediately order.  The articles reference increases in orders of appetizers.  The grand result also comes down to an overall faster dining experience at these restaurants, with the "turn time" being reduced by an average five minutes.

4.  The tablets are used to "entertain"   Especially the kids programming enables the restaurant and tablet provider to enhance earnings a bit.  I suppose that could be expanded.

The two articles above really look at this change from the perspective of "business results".  They clearly define what businesses look for--> enhanced results.

Meanwhile, on the service and employment side it all doesn't bode well from my perspective, not only from that of the school, but from an overall perspective-->  I still believe if widely expanded it would cut down on server/bartender positions.  It would also decrease opportunities for a lot of people to enter the business, develop skills that would later translate into becoming excellent restaurateurs, some of which is learned and developed in the front of the house.

Its all labeled "progress".

[The Hersch]

Of one thing we may be certain: Tablets at Chili's or Applebees won't make the food worth eating.

[Joe H]

Initial Results at Chili's after installing 45,000 tablets

The Atlantic just published a story about initial results after installing 45,000 tablets at its 88+ restaurants.

I read the first 40 or so comments to the linked article and almost all focused on tipping.  There wasn't a single word about what anything tasted like either in the comments or the article.  The only food that was discussed was fattening.  Raising per caps (customer spend) because people feel less guilty about ordering an additional course or a more fattening dish is interesting.  I understand per caps-that was my industry.  But a mass market restaurant like Chili's is in the challenging position of continuing to pull people in its doors before it even considers raising the per cap.  From my perspective the consideration of switching to tablets is directly related to how this may affect the perception of the restaurant?  Simply, is this an association that will bring more people in the door?  If it does, then we can talk about increasing "the spend."  Or, is Chili's positioning itself as a kind of automat where there is limited human interaction, where your service staff is literally limited to serving your dishes and drinks?

I can honestly say this:  in my years of travel I would never have gone to a single restaurant that offered me a tablet rather than a human when I sat down.  Excepting perhaps at a highway "oasis" or service area where I want the fastest turnaround possible.  My image of Chili's, today, has nothing to do with anything that they can put on a plate.  Rather, it is of an impersonal, unwelcoming variation of a vending machine.  Yes, I am being dramatic.  But I think no more dramatic than the direction Chili's has decided to take.

From my perspective Chili's is risking its reputation and its future with this tablet rollout.   Of course maybe they are positioning themselves for highway service areas, airport and stadium food courts and truck stops where a tablet may have a real purpose.

[DaveO]

@Joe:  I hadn't bothered to look at comments until after your post.  Interesting.  I saw a plethora of opinions and only sensed that 2 commentators had actually experienced the restaurant with tablets.  Lots of opinions--> little experience.

Chili's is not a foodie magnet, nor are any of the other similar type chains, nor do they probably aspire to be so, nor is the majority of the population.  They provide moderate priced meals.  They provide "environments"  of some ilk.  In some areas of the nation and even in some of the more far flung parts of this large metropolitan region they might well reflect the "best" or close to it of dining out experiences.  They can be the "best of the region" in various parts of this nation.  They also provide service and they are being "pinched" by the fast service type restaurants that have exploded  (the chipotles" of the world.

I've long considered that starting out in a restaurant on one context is a great "starting out job".  As you have traveled around the nation so much Joe, I'm sure you have encountered what had to total into the thousands of young people in their first jobs, whether you saw them all or not.  When you venture out of the metro areas in the North and NorthEast at least one can see local young people in both front and back of the house.  (In metro areas like DC the BOH is increasingly Latino, in my experience).  So it just strikes me that this might limit "first jobs" for lots of people.  (but that is opinion--like most of the commentators above.

The flavor of the articles really reflected what our interview with a corporate manager of a not dissimilar type restaurant referenced throughout the discussion.  He manages a restaurant/bar that generates reportedly several $ million/year in revenues.  A not insignificant volume.  A total staff of FOH, BOH full and part timers approximates a number close to 100.

Its a significant business.  His emphasis on hiring, promoting, etc are not significantly or at all different from what the bar school tries to teach and what we know, having actually owned/operated a bar before we ever purchased the bar school long ago.

That is where the article struck my interest.   The employer, either corporate or not is looking for staff that can upsell, generate more volume, etc.  The staffers that sell the most will often get the best shifts.  Managements work and train to help get their staffs to that position.  The skilled better employees pick it up.  Some of it is being naturally "hospitable".  Some of it can be learned and perfected with practice.  Its not rocket science.

The sense of the article was that the tablets accomplish on a tech basis what operators and managers try to accomplish on a training/hiring basis.  The tablets upsell.

Holy Batman!!!!   I found that stunning.  And it doesn't bode well for gross employment and getting opportunities in the food and beverage industry.  Even though there is a "big" investment in the tablets..it might be offset by not having to invest so much time and energy into training staff.   If the tablets work...they'll really pay off in dollars and sense.

They add nothing to the interaction, atmosphere, and friendliness of a restaurant.  Nothing at all.  They encourage the table to be even more insular.  As an overall dining experience they provide more incentive to never speak with the staff.  I suppose that is good if you are on the road or want to eat and zip out.  Its not an inducement to friendliness.  You might as well eat at home serviced by butlers who are instructed to zip their lips.

I enjoy service, friendliness and a staff that makes you feel welcome.  That brightens even the places with mediocre food.  But boy oh boy.  If these things increase revenues and cut costs they are going to proliferate in at least some types of food establishments.

[johnb]

For better or for worse, I'm sure we'll see more of this sort of thing, particularly as we old farts (you know who you are) age out and disappear from the scene, and the next gen comes in with their greater comfort using these devices.

I would suggest it's best not to view these developments in absolute terms.  There are many ways the devices can be used, and it doesn't mean that all human interaction with the staff is at an end.  My personal experience with tablets in a restaurant was on a cruise I recently took, described elsewhere.  This was on Celebrity, which on many of its ships has a high-end restaurant called "Qsine" that specializes in what they describe as "cutting edge small plates."  Everything is very "high-concept." Anyway, they have replaced paper menus with tablets; the server hands you an iPad, you look over the menu on it, and place your order.  It's part of the "fun."  Nevertheless, you have a wait person who confers with you about your order, and handles any problems with allergies and so on.  Even though the patrons could hardly be described as youthful, most (not all) seem to enjoy the idea.  Just sayin' -- it doesn't have to be a negative thing -- everything depends on how it is executed.

[DaveO]

@JohnB:   Very interesting.  per the article(s) there was reference to the very rich pictures available on the tablet that enhanced sales of items such as desserts.

Interesting.  I focus on a lot of web marketing.  I can't emphasize how enriched pictures on a website greatly enhances sales.  Put a lot of time and loving care to web photographs...and it works.  I suppose the same would work with a tablet.

I can see how a tablet in a high end establishment with very rich pictures of the dishes would actually enhance and improve choice.  If accompanied by an accommodating member of the waitstaff that might enrich an experience and help the diners.

All of the above commentary has me reflecting on what was my favorite local place to eat until a few months ago when the person that made it into that experience departed.  A person or a staff with exceptional skills greatly enhances a dining experience whether at the finest of dining or even mediocre places.  While I haven't been there because of the waits, one thing that grabs my attention is how exceptional, enthusiastic and encouraging the staff is at Roses.  I keep reading that.  That is a bonus.

A tablet on its own will never replace that quality.   A tablet in certain environments might work.  I still think if used extensively they will cut back on jobs....but I suppose we'll see over time.

[johnb]

Here's the latest on the topic.  Looks like this thing is happening.

I'm not sure how new this is.  I recall Sheetz convenience stores having customer-operated computerized sandwich ordering systems over a decade ago.

[DaveO]

Read that article also.  Its a trend that seems to be catching on.  So far there hasn't been much written about customer reactions.  From a business perspective seeing check averages go up is incredibly appealing.  ...and frankly it opens the door to cutting labor costs.

I bet the chains will eat this thing up at an ever more rapid pace with this surge of news.

[SeanMike]

I'm not sure how new this is.  I recall Sheetz convenience stores having customer-operated computerized sandwich ordering systems over a decade ago.

I freakin' love those things. No confusion about what was said. Seeing all the options laid out in front of you with prices. I can order faster, easier, and not feel like I need to watch over the sandwich maker's shoulder lest they screw it up (like Subway -- every time I go there, which is a lot, I have to stop them from doing something I don't want to with my sandwich).

If I'm in a chain restaurant (as often happens when I'm on travel for work) I'd want a tablet. I'd still want a waiter or bartender, mind you - and I'd still tip the same as long as the service was good. But being able to see items, hopefully get more information than just on a menu (such as nutritional), know what I ordered specifically - I'd be cool with that.

Heck, you can order a pizza online and confirm all the extras, but you still tip the driver.

[Joe H]

"If I get a promotion for a new appetizer or a coupon over my app..."

I am so sick of reading about "apps."  I don't care about "apps."  

I would love to know how the Chili's are doing in the Villages, Solavita and near other larger over 55 communities.  I honestly believe there are two different epistemologies emerging (have not said this since college!).  Each is tied to age and the associated community this reperesents.  The other is to the physicality of simply trying to remember that which one has previously learned.  It can be a real stretch to learn something new.

Especially a new system (epistemology) of knowledge.

Far too many companies' existence now depends on promoting a new system.  From a Treo to a Blackberry to an IPhone.  Four, five or whatever.

I still have a rotary dial in one of our rooms.  It will be there tomorrow.  Of course for someone much younger it will take a bit of an education to learn how to use the rotary dial...

[DaveO]

Many of these "apps"/things are incredibly user friendly.  I'm sure the tablets are all "touch" smart.  Just touch the picture/description.

There is nothing easier.

Computerized Point of Sales Systems are amazingly effective and very easy to pick up and have gone through about 3.5 decades of change and upgrades.

The amazing/interesting part of the news reports is that these tablets are boosting sales and boosting average ticket prices per customer/table.  I found the comments related to luscious pictures on the tablets for appetizers and desserts stimulating sales in those categories.

I still believe this could be a future impediment on jobs at the front of the house.  It might also impede on the successful training and development of future great FOH staffers that later evolve into great restaurateurs.

But that is what they call "progress".

[Sundae in the Park]

Eh, guys, different strokes for different folks. And, tablet or other computerized ordering systems won't be everywhere.  The market will have them land (supply and demand!) where they are wanted, in the end. They'll probably colonize the casualish and fast-casual places, especially those aimed at early technology adopters (re: Asians in an urban environment).  One of our ramen spots in LA has an ipad ordering system.  It was weird at first but quite workable and several visits later, things have worked out fine. Plus the (young!) food runners are super nice and actually respond to service requests (not always guaranteed at "authentically rude" asian restaurants, in my experience) for water and utensils, etc. Only one data point, I know, but hardly a harbinger of the end of the restaurant world. 

[DonRocks]

I am so sick of reading about "apps."  I don't care about "apps."  

Skip them and go straight to the entrees.

[SeanMike]

What caught my attention: it will let you tell the server how much attention you want...

[Joe H]

There are generational differences in expectations of what might see, feel and taste in a restaurant.  For everyone that wants to introduce a new app to, say, expedite an ordering system or control waitstaff I'll guard my 100+ year old crusty black cast iron skillet a little bit tighter.

I remember when McDonald's changed from freshly sliced potatoes to frozen french fries in '66 or '67.  About the same time they went to frozen beef and a "mix" for their "shakes" which had more chemicals than milk and syrup.  Today a lot of people reading this will say McDonald's has good french fries.

Point is that there was change.  The corporation said it was for the better.  My stomach said it was for the worst.  Dick's in Spokane, WA has the original McDonald's hamburgers and french fries with lines 40-50 deep at lunch time while the McDonald's down the street has counters you can walk up to.

Now we have apps and the imminent disappearance of waitstaff.  Rather, servers and an attempt to control anyone who might want to talk to a customer.

Exactly the kind of restaurant that should be selling frozen potatoes and other dishes whose ingredients I can't spell.

[Rhone1998]

Something like this is already in the Toronto airport.  Doesn't seem out of place there.

This place at Pearson Airport was the only restaurant where I've experienced tablets.  I sat down, ordered a drink and a snack, or so I thought, but I couldn't see any sort of confirmation.  After a few minutes of nothing happening, I saw there was a button to press to see what I'd ordered. It showed I hadn't ordered anything.  Huh.  So I pressed another button to call someone over.  Five minutes.  Ten minutes.  Nothing.  So I got up and left.

I'm not a Luddite.  I have nothing inherently against this sort of thing (except that it's going to displace jobs, which I'm not trying to minimize at all).  I can see some great benefits to it (making it easier to customize orders, reducing though obviously not eliminating errors, helping customers order what they really want by showing pictures of the finished product, etc.).  But obviously step one is the technology has to work.

[porcupine]

What caught my attention: it will let you tell the server how much attention you want...

I was somewhere between on the fence and against this whole concept, then read this:

"If you're looking for some privacy, for example, you can opt for limited waitstaff interruptions."

Hooray!  Sold.

[stupidusername]

I think the last 2 or 3 meals I've eaten out at local mid-priced restaurants have been somewhat marred by extraordinarily long wait times between when I was finished, found a waiter/waitress to get the check, gave them my card, and got the check back.  If I had some kind of tablet thing I could have slid my card through 5 seconds after my last sip of water and been on my way.  Instead, I was held hostage for 15 minutes.  Count me in as a supporter.  

[johnb]

I think the last 2 or 3 meals I've eaten out at local mid-priced restaurants have been somewhat marred by extraordinarily long wait times between when I was finished, found a waiter/waitress to get the check, gave them my card, and got the check back.  If I had some kind of tablet thing I could have slid my card through 5 seconds after my last sip of water and been on my way.  Instead, I was held hostage for 15 minutes.  Count me in as a supporter.  

If it does turn out to be that simple, one would think the restaurants would be all for it too.  Surely the increase in table turn would more than pay for the equipment in very short order (no pun intended), aside from any of the other advantages of introducing tablets.

[johnb]

Recent information on the subject of tablets:

http://nrn.com/technology/survey-younger-diners-embrace-tabletop-ordering

Basically, old folks don't like them at all while far more young folks do.  No surprise there.

[Joe H]

Interesting article, John.  There is a real emerging divide in attitudes towards dining (and, I think, technology) with age, perhaps more so than at any time I can remember.

[mdt]

These might actually be useful at places with tasting menus where each item contains a vast number of individual components that are recited by the server when placing the dish in front of you. A tablet on the table could display the contents of the dish and if required let the diner know how to best combine the components to ensure the best possible experience.

[DaveO]

Saw this quote from a Jeff Ryan, who per a bio is both a "culinarian and an author" ).  (could be--how do I know  )

Sat in front of an annoying Ziosk for the first time at a Chili's. How do you think this device is going to go over come flu season? A shot of hand sanitizer with your beer anyone?

Ah...more concerns with modernism.  One more element in the ever changing world of dining and technology.

[KMango]

Sat in front of an annoying Ziosk for the first time at a Chili's. How do you think this device is going to go over come flu season? A shot of hand sanitizer with your beer anyone?

An oddly placed concern, given that menus are touched by far more hands, are not composed from anti-bacterial materials (unlike some electronic devices), and unlike tables, are not wiped down (even if only in a cursory manner) after each use.

BYOB (bring your own bactericide):  It's always in season.

Count me in as a fan of automating dining payment wherever possible.  I dig the added security (out of sight = greater possibility of credit card fraud), and most grocery and many retail stores have already implemented self-payment.  Automated ordering I am not as eager to adopt; too many user error pitfalls.

(yes, that's what i ordered)

(but)

(that's not what i want)

[Dr. Delicious]

FWIW, I greatly appreciated being able to pay my bill thru the automated system at Uno's, and not having to wait for the overburdened waitress (dealing with a seemingly unexpected 20-top), as my 3-yr-old struggled to get out of his seat.

[johnb]

Take heart my friends.  Soon (probably a lot sooner than anyone thinks) we will not only have Apple Pay at every table, but will also have Apple Menu.  We will order and pay from our own phones, never to touch any device or piece of paper with any germs but our own.  Combine that with those little conveyer belts they have in some sushi places and we will have the completely automated dining experience.  Don't laugh.

This is not a criticism of Apple.  If Apple doesn't do it, Google will.  Only a matter of time.  The future is ours.  Carpe diem!

[johnb]

Full renovations have recently been announced for Newark (United) that will involve placing thousands of iPads at tables in the restaurants and elsewhere, where passengers will be able to order their food, check on their flight status, and buy goods for delivery to their seats. This is similar to a system already in place at LaGuardia (Delta)   click   click