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iPad's Momentum in Restaurants Grows with Buffalo Wild Wings Trial
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'Women are more social', blah-blah-blah...
How about enabling the camera at random (occupied) tables. THAT could be interesting...
I think that the iPad would be the perfect menu system for a restaurant. It would (could) be up to date and correct with the specials and be also able to popup things like wine suggestions (although I'd like a 'Show suggested wine suggestions Yes/No' button) and side choices. Hell, the iPad could replace all the awkward (and sometimes rewarding) discussions had with wait staff. The iPad could even notify hungry diners where their order is in the kitchen queue, and notify them when the order was placed, and when it is up to be delivered to their table.
We will finally have '20th century dinning', just a few years late...
How about enabling the camera at random (occupied) tables. THAT could be interesting...
I think that the iPad would be the perfect menu system for a restaurant. It would (could) be up to date and correct with the specials and be also able to popup things like wine suggestions (although I'd like a 'Show suggested wine suggestions Yes/No' button) and side choices. Hell, the iPad could replace all the awkward (and sometimes rewarding) discussions had with wait staff. The iPad could even notify hungry diners where their order is in the kitchen queue, and notify them when the order was placed, and when it is up to be delivered to their table.
We will finally have '20th century dinning', just a few years late...
I am sure all the cooks wash their hands too one hundred percent of the time.
And that the food that you are about to slam down wasn't on the floor, or coughed on in the kitchen. I've worked too many restaurant jobs over the years and this idea that people are so careful to avoid contaminating your food is just silly.
For example: (WARNING for those that like Burger King) One BK that I worked at found a case of patties in the very back of the 'walk in' (big ass freezer) that were freezer burned (like show leather, no, shoe SOLES!). We were told to 'serve them', but only to the drive thru people. I am NOT kidding...
What was the poor restaurant owner going to do? Pitch a whole case of whopper patties and eat the cost? Nope. That is why I almost laughed myself to a coma when Joe Pesci in Lethal Weapon 2 says 'They FREAK YOU at the drive-thru, okay? They FREAK YOU at the drive-thru! They know you're gonna be miles away before you find out you got freaked! They know you're not gonna turn around and go back, they don't care.'
But on a related tangent: What about using the idea of 'proximity' and figure out a way to push the ordering system to iPads, iPods, or iPhones so that people could use their own device to order if they are so paranoid about cleanliness...
interesting...
I am in the restaurant biz... i was thinking incorporating something like this, however i was thinking more along the lines of have the staff use the iPads for taking orders...
interesting idea though, however i think in a wing specialty restaurant the men who come in would much rather want to interact with a hot waitress rather than a hot item... plus i wouldn't be able to scream at my customers when they drop the iPad...
I've already incorporated my iPad into my inventory counting methods, and receive a live tally of my sales... i know my beer vendors use iPads when i order with them, and the iPad shows their live inventory of the beer that is in their warehouse, and auto-reserves me what i order... iPad is so useful in business...
I am in the restaurant biz... i was thinking incorporating something like this, however i was thinking more along the lines of have the staff use the iPads for taking orders...
interesting idea though, however i think in a wing specialty restaurant the men who come in would much rather want to interact with a hot waitress rather than a hot item... plus i wouldn't be able to scream at my customers when they drop the iPad...
I've already incorporated my iPad into my inventory counting methods, and receive a live tally of my sales... i know my beer vendors use iPads when i order with them, and the iPad shows their live inventory of the beer that is in their warehouse, and auto-reserves me what i order... iPad is so useful in business...
Yeah, too bad there's no technology to, you know, wipe that stuff off the iPad screen. I know, that's crazy. I'm a dreamer. If only Jobs were still alive, maybe he would have the vision to bring this sci-fi concept to the masses.
Seriously, you eat off plates, cups and utensils used by hundreds... maybe thousands of other customers. If you trust that the restaurant can adequately clean those items to allow safe re-use by you, why would you have any problem touching an iPad, the cleaning of which would undoubtedly be part of the routine bussing of the tables?
Don't forget "the 5 second rule" (if food like a steak or a burger falls on the kitchen floor and gets picked up within 5 seconds, wipe it off and still serve it). I have friends in the service industry that practice that rule. This was from a friend that served at a nice Yacht club. Makes touching the iPad at Buffalo Wild Wings not so bad now. I pretty much understand that every time I eat out I am taking a risk. So the lesson to be learned is to be nice to your server (you should be nice all the time), even if they are a droid user.
Relax. This problem can easily be fixed with...wait for it...a stylus!
<cue Samsung music>
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Wow. I like that name way better than Hooters.
<rimshot>
Now, THAT completely depends on someone's preferences.
For a Gay Man that would be:
As great as the ipad is, I'd much rather interact with a hot waiter when ordering food.
Don't forget "the 5 second rule" (if food like a steak or a burger falls on the kitchen floor and gets picked up within 5 seconds, wipe it off and still serve it). I have friends in the service industry that practice that rule. This was from a friend that served at a nice Yacht club. Makes touching the iPad at Buffalo Wild Wings not so bad now. I pretty much understand that every time I eat out I am taking a risk. So the lesson to be learned is to be nice to your server (you should be nice all the time), even if they are a droid user.
Yeah, the whole 'toss it on the grill for a few seconds on each side will kill anything on it' idea. Well, except for the hair and boogies on the floor... That's why I always tried to step on whatever was dropped. Just the thought of trying to serve something that fell on the floor nauseated me. I never ate at a Ponderosa after working at one for nearly a year and working with a corporate manager who was evidently on his way out. He didn't give a poop about much... I used to watch Kitchen Nightmares and cringe at some of the other crap people pulled. There are people that just shouldn't run, manage, or work, at a restaurant...
Do you think that restaurants sterilize the menu cards sitting on the table after each customer has touched them?
People worrying about germ-transmission from sticky iPad screens are worrying about the wrong things. Especially when it comes to a restaurant chain that specializes in deep-fried chicken wings.
This isn't the place for a lengthy dissertation on bacteria and pathogen transmission. But suffice it to say:
1) Bacteria are everywhere.
2) Most won't do you any harm. Even most e-coli bacteria. (Its only rare strains like O157:H7 that actually pose a risk. And that is much more likely to come from eating undercooked meat or unclean vegetables.)
3) Most bacteria need a warm, wet, and dark place to develop dangerous populations. Which is why the bar rag they use to wipe off your iPad screen is more of a danger than the snot-smeared kid finger that just finished playing Angry Birds on it.
If you really want to do something to lessen your risk of getting sick, visit the rest room and wash your hands with hot water and soap before sitting down to eat.
People worrying about germ-transmission from sticky iPad screens are worrying about the wrong things. Especially when it comes to a restaurant chain that specializes in deep-fried chicken wings.
This isn't the place for a lengthy dissertation on bacteria and pathogen transmission. But suffice it to say:
1) Bacteria are everywhere.
2) Most won't do you any harm. Even most e-coli bacteria. (Its only rare strains like O157:H7 that actually pose a risk. And that is much more likely to come from eating undercooked meat or unclean vegetables.)
3) Most bacteria need a warm, wet, and dark place to develop dangerous populations. Which is why the bar rag they use to wipe off your iPad screen is more of a danger than the snot-smeared kid finger that just finished playing Angry Birds on it.
If you really want to do something to lessen your risk of getting sick, visit the rest room and wash your hands with hot water and soap before sitting down to eat.
B Dubs isn't subsidized by tax money. Plus, they want something people are familiar with. It's already been proven that, aside from $99 Touchpad sales, people don't want a tablet, they want an iPad.
Why so serious Mac Rumors?
No, they chose it because it's cheaper and because Google let them mess with the OS however they want:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/03/tech/mobile/government-android-phones/index.html
"Rather than building special handsets hardwired with secure components, the government plans to install its software on commercially available phones, the people familiar with the project said. This approach is far less expensive and allows the government to stay up to date with the latest phones on the market, they said."
...
Still, Apple's iPhone and iPad are also highly desired among U.S. officials, and people involved in the U.S. smartphone program said their goal is to support any type of smartphone. As CNN has reported, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, uses an iPad to read his classified intelligence by downloading cables and disconnecting from the network.
...
However, the government chose to work on Android first because Google already allows people to tinker freely with its code, said those working on the project. Federal officials have met with Apple, but they were told they could not have access to the core of the company's mobile operating system, said Angelos Stavrou, an information-security director at George Mason University who is working on the government project as a contractor, in a phone interview.
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This great for your one friend that doesn't have a smartphone. They now have something to do...
Haha, true, but I think that is one part of the point I'm trying to make. Most people already have a smartphone, and, when I go out, I don't want another screen foisted on me in the name of customer service there are televisions on the wall and I work at a computer all day. Just train the waitstaff well, and customers can have a pleasant experience interacting with an actual person (who also benefits from the work experience, although restaurant work can suck).
I like my tech, but, socially, we're almost caught in a Catch 22. Social media and tech can bring us together, but we can forget about the people right in front of us.
so Apple can't even let the Government tweak their stuff for the protection of it's citizens, oh how nice of them
It's not only the type of person that matters, the type of food being served matters too. What were they thinking? "Ah, yes, let's have customers touching iPads at the table! What could possibly go wrong- they're only drunk & stressed (from the football game) men eating greasy finger food and carelessly sloshing beer down!"
yeah, kind of like all those other surfaces in restaurants....often referred to as "tables".
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hope you dont also handle cash - who knows where its been!
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This logic would be valid i the customers were buying those iPads. They don't The familiarity factor is absolutely moot because the customers are not going to use these tablets for web browsing or facebooking. They use them for ordering food and the only thing that matters there is the application that restaurant uses. Customers would not have it on their own iPads so they will not be familiar with it regardless of the type of tablet.
Now, THAT completely depends on someone's preferences.
For a Gay Man that would be:
As great as the ipad is, I'd much rather interact with a hot waiter when ordering food.
I had an idea for the gay variant of Hooters .... Peckers. Same "bird" theme, just hot dudes wearing tight little shorts ... plus you could have a namesake mixed drink and advertise, "Come on down and suck down a Pecker".
You could put them next to each other, or maybe in a two story building, Hooters at the top, Peckers at the bottom[?]
...and yes, I'm mostly straight.
who uses cash these days? it's all about that plastic baby!
I definitely would be very apprehensive about touching these things after a tonf of people have touched or sneezed on these things. so does this mean they are firing a lot of servers who would normally take orders and settle the bill? score one more for the machine
iPad as order system
Hi all,
I have an ipad application for all you can eat restaurants deployed at multiple restaurants in Germany. And it has served a lot of customers for several months. The reviews are good and we get a lot compliments from our customers in the restaurants.
Lookup the restaurant on facebook. Okinii Dusseldorf, that's one of the locations i installed the application.
You have to instruct the waiters to clean the ipads after usage. Keep it simple and it will not replace the waiter, but it will be an extension of the waiter. The waiter will give the table attention and ask if everything is what they expect. The order for the beverages should still be made with the waiter.
Hi all,
I have an ipad application for all you can eat restaurants deployed at multiple restaurants in Germany. And it has served a lot of customers for several months. The reviews are good and we get a lot compliments from our customers in the restaurants.
Lookup the restaurant on facebook. Okinii Dusseldorf, that's one of the locations i installed the application.
You have to instruct the waiters to clean the ipads after usage. Keep it simple and it will not replace the waiter, but it will be an extension of the waiter. The waiter will give the table attention and ask if everything is what they expect. The order for the beverages should still be made with the waiter.
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