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Pei Wei Restaurants Begin Accepting Apple Pay

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Asian-inspired fast-casual restaurant Pei Wei today announced that it has begun offering its customers access to Apple Pay at all of its nearly 200 locations across the United States. Pei Wei CEO Ralph Bower notes an ease-of-use and convenience in using Apple's contactless payments system that ties in nicely with the restaurant's fast-casual atmosphere.

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"Accepting Apple Pay is a win for Pei Wei because it's convenient and gives our guests the flexibility to use their preferred method of payment," said Pei Wei CEO Ralph Bower. "It allows us to safely and quickly process transactions, increasing both customer service and restaurant efficiency. This is just one way we're implementing the latest technology to improve the dining experience."
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The company began testing Apple Pay in sixteen of its locations around the Phoenix area in July, and proceeded to launch full Apple Pay support in all of its restaurants nationwide yesterday on August 4. Pei Wei prepared for the partnership with Apple by investing in a company-wide implementation of "new payment terminals, pin pad devices and point-to-point encryption." Apple Pay continues to expand not only in the United States but in the United Kingdom as well, launching full support for a handful of UK-based banks and more than 250,000 merchant locations over the summer.

Article Link: Pei Wei Restaurants Begin Accepting Apple Pay
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/08/05/pei-wei-restaurants-apple-pay/
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Reactions: phillytim
Never heard of them but this is what Apple needs for Apple Pay to take off; more retailer adoption. I think iOS 9 with its support for rewards programs will help.

To speed adoption further, Apple should also use some of its massive cash hoard to incentivize retailers to adopt and promote Apple Pay, similar to how the computer division at my company is practically owned by Intel and Microsoft because of all the money they throw at us to promote their respective brands.

Lastly, Apple needs to create guidelines to streamline the experience. For example, some retailers (I'm looking at you Macy's) make you sign after payment which kind of defeats the purpose.
 
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Karma*Police said:
Never heard of them but this is what Apple needs for Apple Pay to take off; more retailer adoption. I think iOS 9 with its support for rewards programs will help.

To speed adoption further, Apple should also use some of its massive cash hoard to incentivize retailers to adopt and promote Apple Pay, similar to how the computer division at my company is practically owned by Intel and Microsoft because of all the money they throw at us to promote their respective brands.

Lastly, Apple needs to create guidelines to streamline the experience. For example, some retailers (I'm looking at you Macy's) make you sign after payment which kind of defeats the purpose.
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While I do agree with you on the whole streamline process, but keep in mind that ApplePay also gave you extra security as your credit card number isn't out here in the wild. So I won't say that it defeats the whole purpose. And giving that most companies are slow to change, I'll take the safer route for now.
 
Pei wei is a division of PF Changs, a traditional sit down restaurant. Certainly they can't be too far behind. Im excited to see apple pay at restaurants, along with gas stations and grocery stores.
 
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Karma*Police said:
Never heard of them but this is what Apple needs for Apple Pay to take off; more retailer adoption. I think iOS 9 with its support for rewards programs will help.

To speed adoption further, Apple should also use some of its massive cash hoard to incentivize retailers to adopt and promote Apple Pay, similar to how the computer division at my company is practically owned by Intel and Microsoft because of all the money they throw at us to promote their respective brands.

Lastly, Apple needs to create guidelines to streamline the experience. For example, some retailers (I'm looking at you Macy's) make you sign after payment which kind of defeats the purpose.
Click to expand...
This. I agree with everything here. I was looking at the Chip and Pin policy for Visa yesterday. It also tokenizes and their policy gives the merchant the option to require a Pin or not. This should be true on ApplePay. Merchants should think through this. I would like to not sign and not get a paper receipt. Square and Apple stores for example will email the receipt. Merchants are just really slow on this.
 
dwaltwhit said:
Pei wei is a division of PF Changs, a traditional sit down restaurant.
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How does the food compare to other low-cost Chinese restaurants, e.g. Panda Express? There is a PF Chang's in my city, but I tend to go elsewhere for Chinese fare; I find PF Chang's dishes overwhelmingly salty, even for Chinese.
 
Karma*Police said:
Never heard of them but this is what Apple needs for Apple Pay to take off; more retailer adoption. I think iOS 9 with its support for rewards programs will help.

To speed adoption further, Apple should also use some of its massive cash hoard to incentivize retailers to adopt and promote Apple Pay, similar to how the computer division at my company is practically owned by Intel and Microsoft because of all the money they throw at us to promote their respective brands.

Lastly, Apple needs to create guidelines to streamline the experience. For example, some retailers (I'm looking at you Macy's) make you sign after payment which kind of defeats the purpose.
Click to expand...

On the subject of having to sign after payment, one manager told me its easier to train a sales clerk to always required signing than having them check what mobile solution you are using and what's being supported at the store.

As you say, once mobile payment becomes the norm, I think this requirement will seem ancient in the future.
 
dXTC said:
How does the food compare to other low-cost Chinese restaurants, e.g. Panda Express? There is a PF Chang's in my city, but I tend to go elsewhere for Chinese fare; I find PF Chang's dishes overwhelmingly salty, even for Chinese.
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I'd say Pei Wei is a step above Panda Express, but still miles below all the locally owned Chinese places near me.
 
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Quality food. It's excellent that they have setup Apple Pay acceptance. I see more and more places I visit that offer it. Krogers needs to step up and get with the program. We just need more mom and pop shops accepting it before it really takes off.
 
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dXTC said:
How does the food compare to other low-cost Chinese restaurants, e.g. Panda Express? There is a PF Chang's in my city, but I tend to go elsewhere for Chinese fare; I find PF Chang's dishes overwhelmingly salty, even for Chinese.
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I think it's a pretty good option. It's less expensive than PF Changs but still has a few dishes in common; the lettuce wraps spring to mind. It's definitely a step or two above panda express and the like. As for saltiness, I've never noticed it being tooo salty.
 
yg17 said:
I'd say Pei Wei is a step above Panda Express, but still miles below all the locally owned Chinese places near me.
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I think Pei Wei is more than a step above Panda Express. That's like saying a Holiday Inn Express is a step above sleeping in the gutter. As for locally owned Chinese places, I've seen some pretty terrible ones that are worse than Panda Express.

To answer the original question, the closest comparison I can think of is that Pei Wei is similar to Chipotle where Panda Express is similar to Taco Bell. But I like the atmosphere in Pei Wei over Chipotle.

As for Apple Pay, it's weird how all of this is shaking out. All of the places near me that take it, Petco, Trader Joes, and now Pei Wei are all in the same shopping center. That place is like an island of Apple Pay goodness stuck in the middle of a sea of outdated holdouts. Guess I'm getting some Kung Pao Chicken the next time I need to pick up dog food and cheap wine.
 
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Honestly, at this point, even one new partner every other week would be a fantastic adoption rate.

I don't see the list of merchants growing rapidly, at least until those companies with executives who are dedicated to customer service invest into the hardware required for Apple Pay to work. Companies like Wegman's really value the customer's experience. My only bad experience with Apple Pay at Wegman's was when some old lady couldn't figure out how mobile payments worked with the terminal. I wrote a letter to corporate, they responded, and the next day, everyone was trained on what to do when someone wants to use Apple Pay.

Let's just put it this way - if a company is listed as an official Apple Pay partner, and you as a customer go up to the register, and the cashier has no idea what the service is, it's time for some company meetings. As a partner company for the program, the employees should be educated on whatever that particular partnership is.
 
ghostface147 said:
Quality food. It's excellent that they have setup Apple Pay acceptance. I see more and more places I visit that offer it. Krogers needs to step up and get with the program. We just need more mom and pop shops accepting it before it really takes off.
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Plenty of mom and pop places have it but they don't even know they have it.
 
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