Week 1 (#2): iPads Replacing Waiters Entirely??

The thought of waiters replacing traditional pens and notepads with iPads for order taking definitely caught my interest. I decided to research a little more to find out how else iPads may be incorporated into the food service industry. I found this article http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/02/17/6073938-good-evening-may-this-ipad-take-your-order that tells of one restaurant's innovative idea!


Paul Motenko and Jerry Hennessy have a new restaurant concept where restaurant patrons can place orders on an iPad instead of using waiters. They will demonstrate this idea by incorporating iPads in soon to be opened STACKED restaurants. Customers will be able to create and customize their dishes by entering their selections on the iPad at their table or in their booth. The technology will allow customers to build their own sandwiches by selecting the meat, bun, cheese, toppings and sauces or selecting one of the signature dishes. The technology will also be able to store menu items selected for future visits (I'm guessing this will be password protected so customers can't log in to other customers' accounts and tinker with their selections).

A major benefit of this concept is that customers will be able to enjoy quality food at a lower price (without having the expense of a wait staff). However, a downfall of this concept is that the iPads may be rough-housed and could get damaged, there is the potential for thefts, and greasy fingers could make the screens unsightly. Also, the capabilities of these iPads may need to be limited to their sole purpose of order taking so that customers don't come in just to surf the web or play on apps.