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. 

Week 1 (#1): iPads New Role in the Food Service Industry!

So my roommate, our friend Amanda, and I were out to dinner on Friday night. We were at a pretty fancy Italian restaurant in NY and the decor and atmosphere were elegant and modern. I was pretty impressed. When the frazzled waiter came over to take our orders, I watched as he feverishly scribbled some words down on a notepad. Yes, a notepad. That's when it dawned on me...in this age of modern technology, what in the world is a waiter doing writing down orders with old fashioned pen and paper? Perhaps this was particularly noticeable to me since this antiquated method was such a  paradox to the modern vibe of the restaurant. When he had taken our orders and scurried off, I said to my friends "I can't believe waiters are still using pen and paper to take orders! I bet you the iPad will soon replace that." They informed me that the iPad has, in fact, replaced the conventional method of taking orders in some restaurants already! I was shocked that I had not known of this; so I decided to do some research on the matter.

Here is an article I found: http://nrn.com/article/ipad-pos-use-rising-among-restaurants (dated December 2010, none the less!) that confirms what my friends had told me. Some restaurants, like Buffalo Wild Wings, have started to adopt the iPad and have found that it speeds up the ordering process in the restaurant; "The orders are in the kitchen or bar while the server is still at the table," said Chris Wishart, owner of Trio restaurant. Furthermore, Chris says "You don't have to worry about servers coming back into the kitchen 10 or 15 times a night asking questions, and all the recipes for all the bar drinks are there, too."

No doubt the iPad can make the food service industry more convenient and efficient. Be on the lookout in the near future for iPads to make an appearance in restaurants! What will they take over next??

Trio Restaurant & Bar's Rebecca McLaughlin with one of the iPads used for taking orders at the Mount Airy, N.C., bistro. (Photo: Jordan Crossingham Photography)