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The Electronic Menu | |||||||||||||||||
Okay, here's my idea. I'll set the scene for you. You're out to dinner with your family. You go to [Applebees/Ruby Tuesdays/TGI Fridays/etc] and are always sick of the varying moods of the waiters/waitresses. You want a more futuristic, cost-effecient version of a waiter/waitress. But what? That's the scene. I have an idea to solve this problem. Here it is: A touch-screen built into the table of every desk, running a special program for resteraunts. there is one 12" x 12" screen in every table. The program it runs is loaded by the General Manager of the resteraunt with the whole drink and food menus. They are sorted by a hierarchy, if you will. It will be somewhat like this Press [Order], [About Us], or [Contact Us] Order: Gives 5 choices. [Entrees, Appetizers, Desserts, Non-Alcoholic Drinks, Alcoholic drinks] About Us: Gives 3 choices. [About our chain, About this resteraunt, About our staff] Contact Us: Gives 2 choices. [Contacts, Talk to our Manager] Talk to our manager will put you in an IM session with the resteraunt's manager. The screen will open an on-screen keyboard for you to use. Contacts will just show Email, Website, and Phone contacts tht can be handy. Some higher-end models of these "Electronic Menus" can even have a Bluetooth sender built-in to infuse a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone to pick up these contacts via Bluetooth and store them in their Contacts. The selected orders will have descriptions and pictures that are too good for a normal menu. The orders will be sent to a central computer in the kitchen or at a "server station" to be made and served to the person(s) via an actual person. (server, not waiter) This is noted as "Cost-Effecient" because actual people have wges they have to be paid. Would you rather spend a couple thousand dollars all in one shot, or would you rather spend more during the course of a resteraunt's existince? Sure, it may cost a lot, but in these days of the USA, the economy needs to be stimulated and our country has to push further because, after all, we are in the Information Age.
briguy9, Nov 21 2008
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Although the initial investment may be high the concept has advantages. Aside from the customer management feedback the advantages in flexibility of information could be considerable. Printouts of table orders to the kitchen could speed up and make more accurate the service and as new items can be added to or eliminated from the menu as required it could make service more efficient and economic.
This idea has been already suggested Restaurant Service. Also for drive thru Fast food genius, and with more elaboration No More Messed Up Orders.
Anyway, still a good idea, though it takes away some entry level jobs and it's kind of nice being able to flirt with a real waitress. It's also nice being able to ask the waitress questions about the items on the menu.
How about texting a code off the menu to the kitchen?
An iPhone knows where it is to within 200 meters or so... so you could text McDonalds your order as you pull into the lot. And "no onions" could become a universal added code, perhaps 17.