Why Tablets on Restaurant Tables Are Here to Stay - Eater - 0 views
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tabletops at numerous restaurants, from fast-casual burger chains to pillars of the casual-dining sector like Olive Garden and Chili’s.
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Putting tablets on tables is intended to speed up service by enabling diners to perform various tasks such as ordering food or paying their check without having to wait for their server to appear. I
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Outback Steakhouse franchisee in the nation operates more than 100 stores, said that the tabletop tablets enable their restaurants to cut labor costs by “one or two percent,” and run fewer servers per night who are each making more money.
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15 percent of diners use the tablets to play games during their meal, but all those small transactions add up — and mean that the tablets basically pay for themselves.
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There’s been a fair amount of concern that tablets would put human servers out of jobs, but thus far Outback and other casual dining chains say they are using tablets as server’s assistants:
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Human servers still interact with the tables and lead service, but diners can use them for common requests like ordering drink refills and closing out their tab.
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automatically apply a tip of the industry standard 20 percent, which is easier than manually entering a smaller tip. Tips are likely also higher thanks to diners’ increased satisfaction with service
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restaurants with useful feedback on food and service, and in some cases guests who want to provide more specific feedback
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Tablets have become a success in faster casual and casual-dining restaurant and seem to be better for all around service. Customers like how fast they are able to order, servers are happier because they see a trend of getting more tips at the end of the night, and businesses are profitable because less servers on shift and more profit in business pockets. People tend to spend more money with games to play and ability to order more food in less time. There is a benefit for data collecting on experience at the restaurant as well that helps the companies out on what they need to focus on. Tablets are showing great promise and will most likely be on almost all casual dining tables.