
E la Carte Signs Deal With Applebee’s to bring 100k Tableside Tablets to the US - yurisagalov
http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/02/e-la-carte-scores-deal-with-applebees-bringing-100000-tableside-tablets-to-all-u-s-locations-by-year-end-2014/
======
RandallBrown
I used one of these at an Outback Steakhouse a few weeks ago.

It was a bit awkward, because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use the
tablet or not. The waitress still came and took our order, then put it in on
the tablet. At the end, we saw we could pay (and we did) but the waitress
still brought us a check.

I guess the weirdness could be solved by better communication from the wait
staff.

The best thing was that it easily allowed you to split your bill among
multiple credit cards. This is easily the biggest pain about eating out with a
group of people.

~~~
joonix
I would prefer they get rid of waiters entirely and just have runners for the
food. Then I can stop stressing about tips and grumpy waiters. In NYC, the
waiter actually improves rather than detracts from my dining experience less
than 5% of the time.

~~~
tptacek
You "stress" about the tip? Divide by ten, multiply by two, round to nearest
dollar, just write the total line and not the tip line. Done.

The runners make tips too.

~~~
selmnoo
If it's such a formulaic process, the control should just be completely taken
away from the end customer.

Other reasons that tipping should exist: it only serves to perpetuate racism
[1] and sexism [2]. A lot of waiters have preconceived notions about what kind
of people tip more, who tip less, etc.: they're expecting business people in
suits to pay more, and African Americans to pay less. So what happens when the
two enter a restaurant? Servers fight among themselves on who should get
who... because it's an issue of money for them. Trust me, I once worked at a
restaurant -- it got ugly.

The sooner we can get rid of this strange and hate-inspiring custom, the
better. Better for customers, better for restaurant owners, cooks,
dishwashers, everyone.

See TED talk by Bruce McAdams for more:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOk2C4n4eMQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOk2C4n4eMQ)

[1]:
[http://tippingresearch.com/uploads/Business_Considerations_T...](http://tippingresearch.com/uploads/Business_Considerations_Tipping_final.pdf)

[2]:
[http://tippingresearch.com/uploads/ServerAppearance1-3-08.pd...](http://tippingresearch.com/uploads/ServerAppearance1-3-08.pdf)

~~~
tptacek
Tipping is a cost sharing mechanism between restaurant operators and
customers. Through an immense social reengineering effort, we could rid
ourselves of the convention, and at the same time simultaneously raise prices
for customers everywhere while at the same time lowering the income of
professional (ie, non-temporary) servers. This doesn't seem like a great place
to invest effort.

~~~
hosh
I have a friend from Australia that visits America regularly. We were talking
about tipping once. They don't tip in Australia, and instead, just pay the
wait staff and bartenders a large, regular salary. So a tipless dining economy
can certainly work.

My friend said when he first encountered tipping in America, he did not
understand it. At some point, he got it. He figured out how to use tipping to
establish long-term relationships with the staff at the different restaurants
and bars ... which you could then leverage in other social situations. People
remember you, and when it is important, they will help you out. It was less
about getting good service for oneself so much as demonstrating social proof
for negotiations. What he said echoed some of the things I've heard from the
pick-up artist community, though he was applying it as much to business
dealings as anything else.

I've read the blog post written by the restaurant owner who talked about how
tipping is primarily a power issue. That there's this underlying, smarmy
association of tipping with fantasies of intimate relations with the
waitresses. But now that I'm recalling my conversation with my friend, I
realize that, while that kind of dynamic is indeed at play for some folks, it
also seem like a waste of time and resources. Being able to establish
influence at a number of venues that can later be tapped seemed more sensible
to me. Meaning that, if you're not actually dealing and trading in power and
influence, then you're indulging in the illusion of power and influence. I
suppose people have to get their entertainment in some form.

To be fair, not being able to tip won't bother the folks who use it to
maintain their network. They'll just find other ways to establish
relationships with the staff.

~~~
tptacek
You can use tipping that way, but you're not if you just tip 15%, which is all
you're expected to tip. At 15%, you are, as I said before, sharing a cost with
the owner of the restaurant that would otherwise be reflected directly in the
cost of items on the menu, as it is in Australia.

~~~
selmnoo
Why not simply readjust the food price so that I don't have to go through the
trouble of stopping to calculate 15%?

------
crazygringo
This is fantastic, and long overdue.

You still want to talk the waiter for your mains (esp. for recommendations,
special instructions, etc.), and summon them for complaints, but for stuff
like ordering drink refills and paying your bill (the things where they never
seem to be around), this is perfect.

Plus, hopefully it has a button where you can immediately summon the waiter,
instead of spending five minutes trying to flag them down.

I agree that it doesn't have a place in fine dining, but for casual dining
this is a complete no-brainer. (And I don't see it obviously taking away jobs
either, since faster turnover will just result in more customers to handle,
and more food to bring out.)

------
scottcowley
Applebee's getting tableside tablets is like putting frosting on a piece of
wood.

------
aphexairlines
A few sushi restaurants in Tokyo have been doing this for a while now. You
choose what you want on a touchscreen (usually an Android tablet, often
running the same software across different restaurants) and a few minutes
later your order gets sent to you on a rail separate from the normal conveyor
belt.

After you pick it up you press a red button on the tray in which your plates
arrived and it goes back home.

The nice thing about this is that it allows kaitenzushi restaurants to have
table seating with the same wait as counter seating.

------
delinka
Let me reserve a table and place my order on my own touch device _before_ I
arrive. If I have to wait for my table, that's fine, but my food should wait
as well. When I sit, my food arrives soon after.

The remainder of my visit, including how long I stay, is up to me and less in
the hands of under-performing staff.

------
SheepSlapper
Good on em. I used to work for an E La Carte competitor that used iPads
instead of Android devices, and it's a tough market right now.

There exists a lot of resistance from the waitstaff who see tabletop devices
as job killers, and customers are pretty much divided down the middle (they
either love em or hate em). It seems like dining was always going to trend
towards something like this, it was just a matter of when. Restaurants are
pretty old in their way of thinking, and it's quite the accomplishment to get
100k devices on tables.

~~~
joezydeco
I see it as increased load for the waitstaff.

The goal of these devices is to upsell, upsell, upsell while avoiding the
downtime of a waiter/waitress standing there idle - either taking orders or
checking on customers, etc etc etc. Move higher priced checks through more
tables quicker. Of course, that could also mean higher tipouts for the
staff...

------
samstave
As someone who ate at my local (alameda, CA) applebees for the first time in a
decade - I can say that I would never again go there, but do have a question:

Why is there not a GPS enabled menu app which will load the restaurant's menu
when you launch it and it detect which place you are dining at and allow you
to make your order. To confirm you are in the establishment and making a valid
order - have a QR code on the table that must be scanned to supply the
destination table for the order.

~~~
untog
You're looking at it the wrong way around - why would a restaurant use that?
Do they really want you to be able to access the menu of the restaurant next
door?

~~~
Jtsummers
I think samstave meant with your own device, not a restaurant device. An app
on your iDevice or Android device that would bypass the need for them to
maintain their own hardware (?), though I think that would be making a big
assumption, it may let them hand out the devices on an as needed basis.

~~~
samstave
Yeps.

Personally I see a puniversal app for ordering based on GPS and specificity
confirmation being a solid way to handle this in the future.

------
physcab
This is a really good idea for chain/ casual restaurants where people are
constrained by time and value, ie Applebees. But if some of the nicer
restaurants I go to start using this, it will degrade the experience as a
whole because the server acts more like an MC at a show. Not having them will
be a loss.

~~~
melatoned
Most Millennial Comment of the Day.

------
harryh
I'm not gonna be impressed until they hook it up to some drones to bring out
the food from the kitchen.

;-)

~~~
aphexairlines
How about a bullet train?
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nEx2ivyYmA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nEx2ivyYmA)

~~~
joezydeco
How about a standard old choo-choo?

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpS--
MtCQgA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpS--MtCQgA)

------
nickler
As a restaurateur I've been watching with fascination as this debate rages in
our industry. The payments side is the most beneficial part of it, all the
rest of the processes still require a human touch.

I've been cheering this innovation, but have yet to see it done well, even by
e la carte and its other top competitors. People will always be the most
powerful differentiator in foodservice, and tablets aren't there yet.

This speaks volumes to me of how Applebee's thinks of it's guests.

------
alaskamiller
Once at a Techcrunch party I remember a YC startup showing off their Nokia-
based prototype. This was in 2008.

They were excited about the prospects, big Sysco microwave warmer chains
across the country were clamoring for a solution like this.

I nodded, smiled politely and asked how long was the sales cycle.

They said 5 years.

Congrats.

------
brudgers
The notable factor for me is that it's not an iPad despite all the predictions
a couple of years ago. Of course from a business standpoint that only makes
sense. It also shows how quickly the market for tablet hardware has been
commodified.

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mmetzger
Used one of these recently. Had a SATA port (not eSATA) on the outside of the
device that I'm assuming is used for upgrades / etc. Not sure why you would
_ever_ expose a port like that without some sort of cover.

------
urs2102
Do you think this will be an industry standard for restaurants like
Applebee's, Chilies, ect? Additionally, does anyone have any idea on whether
this will reduce the amount of waiters/waitresses at a restaurant or not?

~~~
jasonlotito
Wawa does this, and I love it. Granted, it's not a restaurant, but ordering
from them is very easy and quick, and I prefer it to having to give someone my
order. I can still talk to the people behind the counter, but without the
headache of ordering.

In a restaurant, you'd still need a wait staff, but instead of placing the
order, they can work to address your needs and better serve customers. While I
imagine places would cut down on wait staff, I also think the service would
improve.

------
karoramj23
As a restaurant owner, I know this is something that has been coming, we will
eventually all use tablets in someway shape or form. I don't believe that this
company is the one that has cracked tablet use in restaurants because they are
not helping me with my most pressing need - driving more customers into the
restaurant.

These are my thoughts:

1) Faster table turn times (and why they don't matter) - Yes, faster table
turn times will occur with the tablets on the table because people can pay
much more quickly when they are done with their meal. The big problem that
people forget about is 90% of the time restaurants are not interested in
faster table turn times. They need more people in the establishment. When was
the last time you went to Applebees and they were slammed with people and had
a huge wait? Odd's are that it doesn't occur that often.

2) People Dine out to be treated (waited on hand and foot) - Usually when you
have made a conscious decision to dine out, you are doing so for the
experience. When you decide to dine at your favorite restaurant, part of the
experience is being waited on hand and foot by someone else. If these tablets
start to replace people, it will certainly hurt the experience of being waited
on. You are now going out for food, and not the experience. When people are
looking strictly for food, we have seen that they tend to go to fast-casual
restaurants (Chipotle, Potbellys, Noodles & Co. Etc.).

3) Menu on tablet (Higher App sales + lower costs) - This to me is a large
long-term benefit for the restaurant. They can really create some powerful
images for their menu items, which is correlated with higher sales. Also, you
have eliminated the costs of printing menus every time you have a change.

Overall Impressions: This is a company that has created a product for an
interesting niche. I don't ever see fine dining establishments using this
because it detracts from the experience (#2). It does effect table turn time,
but the large majority of restaurants wish they had table turn time issues,
most are looking for customers (see initial success of groupon in
restaurants). The Applebee's of the world are fighting hard with the fast-
casual establishments and almost seem like they are in a race to the bottom.

I also don't see independent restaurant owners ever using a product like this
because it has 1) high implementation costs (time/effort/cash) and 2) has some
effect on sales but not because of the ordering platform, only because it has
allowed me to create essentially a moving slideshow for a menu that entices
customers while they are at the restaurant.

In my opinion, the person/business that successfully implements tablets in a
restaurant will do these two things very well. 1) Allows servers to use
tablets to take orders (lowers restaurants costs) - This will essentially
allow a restaurant owner to decrease the amount of people on staff, yet still
maintain high quality experience for guests, because a server that does not
have to walk back to the POS system can handle more tables.

2) Creates a tablet menu that entices guests to order more items - The appeal
of tablets on the table is the fact that people will be more enticed to order
apps/desserts because of the power of high-quality enticing pictures. This has
already been done by plenty of companies, but no one company has dominated.

~~~
wjg
Would you mind if I emailed you a few questions about some of the things
you've outlined? I'm working on something that could help with some of the
issues you mention (it's not a competitor w/ this product). Feel free to shoot
me a line at wjg9393@gmail.com.

~~~
karoramj23
sure shoot me a note at karora54@gmail.com

------
malandrew
Now they just need to offer bitcoin so that there are 100,000 places across
the country where you can eat using bitcoin. Would be a massive win for the
currency.

