Tableside touch-screen computer terminals for promotions, guest self-ordering and check settlement are catching on, as a growing number of operators seek to give guests more control over their dining experience while at the same time capturing useful operational and marketing data.
Most recently, 122-unit Chili’s franchisee ERJ Dining LLC said it was rolling out tableside touch-screen devices, joining such other operators as Umami Restaurant Group of Los Angeles and independents such as Calafia Café in Palo Alto, Calif., and The Post, a sports bar in St. Louis.
“Guests love to be able to pay their checks when they are ready and have entertainment on the table during their visit,” said Mike Bova, executive vice president of operations for Louisville, Ky.-based ERJ. “And beyond the improvement in guest satisfaction, we’ve been able to see the benefits of increased sales of promoted items while reducing costs associated with labor and operations.”
The new technologies make it possible for table-service restaurant guests to command more of the steps tied to ordering and payment, which can shorten their dining time, when desired, and reduce order errors and the possibility of credit card fraud. In some cases, patrons can play solo or group games or otherwise view entertainment content, such as movie trailers.
At the same time, these technologies can give restaurateurs the ability to use appealing photography to showcase menu items, tailor user interfaces to incorporate suggestive selling, deliver multimedia marketing messages, survey guests about their experience and recruit for loyalty programs. The ability to capture and analyze the data tied to multiple decisions made by guests using the at-table devices is another lure for some operators wanting to fine tune promotions and menu development.
ERJ and its vendor, TableTop Media, said the Chili’s operator has shaved an average of three minutes off of its table-turn times, seen unspecified higher per-person check averages and experienced a significant increase in its loyalty club enrollment.
By design, the devices used at ERJ’s Chili’s locations, called Ziosks, permit guests to self-order only a limited number of items, such as drinks and desserts. But some other restaurants are putting touch-screen ordering of their entire menus at guests’ fingertips, including The Post, which is using the eTab technology of eTab International Inc., and Umami Restaurant Group, which has deployed E la Carte’s Presto devices at the company’s full-service Umami Burger in La Brea, Calif.
The technologies of E la Carte, eTab and TableTop Media require integration with a restaurant’s point-of-sale system and incorporate payment-card readers. Under each of their business models, restaurateurs pay monthly service fees.
“Tables using eTab are ordering more,” said The Post co-owner Adrian Glass, noting that revenue rises about 10 percent with the use of the at-table technology, and that faster service and higher guest purchases of specials promoted on the devices are two of the reasons. “Most [guests] are shocked at how quickly their drinks get out to them.”
The Post, which generates annual sales of about $1.1 million from 130 seats, is eTab’s beta test site and has been using 25 of the tablet-computer-type devices on a full-time basis since January. As a test site, to this point, it has paid no usage fees.
During a long sporting event, eTab users might order “one, possibly two, additional rounds” of drinks or appetizers, Glass said. That’s because guests are able to place orders directly with the kitchen or bar, as opposed to being required to catch the attention of their server, who would then have to walk to a point-of-sale system terminal to enter that information, he said.
Glass noted that guests may choose to blend the service styles, ordering from both a waitress and the device during a meal.
“I tell [reluctant guests], ‘Don’t be so quick to shun it. If your waitress has four tables saving her time using eTab, she has more time to hang out at your table and pay attention to your party.’”
Glass said getting buy-in from some servers has been a challenge. He noted that reluctance was fueled by what has proven to be the unfounded fear that guests will tip less, as a percentage of their tab, if they self-order.
His operation’s use of wait staffers to explain the technology to guests can be undermined on busy nights, Glass said, as demands on servers’ time might cut short that introduction. He said the problem might be avoided at restaurants that use dedicated hosts or hostesses.
“It’s not really affecting our sales, but we like the fact it makes things happen quicker; that’s important in a small restaurant,” Umami chief executive Adam Fleischman said after a month of using Presto terminals.
About 50 percent of the guests at the La Brea Umami Burger are using the at-table ordering devices available at all 15 tables, Fleischman said.
“Guest reaction has been very good; people are comfortable with [the technology] and finding it intuitive to use.”
Fleischman said he has not yet altered staffing levels in response to the relatively high usage rate of the technology.
At least one analyst following publicly traded casual-dining restaurant companies — Keybanc Capital Markets Inc.’s Brad Ludington — is keeping an eye on at-table marketing and ordering devices. Ludington wrote last fall about the upside of the technology in notes about a test of Ziosks at a limited number of California Pizza Kitchen locations.
“We believe that the potential cost savings, positive impact on customer satisfaction, improved reads on new menu items and improved market-research capabilities could not only help CPK, but could be a trend seen across multiple casual-dining brands in the coming years,” he concluded.
What to consider
Six questions to ask before choosing a table-top system:
1 Does the technology integrate with existing point-of-sale software? If not, how much will integration cost?
2 Are payment functions compliant with the latest data security standards?
3 What is the device’s battery life? How long does it take to recharge the batteries, and what are the wiring and space requirements for the charging equipment?
4 In addition to a monthly usage fee, will there be costs for other services, such as data storage or report generation?
5 If the devices display third-party advertisements, will I receive a share of that revenue?
6 What happens if the system is defective, damaged or stolen?
Contact Alan J. Liddle at alan.liddle@penton.com.
