7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Restaurants are unable to meet the immediate demands of customers wishing to sit, eat, and leave in a timely manner. 

I believe that everyone who goes out to eat wishes for immediate service, and a restaurant that utilizes technology to meet the demands of their customers will make everyone happier, even those who do not care as much about quick service but want to order whenever they wish. 

Interview 1: In this case, I interviewed a local restaurant owner. In the interview, I asked who might be able to benefit from utilizing technology in a dining experience, and he stated that customers who are in a rush would be able to benefit. However, throughout this interview, the restaurant owner brought up several key points that could hinder this opportunity, such as the human element being taken away. He believes that interaction amongst restaurant employees and customers is a big deal when it comes to a customer feeling at home and taking that away could potentially hurt the business more than it could help. 

Interview 2: In this case, I interviewed my aunt who owns a restaurant in NYC. She said that implementing technology could be a great idea, but also could bring forward some problems on the operations side. She elaborated on this by stating that things are timed in the restaurant business, and if everyone who came in ordered at the same time, the kitchen may get backed up and it could have a counterproductive effect. However, she noted that with the younger crowd dining out more, and them being more involved in technology, it could be a great way to attract them to come in. 

Interview 3: In this case, I interviewed my brother who goes out to eat a lot. I asked him his thoughts, as he would be a prototypical customer of this opportunity. He noted that it would be extremely beneficial, as he would be able to receive immediate service and get in and out as quickly as possible. He believes that with more millennials dining out, restaurants would attract more guests by utilizing technology. 

Interview 4: In this case, I interviewed my girlfriends’ father, who is a 56-year-old man and often goes out to eat. I asked him his thoughts on restaurants implementing technology, and he noted it may be difficult for older people to navigate through a tablet/device. He stated that it would cater more to the younger crowd. However, he also stated that his last dining experience was awful, and technology would have definitely enhanced the service he received. 

Interview 5: In this case, I interviewed a server of a local restaurant that I often attend. Although I could not keep her too long, I did get valuable information from this interview. I asked for her thoughts on implementing technology in restaurants, and she had an interesting view on it. She noted that it would be beneficial to implement both technology and human interaction in a dining out experience. That is, if she is super busy and cannot make it to the table immediately, it would benefit all parties involved if a customer could order through the tablet and get their drinks and food delivered to them promptly. However, the human interaction side of dining out would not be completely stripped from a customer. 

To summarize, I found a lot of valuable information through all of the interviews that I conducted. Throughout these interviews, I attempted to gather the viewpoints of several different parties. I received customer input, owner’s input, and management input. I found that although the opportunity does exist and could have its benefits, there are also obstacles that stand in the way of it. Fully utilizing technology in restaurants could take away from customers feeling like they are at home, and I came to the conclusion that implementing both technology and human interaction may have the best effect on everyone.