9A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

9A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Interview 1: A fast food restaurant manager

In this interview, I questioned a local fast food restaurant manager on my idea of implementing technology in his store to offer faster service. He said that although it could speed things up, his kitchen may get backed up because of the amount of volume they do. He said that in the fast food industry, volume is everything and too many people ordering at the same time could actually have a reverse effect because customers would be waiting excessive amounts of time for their food.

Interview 2: A local fine dining restaurant manager

In this interview, I questioned a local fine dining restaurant manager on his thoughts of implementing technology in his store to offer faster and more efficient service. He said that this would help in a casual setting, but his restaurant attracts a higher end clientele who come for the experience rather than to dine quickly and leave. He said that his customers prefer to take their time.

Interview 3: A server at a country club restaurant

In this interview, I questioned a server on her thoughts of implementing technology at the country club restaurant. She said that she believed it would not work out so well because the people who live in the community are a bit older. She believed they may have a tough time navigating through a tablet / computer to place their food and drink orders.

Interview 4: A carry out restaurant owner by the beach

In this interview, I questioned a local restaurant owner of a mini pizzeria by the beach on his ideas of implementing technology into his store to speed up the process of customers ordering food. He said that most of his orders are placed over the phone, so the best he could do is offer online ordering.

Interview 5: A manager of a local buffet restaurant

In this interview, I questioned the manager of a local buffet. I was very curious to see if he could think of any way in which technology could improve customer satisfaction. He said that he believed it would definitely benefit a busy sit-down restaurant but explained that with buffets it wouldn’t make much sense. Considering that this buffet is self-serve, customers can already eat and drink at their own pace.

To summarize, I located five different examples in the food industry in which my opportunity wouldn't be considered a need. I learned through these interviews that there are definitely boundaries to my opportunity and that although some business in the food industry could benefit from it, others may not.

Inside the boundary	Who is in it? Casual restaurants	What the need is? A need for quicker service	Why the need exists? Customers expect immediate service and servers are often too busy to attend to customers immediately
Outside the boundary	Who is not? Fast food restaurants, Fine dining restaurants	What the need is not? Fast food = too much volume for customers to be in control of ordering; would have reverse effect  Fine dining = Customers not worried about waiting time	Alternative explanations? Some people in different settings are not interested in immediate service and technology in a fast food setting could raise kitchen problems