Ziosk

So, we ate at Red Robin tonight and the food was pretty good. There was also some schmuck who left his server 3 bucks on a table of 5. That was tough to watch. But none of that is the focus of this post.

Sitting on our table tonight was a computer screen (a Ziosk) with touch capabilities that had buttons like "request drink refill" and "order a milkshake" and even "pay the bill." We didn't use the thing; we actually talked to our server. However, when we were all finished he told us to pay the bill using the Ziosk. It felt wrong. Admittedly, it was pretty handy considering we had a squirmy 6 year old ready to leave.

I dunno. Anyone got any thoughts on the automated server? I'm not sure if I was serving that I'd want call buttons on my tables. In the hands of an idiot, that thing could ruin your night!

I think Chili's has the same system? All I remember about it was I was trying to set up a game for my nephew to play and it wanted me to pay money, and then I almost added $20 as a charity donation to my mother's check. I was sort of scared to touch it after that.

Sitting on our table tonight was a computer screen (a Ziosk) with touch capabilities that had buttons like "request drink refill" and "order a milkshake" and even "pay the bill."

Actually sounds like a pretty nifty device.

I hate these things. We had a similar experience at Red Robin. Our server came over and asked if we had a chance to see the device. We said yes, but we much preferred human interaction and would like actual service during our time in the restaurant. We then tucked the infernal device on the far corner of our table and never looked at it again.

The more I pondered it, the more I realized that the message sent by employing a machine like this is, "our service is so slow and so inefficient that you are much better off just using an impersonal machine than waiting for someone to actually care about your dining experience. The chance of our staff getting you a timely drink refill is so minimal that you are better off ordering it yourself, also we'll not be coming by with our check any time soon, so just go ahead and pay at your leisure so we don't have to pay you any real attention." Any restaurant that uses these has made a conscious decision to either give up on giving prompt and pleasant customer service or has resigned itself to the notion that the quality of customer service isn't a top priority. If a cold, impersonal computer can give better service than your human staff, that is making a clear statement about how you view your role as a restaurant and the level of respect you have for your guests.

That said, we have never had poor service at a Red Robin, so their decision to use these things is baffling.

That certainly is the same system that Chili's uses. As a matter of fact they are already on the 2nd generation of them in most of their stores. The only advantage to them that I can see as far as customers go is that your CC never leaves their hands when you pay the bill so there is no chance of fraud.

I hate these things...

We were at LaGuardia or JFK a couple of years ago and they used similar devices at every food and beverage place in the terminal. We took a seat at an otherwise unoccupied bar. The bartender was less than 2 feet from my face. The conversation went something like:

Me: "I'll have a ____ beer."
Her: "You'll have to use the [iPad-thingie] device."
Me: "But you're standing right here and there are no other customers."
Her: <shrugs>

Ridiculous. It does save on tips, though. Zero service merits zero tip.

We actually ate at Red Robin this afternoon, and the server was great, but we did order our apps through the device as well as pay our bill. I can see it being a problem that would encourage bad service, but none of that was an issue today.

We were at Red Robin about a month ago and found that device on our table. I found it a distraction. My boys were playing around with it, and we really try not to have phones, etc. on the table at meal times, both at home and especially in restaurants. We placed our order with the waiter because I insisted. We have food preferences and I felt more comfortable relaying them to an actual person. He was a great and attentive waiter. When we went to pay though we were told we had to use the device, or he (the waiter) would get in trouble. Seriously! I always tip well and appreciate good service, and find this technology very annoying.

It would be a damned shame if that Ziosk were to fall to the floor while I was trying to swipe my card to pay for that meal.

A damned shame.

I predict self-service at restaurants will become commonplace in the next few years, and we'll all get used to it, and even wonder how we got along without it.

[Robin Garr]

I predict self-service at restaurants will become commonplace in the next few years, and we'll all get used to it, and even wonder how we got along without it.

Sort of like self-service checkout at grocery stores? Or, looking further back, self-service gasoline stations? More convenient, perhaps ... but also reduces human interaction and takes jobs out of the local economy.

And negates 50% of the experience of going to a restaurant in the first place. Just use a vending machine.

I hate these things.

[Robin Garr]

And negates 50% of the experience of going to a restaurant in the first place. Just use a vending machine.

I hate these things.

How do you feel about grocery self-checkout?

I like it because it's frankly faster. But I do wonder why the union held still for it.

Apples and oranges, Robin, and you know it.

My first job was bagging groceries and porting them out to customers' cars at a small locally owned grocery store, so I am familiar with the "good old days" as well as the modern supermarket, but at the end of the day, buying groceries is a service-minimal experience anyway. It would be different if grocery stores originally had a concierge for each customer who guided them through the store, helped them price compare and shop for the best products, then took them to a check out where they rang up each item, placed them in a bag and then ported the bags to the car and then that was replaced with a self check-out. But that's not how it was (at least I don't think so, maybe it was back in the 1950's). Grocery stores have always been mostly do-it-yourself. Self-check-out was the next logical step in that system.

Restaurants not so much. Service is a key part of the experience. Great service can turn a so-so meal into a something much more memorable and enjoyable. Terrible service can make a great meal less spectacular. It's part of the experience. But I do not go to a restaurant for a DIY experience and if I do, I expect it to be fast casual or fast food and I expect the price to be under $10. I'm not paying $18 for a Red Robin burger that I have to order myself. What next? Pick it up at the window? I have WW Cousins for that, thanks (and the burgers are better and the condiment bar is all you can eat).

[Robin Garr]

Apples and oranges, Robin, and you know it.

Well ... maybe I'm hossin around a little, Ronnie, but I'm really not trolling. I see some parallels. Particularly ...

I'm not paying $18 for a Red Robin burger that I have to order myself. What next? Pick it up at the window? I have WW Cousins for that, thanks (and the burgers are better and the condiment bar is all you can eat).

Red Robin is a corporate chain. I don't know that service is that much superior to, say, checkout at Whole Foods, or perhaps a Kroger in an upscale neighborhood.

I'd be weirded out if I saw a Ziosk at Wagner's ... or a hot spot in NuLu. Or J. Gumbo's! But I'm having a hard time seeing much of an argument against it at a corporate chain. Not that I'd normally be eating there anyway.