This restaurant analyzed tapes from 2004 and 2014 to see why they were receiving complaints of slow service. The customers were correct. Average dining time per table increased from 1:05 to 1:55 in the last decade. Guess what is to blame…Cell phones. Article here
yeah I read that,it seems this happens more at fine dining establishments. we avent been affected much imo.
Should be curious to see what the future holds. I don’t see device usage at the table getting any better unfortunately.
Also, how does an anonymous post on craigslist rants and raves end up being a reputable study? Pretty funny
My preferred job is waiting tables in my restaurant. I like customer interaction, ability to upsell, and seeing that the food is properly prepared and served. One problem I do not care for and have seen increasing is iPhone use, last night i went to a table to take their order, a family of 5 all on their iPhones not enjoying each others company or LOOKING AT THE MENU! hmmmm no success troubleshooting this one! Working on a second location and different concept,order at the counter when first coming in might solve the" iPhone ignoring the menu delay", most think tankers seem to be going more towards table service though. Would hate to give up my favorite job and tips,dealing with hungry crowds at a counter impatient to sit down might not be the most pleasant job either,eager to hear from everybody who is concerned or has experience with this
One thing that might help is putting in those ipad table ordering pos’. This would give the customer their tech fix and let them order without complaint. Most have alot of interactive aspects like games and surveys, however, it could increase length of stay still and may decrease tips since customers might think servers are doing less. It’s a double bladed sword.
I guess that didn’t help at all. 
Although it does keep the Server from having to waste time on table thats not ready, all they do is to bring up food when it is finished.
After 3 years operating as a counter service restaurant, I was persuaded to do table service, I agreed to try it for 6 months last year, it was a nightmare that stressed me out so bad watching screw up after screw up that I became a screaming raving lunatic!
I am now happily back to only doing counter service! We have multiple unsecured wireless access points in our tiny little place, I don’t care if they use laptops, iPads, phones, etc. Because they have already ordered and paid. and I do not have servers screwing up orders, taking orders to the wrong tables, and all the other idiotic instances I experienced with servers. We have 2 cashiers, and a disher/busser and we have also seen our sales increase from 50%-170% compared to table service. And a labor cost that is typically under 10% on a daily basis again.
how many seats ? Do you have runners to bring food to the tables ? Or call out names or numbers ? self service soda , how about water ? Watching an incompetent waitress is torture ! i agree especially when they fix their mistakes by giving free drinks,salads,pizzas etc and then rake in the big tips! If ya can’t beat em join em ! Now i give away the house and get the big tips ! Do you get backed up at the counter? Last night we got totally slaughtered, dishwasher quit no notice, one cook short, saturday in july lake tahoe, i was cooking,told everybody no pasta dinners, wheel was wrapped (no pos) and then a stack of 20 tickets and a big waiting list for tables,closed at 7 pm still cleared 5,000 whew, in may 500 nights,how do your sales increase with counter service ? i’d love to talk with you on this, leave your number and a best time for me to call…or email me ,inlaketahoe@yahoo.com
Inside, we have 6 tables, seating for 32, then we have a deck, that seats another dozen or so, then the lakefront with picnic tables for seating another 24 or so.
No runners, the customer picks up their own food, they pay when ordering, we have an open kitchen, so we are watched and converse with our customers while preparing their orders, above my toppings cooler (an expensive GEMM tabletop unit from Italy, it was here when I bought the place) we have a stainless rack that we put food up for pick up, and call out their ticket numbers which are on their receipts.
We have never had someone grab the wrong order, because we verify numbers when they walk up, I thought I’d need an expediter when I did the switch, but so far it is not needed. If our pizza end continues to grow the way it is, I will need someone expediting.
I have the 2 cashiers taking orders and filling fountain & bottled drinks, bussers doing refills on the fountain drinks/tea, our premium bottled beverages and beer are counter service only.
We have 2 POS terminals inches apart from each other, one is primarily for phone orders, and to take the overflow during rush periods> I had to go with a POS due to wrong amounts being charged, and never in my favor either. (Point of Success Premium, check them out, you’ll wonder how you ever did it without a POS system) I had well over $350.00 walking out the door daily before I implemented the POS systems! Get a win-7 pro refurb from wally world, snag an HP 21" touch screen monitor, a pair of Star Micronics TSP100 2-color thermal printers, an APG cash drawer (or two) and you could get a spectacular POS system for less than $1,500.00 including the premium software (I’ll give you a hardware list and where to purchase for best deals)
I do not have my tickets print on the line in the kitchen, they print at the registers so the cashier can verify nothing is missing or any errors on the ticket. They then send the ticket down a zipline to the kitchen. (customers ask to send it down the zipline themselves because I guess it is fun)
The Earliest I can chat is going to be Monday or Tuesday, we are in our tourist season, and getting slaughtered all day right now, Oddly enough we have a small lull right now, the calm before the storm.
We are primarily a BBQ joint, that also does pizza.
I need to get delivery online here, but the labor force in this area is less than desirable. The ones who want to work are unemployable. Heck, my 2 latest hires have never been here at their scheduled start time, but if you say something, they leave and work for any one of the 70 other restaurant that are all crying for help. My dishwashers nickname is “Maybe” because when someone asks if James is coming in, you hear 5 people reply “Maybe”
My main line cook is named “6” because he was the 6th pizza guy that I hired last year, yet the first one to ever show up for work his first scheduled day. Then we got a cashier known as “El Gato” (Grumpy Cat)