Presto: Should a Tablet Take Your Guest’s Orders?

Sure, this may seem like a question posed on an episode of The Jetsons but with technological advances flooding our industry on a daily basis, it might not be so far off.

One such new industry cool tool has recently caught our eye: The Presto touch-screen tablet.

In short: the Presto touch-screen tablet allows diners to peruse menus, photos of dishes, order and pay by swiping a credit card (of which the bill can be split amongst guests and/or e-mailed to them to eliminate paper usage) … all without ever talking to a server.

Say what?!

Presto creator Rajat Suri didn’t create this hand-held tablet because he doesn’t like servers, but because he doesn’t like waiting and he wanted a method of streamlining the ordering and paying process.

And Presto! An idea was born.

While this gadget may not fit the bill for every restaurant, its objective is to offer guests a choice: Interact with a server, with Presto or with both. As technology becomes more and more advanced in our industry (i.e. there are currently about 125 Point of Sale restaurant mobile device apps available for download in Google’s Android store, and similar apps available for smartphones, iPads and iPhones), it’s worth investigating new digital design options to see what works best for your brand.  And who knows – this may work well for your bottom line or be an opportunity to show a way your investors how you will streamline overhead in your restaurant business plans.

To check out the Presto touch screen tablet and establish if it is a good fit for your restaurant and your guests, go to http://elacarte.com/tablet