E la Carte

            As consumers, we constantly crave new and unique experiences. We all know that eating out at a restaurant can be quite mundane – we sit, we wait, we order, we wait some more, we eat, and once again we wait until we get the cheque. Thank God that there are pioneers, such as Rajat Suri, who are looking for new ways to deliver these experiences we fancy and go beyond the typical restaurant experience we are accustomed to.

            Some may call it the new casual dining experience, while I simply call it e-genius. My boyfriend (no not Pinterest, my real boyfriend) sent me a link for E la Carte. Granted I had heard of this new technology being implemented at iBurger in Montreal; however, I had yet to witness this forward way of dining myself. E la Carte has came up with the idea of leveraging the power of technology to make the hospitality industry more fun for consumers and more profitable for operators. Their current product is the Presto, an iPad-like tablet with a built-in credit card reader and adjustable stand.

            How it works: the iPad-like prototype offers you a virtual menu that lets you sift through the restaurant’s food/drink selection using a touch-screen interface, with photos of each item. There is also a games section and a tab for paying. Your menu options can be customized as you can type in personal instructions.

            The 3 perks that have made the Presto a hot commodity in restaurants today are:

1– Boost in check size (more tip, up-selling through appetizing photos)

2- Improve customer retention (easy-to-use technology, customer surveys)

3- Improve service (quick payment, retains customer order history, games).

            You’re probably asking yourself if waiters are out of jobs? Suri has made it clear that the Presto is supplementary to the dining experience. Not to mention, waiters prefer using the technology since they tend to receive up to 20% in tip! For those of you who prefer to whole “song-and-dance” of a white-cloth sit down dinner, then you should probably steer clear of E la Carte … but with technology upgrading before we can even blink twice it was simply inevitable that this day would come. And I welcome it with open arms, the tech-savvy geek that I am. Review of iBurger to come.