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Comment by ezran | Hacker News Reader

I agree. Intrusive LCD panels at the table, removal from human interaction, horrid restaurant-chosen hierarchies of categories to wade through, etc...

With menus, everybody gets one and can peruse as they see fit, rather than a little shared computer. With a waiter/waitress you can talk through special options or dealing with split bills and anything like that.

And don't get me started on social and tracking -- I can't think of anything that would more quickly destroy my interest in a restaurant than having to log in with twitter or facebook. (And believe me, if the restaurant posted/tweeted on my friend's behalf, they would lose my business.)

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The right tool for the job.

If I'm going on a date I want a chef. If I'm going to a cheap izakaya in tokyo with 4-12 friends for cheap drinks and snacks I'm perfectly happy with color LCD ordering touch screens which they've had here since 2005.

There's a time and place for both. Being able to sit and eat with a group of friends and not have a waiter interrupt your conversation can be a plus

>> "Being able to sit and eat with a group of friends and not have a waiter interrupt your conversation can be a plus"

but that's exactly my point. without useful methods of communication with waiters, they will likely interrupt, and/or you will be kept waiting.

i'm flabbergasted by the number of people who seem to interpret efficient communication as mutually exclusive from a high-end restaurant or good customer service.

they aren't at all mutually exclusive, and in fact they are exactly in pursuit of same goal.

Here's a more concrete example of how efficient communication would improve your dining experience. (Disclaimer: The startup I founded, Cloud Dine Systems, does this, so take this with a bit of salt since I'm a bit biased.)

You want a refill of your coffee during the breakfast rush. You can either try to flag down one of the wait staff or send a text to the restaurant with "#Table12 can you refill my coffee?" The wait staff gets the text and delivers you a coffee refill. Notice, you sent off the asynchronous message and then continue talking with your friends instead of pausing the conversation to flag down staff. It translates to better service and a better dining experience because the timing matches your needs. Similar examples follow for anything you would flag a waiter down for.

IMHO, one of the more pressing problems is efficient communication within the restaurant. Here's where the gains from better communication are the greatest. But that's a whole different conversation.

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