2nd Floor

This is a follow-up to yesterday’s post.

I wanted to learn more about Chipotle’s online ordering system, so I did a little research and found an article from May 13, 2009 on Nation’s Restaurant News titled “Chipotle turns curses of online ordering into blessings”. Check it out if you have time.

This got me to thinking — why, in 2009, does this seem like such a difficult task for restaurants? The web has been mainstream for quite some time now and the technology is available, but many restaurants don’t seem to be utilizing those capabilities to benefit their business. It’s all the same — about us, our menu, location. Thanks for the info, but users expect more! We want to USE your site!

And that’s just the online ordering side of things. Let’s consider reservations.

By using a web application like OpenTable, you can streamline the entire process so that your online reservations go right into the terminal you’re using at the restaurant. If your Point-Of-Sale system doesn’t allow that, no big deal, just develop a custom app that works for you and your customers. I should also mention that OpenTable also has iPhone, Palm (webOS) and Blackberry mobile apps, as well. Yeah, OpenTable is nice, but there’s a catch. The restaurant needs to use it in order for me to use it too!

Today we’re all running the same rat race. There never seems to be enough time in the day to do everything that we need to do and we don’t always have “time” to pick up the phone and make a call. Or we think about it and put it off until later.

By making your services more convenient for your customers, you open the doors for repeat customers and new ones, as well. Who wouldn’t want that?