Johnson & Wales University
corporate wine consultant for
Celebrity Cruises. “Guests love
it and show it off on You Tube
videos they’ve taken. It adds
entertainment value to the
dining experience.”
“You still need wait staff for
customer relationships and to
deliver food, but it is changing,”
Hovich says. “Wait staff can use
our mobile communicators and
an app that lets them see what
orders have been placed, and
monitor what’s going on. This
technology allows the restaurant
to cut back on staff a little.”
generating
buzz
In addition to social media
staples such as Facebook, Twitter
and You Tube, Sage Restaurant
Group began using Flip. To in all
its restaurants in January.
Casual restaurants and stores
are also using Aptito.com’s
self-ordering kiosks, which are
stand-alone iPad stations. People
can walk in, place an order, pay
with a credit card and pick up
the order.
“Flip. To is an experience that
happens at the table,” says Ehrler.
“It allows us to tap into our single
best source for spreading the
word about our restaurants—
our guests. Flip. To is a platform
that integrates with social media
and turns guests into engaged
brand advocates.”
Celebrity Cruises’ upscale
restaurant concept Qsine,
which is currently on five cruise
ships, offers guests an iPad
featuring the menu and wine
list. “There’s an icon for each
menu item, which guests can
click on for information, videos
and interviews with the chef,”
says Brian Connors, instructor
at Johnson & Wales University
in North Miami, Fla., and
At the table, guests are presented
with a small card containing a
web address and QR code. The
guest then goes online to receive
a token for items such as a
complimentary drink or dessert.
To redeem the token, the user is
asked to share the token earnings
on Facebook or Twitter.
top: Johnson & Wales
University students
Sirid Biemath, left, Emma
Kataitzakis, center, and
Sarah Wick
TabbedOut, an app guests can
download to pay and close
out their tabs, is another hot
new technology being used
by restaurants such as Table
301’s Nose Dive gastropub in
