A new trend has been emerging, especially in more popular chain restaurants, biggest culprit of which is currently The Cheesecake Factory - long, long, lines before you even get to order your food. Sure they have little flashy beepers to notify you when it's your turn and they have large space for waiting (there's always the outside too)... but it makes one stop and think whether the hassle involved in a simple meal is worth it. Obviously for a lot of people - it is, otherwise the phenomenon at hand wouldn't be there.
This is where Takeout Online can certainly assist in the effort. Restaurants would benefit by being able to perform their duties much more efficiently and consumers would find the efficiency and convenience gratifying and certainly adding to the enjoyment of the experience... after all isn't that what it's all about?
Customers will be able to place their orders in the convenience and comfort of their home, office, library - wherever, without the limitations of time, space and noise, which they always endure onsite. They will be able to see the entire menu and take as long as they wish to make their decision, without anyone asking 'Do you need a few more minutes? I can come back...'. Then, if the restaurant does due diligence - when the customers finally arrive at the indicated time - they can immediately proceed to sit down and either avoid the wait for food entirely or only wait a short period of time. There's no need to get the waiter to come and take the order (thus saving time and eliminating any errors the waiter may make) and shouldn't be any need to wait in line.
The restaurant would get the orders ahead of customers' arrival, thus be able to manage their processes more carefully and efficiently. Try to prepare the food ahead of time, so by the time the customers arrive - the food will be ready to serve them. Since there won't be a need to have waiters take orders - that'll certainly save significant amount of waiters' time, since it's a repetitive process and can take quite a while, especially for large groups. Having the order info ahead of time would also aid in managing tables and schedule of arrivals better. And of course if someone can be seated upon arrival, with food prepared and ready to serve - that would also be a significant time saver in terms of time customers stay at a restaurant, thus enabling more customers in the same day... all clearly translating to a better bottom line... which from a restaurant's point of view - isn't what it's all about?
