http://vimeo.com/52516698
Consumer focused technology is starting to find interesting applications in restaurants and bars. iPad's are now used as POS systems in trendy coffee shops, Yelp! is the new word-of-mouth, and in-store charging stations for smartphones are becoming an increasingly common sight. Software, too, has been advancing, with mobile applications (such as Square Payments, OpenTable, etc) that aim to help restaurants interact with customers in new ways. Enter NoWait, a suite of guest list and reservation management software that runs on smartphones and tablets. NoWait has two parts: a business facing app, and one aimed at consumers. Each handles a different side of the service.
NoWait is a reservation and guest list management app that aims to help restaurants seat more customers by streamlining the wait list process with technology. The first, and main part of the application, is that which is used by restaurants. The app (available only for iOS devices such as iPads and iPhones), serves as a full featured management system that organizes your wait list on busy nights, and can accept online reservations from guests (more on that in a moment). The app is probably best utilized by equipping your host stand with an iPad (we would imagine handling the organization on a smaller screened iPhone would become a burden), and can sync information across multiple devices. This means that when a table is prepped and ready for a guest, a server can use her/his smartphone to alert both the host(ess) and guest at the same time. NoWait also features analytics that track average wait times, number of parties seated, among other metrics. Guests can download the consumer version of NoWait, which, curiously, is available for both iOS and Android devices, unlike the restaurant facing side of the application. NoWait allows diners to search for restaurants nearby and sort them by estimated wait time, and make a reservation a-la OpenTable. (We've given the app a brief whirl, and while there are not a lot of participating restaurants in our area, it does look promising from the consumer side). If a guest does not have the NoWait app, restaurants can still add them to the guest list, and notify them via text message. This is NoWait's biggest selling point; that guests are free to shop, go for a walk, or even another bar, rather than having to sit in a waiting area. In the higher payment tiers, restaurants can even receive text responses from guests ("I'll be right there!" or "I'd like to cancel"). The NoWait application is for restaurants to download and use, but in order to unlock all the features the software has to offer, you'll need to sign your business up for a monthly subscription. There are different tiers, based largely on the number of "guest parties" you handle per month. For small bistros and pubs, the free version's 200 party/mo limit is an attractive offering. Even for larger restaurants, it's a great way to try out the app, especially given that it only requires an iOS devices, which many people already have. The top tier is called "Premium" and gives you 2500 parties/mo, plus all of the features NoWait has to offer. What do you think of NoWait? Does OpenTable have the online reservation business well covered, or is this newcomer set to overtake the reigning champ? Let us know what you think via Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. Source: NoWait