Pocket science

The personal digital assistant that stores phone numbers and appointments is being used as a new version of the waiter's pad in restaurants. Andrew Davies reports.

Restaurateurs are always looking for more efficient and accurate ways of getting the order from the customer to the chef and back again. However, this fundamental part of any front of house operation has been surprisingly static in its use of technology over the past several years.

While many restaurants, chains in particular, have embraced the use of quite sophisticated electronic point of sale (EPoS) systems, often the waiter still needs to write down the customer's order on a pad and physically take it across the room to the nearest terminal to key it in.

The really up-to-the-minute operators have used hand-held wireless terminals carried by each waiter to take the order. Essentially a portable EPoS network, the cost and potential glitches of having a tailor-made system has kept most restaurants away.

But that could be changing soon. In the past, hand-held systems had been purpose-built for each outlet, but now off-the-shelf hardware is starting to make an impact. In particular, the booming popularity of PDAs (personal digital assistants), or pocket PCs, has given rise to standard equipment that can be utilised by the hospitality industry straight out of the box.

Wagamama is one chain looking at the potential benefits of this standard equipment. It has just begun to introduce a wireless hand-held ordering system that uses off-the-shelf pocket PCs - in particular the Compaq iPAQ - with a Microsoft operating system similar to Windows.

David Hunter, director of operations for Geac Restaurant Systems in the UK, has been advising Wagamama on its technology for several years. "Someone like Wagamama has been using wireless hand-held systems for years. It's on its third generation, but they've all been [custom-built] systems," he explains.

"So we looked at what technology was out there, and PDAs have been around for a long time. These PDAs are now becoming pocket PCs. Microsoft have developed an operating system for them and it's their first real attempt to go for this market in a big way."

And where Microsoft goes the rest of the industry is sure to follow. Its operating system is likely to become the benchmark standard used by most hardware manufacturers.

For the hospitality industry this means that all hand-held ordering systems will now start using hardware and software that is standard rather than custom-made. This offers more flexibility and reliability and should lead to significantly more restaurants and hotels using them.

The other new development is a standardisation in the wireless equipment used to transmit the order to the kitchen.

"Wireless networks have converged on a common standard, as well," Hunter explains. "Before, everybody had proprietary wireless networks, but the manufacturers have got together to agree a standard they all use now."

This standard goes by the snappy name of 80211.b, but the significance of it is that, as with pocket PCs, restaurants will not have to purchase any custom-made hardware.

"So, in the case of Wagamama, we had a choice to either go with the old proprietary system or use these new pocket PCs with colour touch screen and standard wireless network," Hunter says. "It wasn't a difficult decision." Somewhat surprisingly, Hunter says there is little cost differential between the two systems.

"The cost of a proprietary system is more or less the same," Hunter continues. "But this new standard hardware means that it's more reliable and you can put any new software on there you want."

In other words, a custom-built system is limited to the functions it was originally designed for, but the software on these new standard platforms can be changed at will.

For example, magnetic-strip credit cards are slowly being replaced by smartcards, which can be handled by any of these pocket PCs with a simple change of software.

"With a proprietary system you can't do that; you'd have to theoretically rebuild the whole thing," Hunter says.

Wagamama introduced the new hand-held system at its Leicester Square branch in London when it opened in September 2001. It has been a success, and the company is now switching existing restaurants to the new system.

Moving the system forward is Hunter's next goal, and at the latest Wagamama, in City Point, London, which opened on 25 March, he is experimenting with credit-card readers that connect to the iPAQ. This introduces more security for the customer. If the credit card is swiped at the table, it never leaves the customer's sight, which reduces the possibility that the card will be copied and used fraudulently. The waiters have small printers attached to their belts that will print the bill and a customer receipt.

There are, of course, disadvantages to using any hand-held system. Most significantly, for a restaurant the size of the average Wagamama, a full package of hand-helds, PCs, wireless equipment, staff training and support will cost about £30,000.

Restaurateurs will have other concerns, too: will customers think the new devices are impersonal?

"I think people have moved on," Hunter says. "A few years ago nobody used cash points or mobile phones. If the customer knows that it improves the efficiency of getting their order out of the kitchen quickly and accurately, they're not going to object."

There is an issue of trusting staff with £600-worth of portable equipment. Unlike purpose-built equipment, these hand-helds are much more desirable to thieves, as anybody can take them away, change the software and use them as a normal PDA.

"In eight months at Wagamama, no hand-helds have gone missing and only one has been broken," Hunter says. "And all that needed was a new touch screen. Staff are pretty responsible with them."

But what happens if it all goes wrong?

"I would never say technology will always work 100% of the time," Hunter says. "Wagamama, which is an entirely wireless operation, will periodically switch the system off for the day and go manual, just so the staff know what to do. It's all about preparation and training, really."

Hand-held Q&A

What is a hand-held terminal?
Put simply, it's an electronic device that the waiter holds in their hand and inputs the customer's order. The order is then transmitted via a radio link to the kitchen, where it will be printed out or shown on a screen for the chef to see.

New generations of hand-helds can also swipe credit cards and print receipts at the customer's table.

What are the advantages?

• Efficiency. The order can go straight from the waiter to the chef in an instant, as can any changes.
• The waiter will not need to waste time going back and forth between the table, a static terminal and the kitchen.
• Increased security. If the credit card payments can be taken at the table, the card will not leave the customer's sight, making "skimming" or card-copying very difficult.

What are the disadvantages?

• There's always a danger with any technology that it will go wrong. No matter how much money you've spent, you will need contingency plans that can kick in if the whole thing crashes.
• You'll need to train staff how to use them effectively.
• A system like this will cost a lot more than a few pads and pens.

What will it cost? For an average 100-seat restaurant a full package of hand-helds, transmitters, kitchen terminals, support and training will cost about £20,000.

How long will they last? There are examples of less sophisticated hand-held terminals still in use after 15 years.

What should I be looking for when I buy?
Make sure the package you're buying includes good support should it all break or crash. It's also advisable to try to include training for your staff in the price.

Get some referrals from any installer - who else have they worked with? Go to see the kit in the environment of a proper working restaurant. Ask the owner what they think of it. Don't just let the salesman pick somewhere, or take their word for it when they do a demo in your office.