[patio11]

I was debating doing this over AR. The value prop to the restaurant is incredible: no $2k upfront investment, no ongoing theft or breakage of expensive pager devices, demonstrable revenue boost, and if you're clever you can get people to sign up for SMS marketing.

[ben1040]

It also makes me wonder why OpenTable hasn't tried this already as an upsell to their existing restaurant clients, since I'm sure they still deal with walk-ins and are looking for something classier than a vibrating/talking drink coaster. The advantage to the restaurant there is that then it'd be already integrated into their table inventory tool.

OpenTable has the advantage too of already having lots of their customers' phone numbers on file, which opens the door to some interesting matching/analytics opportunities.

Restaurant A might want to know, for example, that many of the same customers who walk in to their restaurant make reservations at B & C instead -- perhaps A might want to make changes so that people plan ahead to eat there rather than just walk in.

[route3]

Demonstrable revenue boost? I'm not convinced, although I'm not a restaurateur. My argument: those annoying pagers/buzzers keep the party tethered to the establishment, which means that the guests are likely to

a) Sit at the bar and order a drink b) Sit in the waiting area and read posters/chalkboards about upcoming events, happy hour specials, gift certificates/loyalty programs, etc.

Either way, the restaurant comes out ahead (especially at the bar, where alcoholic beverage margins make every restaurant owner smile). I wouldn't be surprised if a restaurant saw a decrease in drinks purchased if customers were allowed to freely wander beyond the range of those pager devices.