News

Red Lobster experiments with '`guest-navigation' system

June 19, 2003

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Restaurants have been going high tech for some time. Few waitpersons write anything down anymore. They just go tap your order onto a touchscreen computer and it pops up in the kitchen. Now Red Lobster is bringing technology into the waiting area, according to an article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

A new Red Lobster in Hollywood will be one of only two in the nation to test market the seafood chain's new "Guest Navigation System."

From the first day the eatery opened in May, its computer began logging how long parties of various sizes had to wait at different times on different days of the week. When patrons walk in, they tell a host equipped with a handheld computer their seating preferences.

The information is entered into the system, which calculates an estimated wait time based on how long similar parties were kept waiting under similar circumstances. It also manages the server rotation and table distribution so that one server doesn't get too many tables or a party of two doesn't get seated at a table for six, the article said.

A 42-inch plasma TV screen will update guests on how many other parties of the same size are ahead of them, and will also keep them occupied watching trivia and promotions for featured menu items.