Buffalo Wild Wings - Tablets at every table (1 Viewer)

[matttyl]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs. There are over 1,000 "B-dubs" in the US alone.

http://www.fastcasual.com/article/228891/Buffalo-Wild-Wings-launching-tableside-ordering?rc_id=246

Guests at Buffalo Wild Wings will be able to order food, request songs and television programming, play games and pay their bills without leaving their table, thanks to the chain's partnership with NTN Buzztime. Buffalo Wild Wings will deploy the company's tablet-based entertainment platform to all of its North American restaurant locations by the end of 2015, according to a company press release.

 

[Parrothead]

interesting- will you still need to tip?

 

[McGarnicle]

When I used to go there, the hot waitresses were as much of a draw as the TV's and beer. This is stupid.

 

[Plorfu]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs.

Most servers/waiters get far less than minimum wage and almost none of them get health insurance.

 

[matttyl]

When I used to go there, the hot waitresses were as much of a draw as the TV's and beer. This is stupid.

I guess they want to be a family version of Hooters. I wonder though, honestly, what % of their operating budget is made up of the wait staff? A quarter? A third?

 

[matttyl]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs.

Most servers/waiters get far less than minimum wage and almost none of them get health insurance.

Depending on minimum wage laws, they might not be able to pay them less than minimum wage, and if they work 30+ hours per week the law not mandates that they be offered health coverage.

Even saying $5 per hour, and only 25 hours a week (under health insurance requirement), that's still $6,500 a year per single employee they can replace with a $100 tablet.

 

[matttyl]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs.

Most servers/waiters get far less than minimum wage and almost none of them get health insurance.

In my area its about two something an hour.

Best source I found with a 30 second google search saying national average of $4.10.

http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/Buffalo-Wild-Wings-Hourly-Pay-E8370.htm

 

[Dentist]

When I used to go there, the hot waitresses were as much of a draw as the TV's and beer. This is stupid.

Unless you're single and there's a chance you could bang one of those waitresses (which is a rare feat anyway) why does it matter?

Frankly the ones I would goto infrequently because i really don't like the place, didn't hire for hotness anyway.

 

[Parrothead]

I like the idea- less chance of order screw ups.. plus I can order beers whenever I want and not have to flag the server down..

 

[Bogeys]

I go to play trivia and drink beer the few times I actually go to BWW so this wouldn't bother me in the least.

If I want to drink beer and ogle the hot young women I have no shot with I go to Twin Peaks.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Yes, this is clearly all about minimum wage laws and Obamacare and not at all about really obvious synergies between being able to order the same way in person as you would for carry-out and having internet access at every table.

Thanks Obama!

 

[Dippa]

Well, they'd still have to employ what would basically be food runners and busboys in any case. Just thinking about it, I could see a restaurant charging an automatic gratuity, and then paying a smaller number of employees a straight wage rather than tips. The gratuity would basically be a fee that, rather than going straight to employees, it would help pay for the cost of the tablets and the increased wages of fewer employees.

 

[bryhamm]

Interesting idea. Can't really think of many big cons to this, but the pros are pretty big if it works out.

 

[RUSF18]

They're obviously still going to be employing plenty of staff...cooks and bartenders will be the same, there will just be more food runners instead of waiters/waitresses.

Maybe this has more to do with efficiency than saving on health care costs? Instead of a waitress going up to a table and waiting for everyone to order (and the inevitable having to come back to one person), taking those orders and then walking over to the computer to key them in to be received by the cooks, they're having the customers doing the entry themselves.

Basically, waiters/waitresses are Tom from "Office Space", taking the specs from the customers to the engineers. "I HAVE PEOPLE SKILLS!!!"

 

[MattFancy]

Only downside I see of this is the reduction of jobs. I can see how it can make their operation more streamlined though. Should be alot harder to screw up someone's order now.

 

[matttyl]

Interesting idea. Can't really think of many big cons to this, but the pros are pretty big if it works out.

I'd say that at least 15,000 people will lose a (at least) part time job, as they are no longer needed.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against at all. I think it's a great idea, but it will have some negative effects.

 

[Donny Loved Bowling]

But now they have to hire someone to go around and clean wing sauce off of the tablet screens.

Woohoo! Job creation!

 

[Leroy Hoard]

So does the tablet scan their I.D. to see if the customer is 21?

 

[Plorfu]

Can I play Flappy Bird on it?

 

[Pipes]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs.

Most servers/waiters get far less than minimum wage and almost none of them get health insurance.

True but with Obamacare in place alot of these chains will now have to provide health insurance to their waitstaff.

 

[RUSF18]

So does the tablet scan their I.D. to see if the customer is 21?

The article didn't mention ordering drinks through the tablet, but seemed to mention virtually everything else you could do. So I'm assuming you'll probably need to summon a staff member through your tablet to order. Or...you could get a stamp/wristband and you order through the screen, and they verify the person is legal when they deliver the drinks.

Guessing details like that will get worked out to avoid liability issues.

 

[NCCommish]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs. There are over 1,000 "B-dubs" in the US alone.

http://www.fastcasual.com/article/228891/Buffalo-Wild-Wings-launching-tableside-ordering?rc_id=246

Guests at Buffalo Wild Wings will be able to order food, request songs and television programming, play games and pay their bills without leaving their table, thanks to the chain's partnership with NTN Buzztime. Buffalo Wild Wings will deploy the company's tablet-based entertainment platform to all of its North American restaurant locations by the end of 2015, according to a company press release.

The Guest Experience Wingman feature allows guests to send an alert to their servers with predefined requests, including questions on how to use their Buzztime tablet, set up a Blazin' wing challenge or requests to have a TV channel changed or get their checks.

Pretty sure there will still be waitstaff. You guys should really read the things you link to.

 

[matttyl]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs. There are over 1,000 "B-dubs" in the US alone.

http://www.fastcasual.com/article/228891/Buffalo-Wild-Wings-launching-tableside-ordering?rc_id=246

Guests at Buffalo Wild Wings will be able to order food, request songs and television programming, play games and pay their bills without leaving their table, thanks to the chain's partnership with NTN Buzztime. Buffalo Wild Wings will deploy the company's tablet-based entertainment platform to all of its North American restaurant locations by the end of 2015, according to a company press release.

The Guest Experience Wingman feature allows guests to send an alert to their servers with predefined requests, including questions on how to use their Buzztime tablet, set up a Blazin' wing challenge or requests to have a TV channel changed or get their checks.

Pretty sure there will still be waitstaff. You guys should really read the things you link to.

Servers =/= waiters.

 

[bryhamm]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs. There are over 1,000 "B-dubs" in the US alone.

http://www.fastcasual.com/article/228891/Buffalo-Wild-Wings-launching-tableside-ordering?rc_id=246

Guests at Buffalo Wild Wings will be able to order food, request songs and television programming, play games and pay their bills without leaving their table, thanks to the chain's partnership with NTN Buzztime. Buffalo Wild Wings will deploy the company's tablet-based entertainment platform to all of its North American restaurant locations by the end of 2015, according to a company press release.

The Guest Experience Wingman feature allows guests to send an alert to their servers with predefined requests, including questions on how to use their Buzztime tablet, set up a Blazin' wing challenge or requests to have a TV channel changed or get their checks.

Pretty sure there will still be waitstaff. You guys should really read the things you link to.

server = runner

 

[17seconds]

I saw this at Chili's the other night. The little tablet asks you a trivia question, you click on an answer, and if you don't cancel out within a minute you just bought something. Awful.

 

[RUSF18]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs. There are over 1,000 "B-dubs" in the US alone.

http://www.fastcasual.com/article/228891/Buffalo-Wild-Wings-launching-tableside-ordering?rc_id=246

Guests at Buffalo Wild Wings will be able to order food, request songs and television programming, play games and pay their bills without leaving their table, thanks to the chain's partnership with NTN Buzztime. Buffalo Wild Wings will deploy the company's tablet-based entertainment platform to all of its North American restaurant locations by the end of 2015, according to a company press release.

The Guest Experience Wingman feature allows guests to send an alert to their servers with predefined requests, including questions on how to use their Buzztime tablet, set up a Blazin' wing challenge or requests to have a TV channel changed or get their checks.

Pretty sure there will still be waitstaff. You guys should really read the things you link to.

Servers =/= waiters.

Do they both = employees?

You can just say you ####ed up, we all know it.

 

[NCCommish]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs. There are over 1,000 "B-dubs" in the US alone.

http://www.fastcasual.com/article/228891/Buffalo-Wild-Wings-launching-tableside-ordering?rc_id=246

Guests at Buffalo Wild Wings will be able to order food, request songs and television programming, play games and pay their bills without leaving their table, thanks to the chain's partnership with NTN Buzztime. Buffalo Wild Wings will deploy the company's tablet-based entertainment platform to all of its North American restaurant locations by the end of 2015, according to a company press release.

The Guest Experience Wingman feature allows guests to send an alert to their servers with predefined requests, including questions on how to use their Buzztime tablet, set up a Blazin' wing challenge or requests to have a TV channel changed or get their checks.

Pretty sure there will still be waitstaff. You guys should really read the things you link to.

Servers =/= waiters.

The terms are interchangeable. There is nothing in there to suggest that BWW is cutting staff. In fact if you cut staff then all those fancy order taking tablets are pretty useless.

 

[Fat Nick]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs.

Most servers/waiters get far less than minimum wage and almost none of them get health insurance.

True but with Obamacare in place alot of these chains will now have to provide health insurance to their waitstaff.

This. This is what people don't realize when they make all these cries to increase minimum wage. Businesses can only support a certain level of employee costs. If you forcibly raise the cost of overall compensation to employees (via minimum wage, required benefits, etc), most companies will compensate by cutting jobs.

The end result? The folks who keep their jobs will make more, but there will be more people without jobs. Narrowing the wage gap in some ways...widening it in others.

 

[Fat Nick]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs. There are over 1,000 "B-dubs" in the US alone.

http://www.fastcasual.com/article/228891/Buffalo-Wild-Wings-launching-tableside-ordering?rc_id=246

Guests at Buffalo Wild Wings will be able to order food, request songs and television programming, play games and pay their bills without leaving their table, thanks to the chain's partnership with NTN Buzztime. Buffalo Wild Wings will deploy the company's tablet-based entertainment platform to all of its North American restaurant locations by the end of 2015, according to a company press release.

The Guest Experience Wingman feature allows guests to send an alert to their servers with predefined requests, including questions on how to use their Buzztime tablet, set up a Blazin' wing challenge or requests to have a TV channel changed or get their checks.

Pretty sure there will still be waitstaff. You guys should really read the things you link to.

Servers =/= waiters.

The terms are interchangeable. There is nothing in there to suggest that BWW is cutting staff. In fact if you cut staff then all those fancy order taking tablets are pretty useless.

It's a business. I can't help but think that a company wouldn't invest millions in tablets if there wasn't a benefit somewhere. Sure, some of it is happier customers, but there has to be a cost savings benefit to justify it.

 

[PlasmaDogPlasma]

The Federal Min for tipped employees is $2.13/hr.

 

[NutterButter]

What the hell does this have to do with minimum wage? People don't want to place an order with another person when its so much easier to just do it via machine. Self service features at supermarkets and places like quikcheck, sheetz and wawa are wonderful.

 

[NCCommish]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs.

Most servers/waiters get far less than minimum wage and almost none of them get health insurance.

True but with Obamacare in place alot of these chains will now have to provide health insurance to their waitstaff.

This. This is what people don't realize when they make all these cries to increase minimum wage. Businesses can only support a certain level of employee costs. If you forcibly raise the cost of overall compensation to employees (via minimum wage, required benefits, etc), most companies will compensate by cutting jobs.

The end result? The folks who keep their jobs will make more, but there will be more people without jobs. Narrowing the wage gap in some ways...widening it in others.

McDonalds in Australia pays 15 an hour minimum wage. It is one of their most profitable operations. A raise to 10.10 an hour here would mean McD's would have to raise the cost of their average sandwich less than 50 cents to maintain the same level of profit.

 

[Insein]

I like the idea- less chance of order screw ups.. plus I can order beers whenever I want and not have to flag the server down..

I think this is less about minimum wage and cost and more about customer service. BWW is about watching sports and having fun while eating and drinking. Less time giving the waitress an order or flagging her down for beer means more time spent watching the games and hopefully more food and booze consumed.

 

[MattFancy]

I like the idea- less chance of order screw ups.. plus I can order beers whenever I want and not have to flag the server down..

I think this is less about minimum wage and cost and more about customer service. BWW is about watching sports and having fun while eating and drinking. Less time giving the waitress an order or flagging her down for beer means more time spent watching the games and hopefully more food and booze consumed.

That's a good point. If you're not constantly having to wait for your waitress to come by, you'll be able to order beers faster, which should mean they'll be selling more beers.

 

[RBM]

Their wings stink though

 

[Insein]

Their wings stink though

Dry as ####. Plus all that parmesean and fancy ones are terrible. Probably on purpose to sell more booze.

 

[Fat Nick]

This. This is what people don't realize when they make all these cries to increase minimum wage. Businesses can only support a certain level of employee costs. If you forcibly raise the cost of overall compensation to employees (via minimum wage, required benefits, etc), most companies will compensate by cutting jobs.

The end result? The folks who keep their jobs will make more, but there will be more people without jobs. Narrowing the wage gap in some ways...widening it in others.

McDonalds in Australia pays 15 an hour minimum wage. It is one of their most profitable operations. A raise to 10.10 an hour here would mean McD's would have to raise the cost of their average sandwich less than 50 cents to maintain the same level of profit.

You can't make blanket wage comparisons across company operating segments operating in different countries. The corporate tax in Australia is also a flat 30%, where as in the US it can be much higher. Keep in mind that a change in ETR goes straight to the bottom line. That's why companies have full departments to manage tax exposure. Any savings is pure profit.

Further, there are other things Australia has going for it. You can employ teenagers for like $8/hour there, so I'd argue that a lot of McDonald's work force there is much cheaper than $15/hour. I would imagine there are many other differences, some for, some against, but my point is you can't point to profitability in one location at one wage and make apples-to-oranges comparisons.

What's the cost of an average sandwich? $4? Raising the cost of an average sandwich $0.50 cents on a $4 sandwich is a 12.5% increase, right? So now, every time people want to buy something with their new minimum wage, they'll have to pay more to cover...gasp...the cost of their raise.

People often fail to think of corporations and the role that revenue and cost balances play in job creation. When you increase the cost of a headcount to a company, they'll reduce headcount over time to compensate, or find more effective/efficient ways to replace people with machines...like tablets to replace servers.

 

[matttyl]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs. There are over 1,000 "B-dubs" in the US alone.

http://www.fastcasual.com/article/228891/Buffalo-Wild-Wings-launching-tableside-ordering?rc_id=246

Guests at Buffalo Wild Wings will be able to order food, request songs and television programming, play games and pay their bills without leaving their table, thanks to the chain's partnership with NTN Buzztime. Buffalo Wild Wings will deploy the company's tablet-based entertainment platform to all of its North American restaurant locations by the end of 2015, according to a company press release.

The Guest Experience Wingman feature allows guests to send an alert to their servers with predefined requests, including questions on how to use their Buzztime tablet, set up a Blazin' wing challenge or requests to have a TV channel changed or get their checks.

Pretty sure there will still be waitstaff. You guys should really read the things you link to.

Servers =/= waiters.

The terms are interchangeable. There is nothing in there to suggest that BWW is cutting staff. In fact if you cut staff then all those fancy order taking tablets are pretty useless.

Of course the food isn't just going to appear on your table out of thin air, there will still be people to bring you that food as there is today. Those people will now simply be "servers" delivering what you ordered, they will no longer be "waiters" actually taking the orders and checking to see if you need anything else. As such, fewer of them will be needed.

 

[matttyl]

What the hell does this have to do with minimum wage? People don't want to place an order with another person when its so much easier to just do it via machine. Self service features at supermarkets and places like quikcheck, sheetz and wawa are wonderful.

Yes, exactly, but with all of them (which I use as a matter of convenience, as apparently you do as well), fewer people have jobs.

 

[matttyl]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs.

Most servers/waiters get far less than minimum wage and almost none of them get health insurance.

True but with Obamacare in place alot of these chains will now have to provide health insurance to their waitstaff.

This. This is what people don't realize when they make all these cries to increase minimum wage. Businesses can only support a certain level of employee costs. If you forcibly raise the cost of overall compensation to employees (via minimum wage, required benefits, etc), most companies will compensate by cutting jobs.

The end result? The folks who keep their jobs will make more, but there will be more people without jobs. Narrowing the wage gap in some ways...widening it in others.

McDonalds in Australia pays 15 an hour minimum wage. It is one of their most profitable operations. A raise to 10.10 an hour here would mean McD's would have to raise the cost of their average sandwich less than 50 cents to maintain the same level of profit.

Now give them all health insurance. Cost per item goes up from $.50 to $1.50 or more. Less people buy product and now they have to increase it up to $2 per item to compensate less demand.

 

[belljr]

Red robin has this

 

[Terpman22]

Maybe if you are too concerned with how ACA will make your BWW experience better is an indicator you are a POS. This thread would be way better if it explained how they plan to make their wings taste good.

 

[Fat Nick]

This. This is what people don't realize when they make all these cries to increase minimum wage. Businesses can only support a certain level of employee costs. If you forcibly raise the cost of overall compensation to employees (via minimum wage, required benefits, etc), most companies will compensate by cutting jobs.

The end result? The folks who keep their jobs will make more, but there will be more people without jobs. Narrowing the wage gap in some ways...widening it in others.

McDonalds in Australia pays 15 an hour minimum wage. It is one of their most profitable operations. A raise to 10.10 an hour here would mean McD's would have to raise the cost of their average sandwich less than 50 cents to maintain the same level of profit.

Now give them all health insurance. Cost per item goes up from $.50 to $1.50 or more. Less people buy product and now they have to increase it up to $2 per item to compensate less demand.

Or more likely, they start closing less-profitable locations completely, kind of like Radio Shack recently announced they'd do, eliminating more and more jobs.

There's a threshold beyond which a minimum-wage employee is no longer worth the cost of minimum wage. The higher that minimum is set, the higher the motivation (and financial reward) for companies to replace that employee with something non-human to do the same job. Look at how far McDonald's has gone with that already. They have those automatic soda machines that fill the drinks. Their "grills" are far more automated. The people simply grab stuff and put it in a box.

The value proposition on a machine that puts fries in the vat, cooks them, salts them, and dumps them in the warming tray just went up 10% now that they have to pay some kid more to do the same job. Every bump up makes some automation that wasn't previously justifiable now more financially viable.

 

[matttyl]

Actually didn't realize this till today, but 8 states (Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Nevada, Oregon and Washington) have the same minimum wage for both tipped and non-tipped employees. So, for instance, in California, B-dubs would have to pay each and every employee at least $8 an hour before any of their tips. In Washington, it's $9.19 an hour.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipped_wage_in_the_United_States

16 states, though, still have the $2.13 per hour minimum for tipped employees, but if their tips don't get them over the state's minimum wage for non-tipped employees, the employer has to make up the difference.

So for every 40 hour a week waiter/waitress then can replace in any of the 64 BWW locations in California, they would be saving $16,640 a year, before benefits.

 

[Dentist]

So does the tablet scan their I.D. to see if the customer is 21?

i think you just type in your age, what could go wrong?

 

[Jackstraw]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs.

Most servers/waiters get far less than minimum wage and almost none of them get health insurance.

True but with Obamacare in place alot of these chains will now have to provide health insurance to their waitstaff.

This. This is what people don't realize when they make all these cries to increase minimum wage. Businesses can only support a certain level of employee costs. If you forcibly raise the cost of overall compensation to employees (via minimum wage, required benefits, etc), most companies will compensate by cutting jobs.

The end result? The folks who keep their jobs will make more, but there will be more people without jobs. Narrowing the wage gap in some ways...widening it in others.

Truly the only way to help employees is to allow us to treat them like ####.

 

[RUSF18]

So does the tablet scan their I.D. to see if the customer is 21?

i think you just type in your age, what could go wrong?

Being too drunk to type in your age correctly.

 

[Jackstraw]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs.

Most servers/waiters get far less than minimum wage and almost none of them get health insurance.

True but with Obamacare in place alot of these chains will now have to provide health insurance to their waitstaff.

This. This is what people don't realize when they make all these cries to increase minimum wage. Businesses can only support a certain level of employee costs. If you forcibly raise the cost of overall compensation to employees (via minimum wage, required benefits, etc), most companies will compensate by cutting jobs.

The end result? The folks who keep their jobs will make more, but there will be more people without jobs. Narrowing the wage gap in some ways...widening it in others.

McDonalds in Australia pays 15 an hour minimum wage. It is one of their most profitable operations. A raise to 10.10 an hour here would mean McD's would have to raise the cost of their average sandwich less than 50 cents to maintain the same level of profit.

Now give them all health insurance. Cost per item goes up from $.50 to $1.50 or more. Less people buy product and now they have to increase it up to $2 per item to compensate less demand.

If there was ever an argument for single payer this is it. Employer based health insurance is preposterous.

Like I do the human resources among other things at my place of business. Why in the world should every business in the United States have to be an expert on health care? Talk about inefficient. I'd rather be helping my compnay do what we do best. And that most definately is not navigating the ins and outs of the health care system. Which was a complete joke before or after Obamacare.

 

[B-Deep]

So ridiculous to jump right to political ACA and minimum wage crap, and so typical of the FFA

 

[matttyl]

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when employing people gets to be too expensive with higher minimum wage and higher health care costs.

Most servers/waiters get far less than minimum wage and almost none of them get health insurance.

True but with Obamacare in place alot of these chains will now have to provide health insurance to their waitstaff.

This. This is what people don't realize when they make all these cries to increase minimum wage. Businesses can only support a certain level of employee costs. If you forcibly raise the cost of overall compensation to employees (via minimum wage, required benefits, etc), most companies will compensate by cutting jobs.

The end result? The folks who keep their jobs will make more, but there will be more people without jobs. Narrowing the wage gap in some ways...widening it in others.

Truly the only way to help employees is to allow us to treat them like ####.

What's "treating them like ####"? Paying them the current minimum wage, or replacing them with an iPad and paying them nothing?