How often have you been disgusted with waiting for a steward/ waiter to take your order at a restaurant? Notwithstanding the rush and the long wait for a table during peak hours, the wait for someone to take the order can probably be more annoying.

To tide over such a situation, Sree Annapoorna Hotel, a renowned group in this part of the country, has introduced the iPad at its newly opened outlet at the Fun City Mall on Avinashi Road here.

The iPad, on five out of the 12 tables at this outlet, is aimed at doing away with the order-booking supervisor, albeit partially.

“It is only a beta launch. After a successful pilot run, we intend to introduce it fully and extend it across our other outlets as well,” said Jegan S. Damodarasamy, Executive Director of Sree Annapoorna- Sree Gowrishankar Hotels Pvt Ltd.

When asked what made him come up with this idea, Jegan said “my visits to different restaurants across the country and outside, made me realise that as a customer, one did not have the freedom to see the food that he/she is ordering. Customers invariably place the order seeing the menu card and at times even without knowing what the dish would look like.”

“The iPad serves not only as a menu card, but also gives a picture of the dish.

It is an interactive card with 60-plus items on display. The customer can place his order on the touch screen and also make note of the bill amount from time to time.”

This initiative, Jegan said , is aimed at tackling manpower shortage and quality of attenders for such jobs.

“There is not only a shortage, but we are not getting quality hands too,” lamented Jegan.

The idea has evoked a lot of interest. A number of customers, both young and old, were seen waiting to occupy one of the five tables.

“The order is displayed directly in the kitchen. The chef gets the order ready, and the waiter serves it at the respective table,’ explained Jegan, who plans to improvise the application further.

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