The next time you eat at a restaurant, your waiter may be an electronic tablet. A Silicon Valley-bas

Описание: (24 May 2011) HEADLINE: New Restaurant Ordering Tablets On The Menu
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CAPTION: The next time you eat at a restaurant, your waiter may be an electronic tablet. A Silicon Valley-based start-up called E La Carte just launched a new device that lets diners order food, play games and pay the bill whenever they want without the need for a server. (April 29)
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[Location: Sunnyvale, CA - April 26, 2011]
[Source: AP]
[VO: restaurant shots]

[VOICE-OVER]
THE NEXT TIME YOU RESERVE A TABLE FOR TWO...IT MAY COME WITH A TABLET.

[Voice of Ragat Suri, Founder & CEO - E La Carte] ("You can order whenever you want and you can see delicious pictures of all the items.")

THE FOUNDER OF E LA CARTE SAYS HE GOT THE IDEA FOR THE NEW FOOD ORDERING DEVICES WHEN HE AND SOME FELLOW STUDENTS AT M-I-T WERE TRYING TO SPLIT A CHECK.

[SOT/Ragat Suri/Founder & CEO - E La Carte] ("Some people had cash. Some people had credit cards. Some ordered appetizers. Some didn't so it was really complicated. We did it for an hour. We got it wrong and had to do it again. It was kind of a bad joke. How many MIT kids does it take to split a check?")

THE TABLETS NOT ONLY HELP YOU ACCURATELY SPLIT CHECKS, THEY ALSO ALLOW DINERS TO PAY USING THE DEVICE WHENEVER THEY WANT AND HAVE THE RECEIPT EMAILED. AND WHILE YOU'RE WAITING FOR YOUR FOOD, YOU CAN PLAY TRIVIA AND OTHER GAMES.

[SOT/Prasad Subraveti/Customer]
("Waiting for the waiter to come and take your order and then processing it so it saves a bunch of time.")

SOME WORRY THE TABLETS COULD SOMEDAY REPLACE WAITERS AND WAITRESSES....BUT THE WORKERS AT THIS RESTAURANT SAY THE TABLETS MAKE SERVICE RUN MORE EFFICIENTLY.

[SOT/Sabrina Adona/Waitress]
("I think they're helpful to us when it gets really busy. People won't have to wait for the server to get to them and put their drink and food in whenever they want.")

[SOT/Ehab Youssef/Restaurant Owner]
("There are going to be people serving you and making sure the experience is good but it helps the customer control that experience.")

RIGHT NOW THE TABLETS ARE ONLY IN RESTAURANTS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA AND BOSTON WITH PLANS TO EXPAND NATIONWIDE.

RESTAURANTS PAY A MONTHLY FEE FOR THE DEVICES WHICH E LA CARTE SAYS MORE THAN PAY FOR THEMSELVES.

[SOT/Ragat Suri, Founder & CEO - E La Carte] ("They see 10 to 12% higher sales. The reason is that people tend to order more stuff because it's easier to do it so if you see a picture of dessert and say, hey why don't I get that dessert you can do it whenever you want.")

...AND THE TABLETS DON'T REQUIRE A TIP.

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