Younghee Jung » restaurant

service efficiency – managing the wait

Younghee Jung — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:24:25 +0000

South Korean tourists are known to be impatient, represented by the well-known word ‘ppali-ppali’, meaning ‘fast, fast’. Waiting time does play a big role in making a service business a success or a failure. If you can’t make it shorter, you may as well look for other options to make it at least more enjoyable.

This Call / Bill / Water button set is available on all tables in this cafe in Seoul (Shinsa-dong). Compared to the more typical model of just pressing the button to call the waiter, this eliminates one additional visit to inquire about what the customer wants.

The opposite example is also found at this self-service cafe chain called pascucci. Once you place your order, you are given this little pager. You go and sit at the table of your choice, instead of waiting around the busy counter. When your drinks are ready to be picked up, it will light up.

I would rate these two systems high because of their simplicity for use and implementation, requiring minimal modification in the existing infrastructure and workflow knowledge, hence lowering the barrier to the initial adoption. A contrasting example would be McDonalds’ ‘Touch Order’ trial together with SK Telecom. RFID reader was provided to be plugged into the mobile phone to enable ordering through touching the menu, with the bill to be topped up in the phone bill. When the order is ready, a text message is sent to the phone to alert the customer to pick the food up. One reviewer righteously complained: “Ordering was fast indeed. But no one paid attention to my order behind the counter so I ended up getting the food much later.” Managing the human skills and habits will still be the prevalent issue in deploying a service backed by new technology.

proof of freshness

Younghee Jung — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:11:12 +0000

at a casual restaurant in accra, customers order first which items they want on their plates. the prepared plates get these white caps till they are finally handed to the paid customers.

at a korean restaurant in shanghai, all tables are set with plates and cutlery covered till customers are seated on the table.

at a restaurant in tokyo (tokatsu tonki in meguro), toothpicks are covered with a clear glass.

at a street cafe in accra, bottled drinks are served with half-open bottle caps.

some of these are for practical reasons, some more symbolic to show their service mentality. i do get my tiny moments of happiness when i can sense that someone has thought through how the customer would feel about their service and the food.

on a slight tangent, i cant help thinking about various possible seals on digital information, for instance – ‘freshness – from within 1 day’, ‘authenticity’, or ‘exclusivity’. in the late 90′s of the internet age, reputation and social recommendation systems were a big topic (or at least around T.J.Watson research center where I worked as a student). internet is a social place & inherently everything’s centered/centering around people behind, but i believe we are reaching an era in which some parts of the society will demand digital information identity as much as humans’ that does not get subjected to the democracy of people’s behaviors and subjective opinions.

toilet graffiti

Younghee Jung — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 16:47:18 +0000

toilet graffiti
Originally uploaded by jabberer.

one pint

Younghee Jung — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 15:50:36 +0000

one pint
Originally uploaded by jabberer.

One of places that has not changed at all in the last 7 years.

diana

Younghee Jung — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 00:46:10 +0000

diana
Originally uploaded by jabberer.

a huge painting at a bangladeshi restaurant.

unagi restaurant

Younghee Jung — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 16:24:07 +0000

unagi restaurant
Originally uploaded by jabberer.

I cant capture it here, but i noticed this tiny shop because of the very strong smell of grilled eels where i took the photo.

sake bottle label

Younghee Jung — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 20:13:19 +0000

sake bottle label
Originally uploaded by jabberer.

Another skull…

stop for ramen!

Younghee Jung — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 22:26:13 +0000

stop for ramen!
Originally uploaded by jabberer.

Ramen shop next to my apartment building. Today the sign was so tilted that people had to walk around it.

metropolitan bangkok

Younghee Jung — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 11:15:01 +0000

metropolitan bangkok
Originally uploaded by jabberer.

Saturday morning… First relaxing breakfast on last day!

today’s lunch sign

Younghee Jung — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 00:34:46 +0000

today’s lunch sign
Originally uploaded by jabberer.