Union Square Hospitality Group and Resy, a restaurant reservation startup, tonight announced at the TechTable Summit that every manager and sommelier at the Union Square Cafe will be outfitted with an Apple Watch to help improve customer service, reports Eater. The Union Square Cafe is set to reopen in late October and is the flagship restaurant of Danny Meyer, founder of Shake Shack.
Photo via Union Square Cafe
The Apple Watches will be outfitted with restaurant “control center” app ResyOS. Floor managers and sommeliers wearing the watches will receive notifications when VIPs enter the restaurant, when new tables are seated, when guests have waited too long to order, when menu items run out and more.
An iPad running ResyOS will act as the command center at Union Square Cafe’s host’s stand while the Apple Watches will pull the info inputted into the iPad in real-time. The Apple Watch’s function will be focused on cutting out steps and increasing response time. For instance, when a guest is finished dining a manager will get a notification, allowing them to ping a server for the check or the guest’s coat. Sommeliers will get wine orders sent to their Watch, rather than having to wait for a manager to relay the information to them.
Maureen Cushing, Union Square Hospitality’s VP of Technology, tells Eater that ResyOS and the Apple Watches are “another way to respond and listen to our guests.” She also notes that the Apple Watch will not replace communication between servers and management, as servers will not be receiving Apple Watches with ResyOS.
This isn’t the first time that the food and beverage industry has embraced Apple products to improve hospitality. Many smaller restaurants and food trucks have opted to use iPads or iPhones as POS systems in lieu of more traditional options.
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