In brief
iFoodie makes dining more convenient by letting customers access menus, order, request assistance and settle bills on their phones. Using QR codes and cloud technology, it can save time and staffing resources without additional restaurant hardware, making this approach well suited to Hong Kong’s busy lifestyle.
The American app iFoodie is a classic example of how mobile apps can be used in the restaurant industry.
Shashank Bhatia worked with TechAhead to create a very simple mobile app called “iFoodie”. iFoodie can create digital menus for restaurants and allows diners to place orders, request assistance from waiting staff, settle the bill and more.
Diners simply scan a QR code in the restaurant using iFoodie, and the restaurant’s menu is automatically downloaded to their phones. For added convenience, iFoodie works at any participating restaurant, so users do not need to download a separate mobile app for each one.
iFoodie uses cloud technology to reduce waiting times within the app, improve customer satisfaction and even provide diners with personalised digital menus.
The app makes ordering easier and more enjoyable, without requiring restaurants to invest in any additional hardware. With just a QR code and diners’ phones, restaurants can offer a different dining experience. The app can also help restaurants save on staffing resources.
The services iFoodie provides are all basic: ordering food, asking waiting staff for help and settling the bill. Yet it offers a different dining experience. Compared with the traditional approach, iFoodie allows diners to take matters into their own hands.
When dining during busy periods in Hong Kong, we often have to wait a long time before we can even place an order. Valuable meal time is wasted waiting to order. When we are already hungry and food is still a long way off, this causes frustration and affects our impression of the restaurant.
Apps like iFoodie are well suited to Hong Kong’s busy pace of life. Automating the dining process could save Hong Kong diners considerable time. Smartphones are also very widespread in Hong Kong, with everyone carrying one, so introducing this type of app would not be difficult.