Are cellphones killing the restaurant business?

[trof]

Restaurant Watches Old Surveillance And Shares Shocking Results

A busy NYC restaurant kept getting bad reviews for slow service, so they hired a firm to investigate. When they compared footage from 2004 to footage from 2014, they made some pretty startling discoveries. So shocking, in fact, that they ranted about it on Craigslist!

http://news.distractify.com/culture/craigslist-surveillance-restaurant/?v=1

[OnyxCollie]

1. I was at a bar earlier this week.

The place was packed, but my friend and I found a rickety table crammed in a corner.

My friend pointed out to me all the people sitting at the bar, checking their devices.

FFS, put the goddamn things down!

[CrispyQ]

20. Someone posted this yesterday:

[mountain grammy]

31. Love this!

[Eleanors38]

32. !!!LOL.

[Initech]

46. Talk to each other and get drunk - love it!

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. That's one of the reasons I stick with a stupid phone.

I see people who might as well have the things grafted onto their hands because God forbid they may miss something! Very interesting article.

[tech3149]

22. I had to send that to my niece

At a family get together we were the epitome of that story. Pretty much every place we went the food was great and the service even better but it was downright stupid how much time people wasted documenting the food and the moment.
At least we made up for it with outrageous tips and raving tweets.

[Eleanors38]

33. "grafted onto their hands?" Don't give 'em any ideas!

[tblue37]

55. Their heads = Google Glass. nt

[Eleanors38]

73. But hands are big & cheaper, too. Style's crappy.

[davidpdx]

81. People here in Korea are MUCH worse with cell phones

especially students. Young people have no idea what life was like before cell phones. I finally got an Android phone about eight months ago and I don't use it nearly as much as I thought I would. Granted it will come in handy when I visit the US in a few weeks.

[Art_from_Ark]

89. Japan, too

It's really annoying having to dodge bicyclists and pedestrians who are so engrossed in their "smart" phones that they are completely oblivious to their surroundings

[davidpdx]

90. Between classes at school we generally have 10 minutes to get between classrooms

This last term, that meant getting from one side of campus to the other for my classes. Trying to get up and down stairs is frustrating. Some of the other teachers have taken to yelling at the students a bit. I just very loudly say "coming through" and given my size, well they'd better move.

[Agschmid]

3. Wow, good read.

[Warpy]

4. Businesses are going to have to install jammers

I've seen everything they have with the damned phones being played with and the people not ordering because they haven't looked at the menu, they're playing with their phones.

No one is that fucking important.

[trof]

8. Sign in restaurant: "No WiFi. Talk to each other."

[Warpy]

10. HA! The worst offenders are the young daters

who spend more time describing the date to all their friends than they do talking to each other. They even play with the stupid things between mouthfulls, gross.

[Skittles]

74. I don't understand people who go out to eat

then spend all their time talking to others on their handhelds - WTF

[Orrex]

21. I think that's illegal

From 2012, but still..

[mucifer]

80. It should be illegal. I'm a pediatric hospice nurse. I'm on call

HALF of my life. 128 hours every 2 weeks I am on call. So 40 hours a week I work and am on call and every other week for the remainder hours of the day. That's 24 hours daily for weekends and 16 hours per day weekdays. I usually don't get many calls. But, I don't want to not be able to go out with friends every other week just because others abuse their cell phones. Currently, I go to dinner with friends and family when I am on call. Rarely, I get serious calls and have to leave.

I will be REALLY pissed if they start jamming my phone.

[Squinch]

5. And, from what the article reveals, it seems that the phones make people blame others

for their own actions, and feel entitled to the time of service people for non-service activities.

[Kurska]

6. I love my phone, but when I got to a resturant it is because I'm hungry.

I order ASAP and then I can putz around my phone until the food comes. I don't get why that would be hard for some people.

[Bryce Butler]

26. I'm the same way

I sit, order food, then go on the phone until the food comes.

[Veilex]

39. Ditto.

[pangaia]

52. What do you putz around about?

Are you there with someone else, or alone?

[Kurska]

53. I mean it in the verb form

verb: engage in inconsequential or unproductive activity.

Unless, I'm missing a joke.

[pangaia]

54. No No. I know 'putz."

I just...wait a second, I'm cooking some Sichuan dish........

ok, back.. I wasn't being snarky or anything.. I just am always, well not surprised any more, but.. curious why so many people in, restaurants in this case, instead of talking to each other are putzing around on their smart phones..probably being my usual judgmental self...

[DinahMoeHum]

7. That's not even the worst of it. There's a new racket going on

with regard to making reservations for restaurants and securing parking spaces, among other things. And there is and will be considerable backlash coming.

http://www.salon.com/2014/07/11/the_1_percents_loathsome_libertarian_scheme_why_we_despise_the_new_scalping_economy/

http://www.kspr.com/Reservation-selling-app-rankles-tech-world/21051390_26827894

[freshwest]

35. Love the article and the ones it led me to. Especially the remark the Cato guy objected to:

“classic transnational neocolonialist libertarian arrogance”

That nails it!!

...That does not mean, however, that the new wave of scalping apps lacks for defenders. Cato Institute policy analyst Matthew Feeney took me personally to task for attacking Monkey Parking, lamenting that “it’s a shame that he doesn’t appreciate that the price system is extremely efficient at communicating information to producers and customers…” (Feeney also found my reference to “classic transnational neocolonialist libertarian arrogance” “worrying” and “frightening.” What can I say? Libertarians almost never get my jokes.)

“worrying” and “frightening.”?

Spoken like a true malignant narcissist. Scared of that, huh?

And the linked piece:

What Isn’t for Sale?

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/04/what-isnt-for-sale/308902/

People need to have these conversations. But they are too busy plugged in to think about the world they are creating.

As the link says, it's all about 'giving rich people what they want, when they want it' and the rest of the planet be damned.

[msanthrope]

9. Larry David, genius....

http://m.

[liberalmuse]

36. That was cathartic.

I love Larry David!

It's so annoying to go into a store or restaurant only to be subjected to one side of a loud, drama-filled cell phone conversation. It is also annoying walking behind a very slow-moving person who is not paying attention to their surroundings because they're too busy playing with their phone. Even a friend of mine cannot seem to lift her eyes from her phone when we go out to eat. Try going downtown in your city or riding the bus. People are in their own worlds these days.

[awoke_in_2003]

67. Marking to view later...

I need to buy all the Curb DVDs.

[riderinthestorm]

11. I believe this. I've seen it myself.

I've got a rule at home - no cell phones during meals. Ive enforced it so much at home my kids, husband and I would never think of using them while dining out. Its just not "our way" anymore. But boy have I seen it elsewhere... its truly changed how we relate to each other (and of course the restaurant experience)

I just enjoy the conversation and the food. I'd hate to think of it spoiled by texting, taking pictures and checking email, writing letters etc....

I just sent this article to my sister who used to own a restaurant (and now just does catering).

Thanks for posting trof!

[NJCher]

57. you are a common sense parent

Recently we went to a popular restaurant where the tables are very close together and the acoustics terrible. We could hear every word of the couple and their two children at the next table. Or at least when they talked to each other, the content of the conversation appearing to be about their mutual commute to Manhattan every day for work.

The father was constantly on his cell. His children and wife dined in silence.

They were the stereotypical American family. I thought it sad that this father wasn't appreciating his moments with his children. At least the mother seemed to have some sense.

Around here, a NYC commuter's life is a 10-hour day, minimum. Just that fact alone says he doesn't get to spend that much time with his children--and here he has the opportunity and he chooses to spend it on his cell phone.




Cher

[FBaggins]

12. I'm not buying it

I eat out fairly frequently (business travel, etc), and I hardly ever see a party ask the wait staff to take their picture (nit much more frequent than we used to see with cameras)... yet this story would have us believe that week over half of the tables are doing this? Or that so many take 20 minutes of surfing before they order?

[frazzled]

15. Same here ...

I ate out twice this week (a rarity, but there was a reason: a recently widowed friend needed to talk and asked me to meet her out; my spouse returned from two weeks away and, feeling guilty, took me to dinner). Both were totally filled restaurants, with a young, hip clientele, and food that could have been photographable. I did not see a single person take out their cell phones at either one.

I'm not buying this at all ... sounds like this restaurant is trying to make excuses for its crappy service. What is it, some tourist joint in Times Square? Guy Fieri's maybe!! (Just kidding, that wasn't there a decade ago, but it got the most hysterical bad review I've ever seen in the New York Times, a real classic: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/dining/reviews/restaurant-review-guys-american-kitchen-bar-in-times-square.html?_r=0

[JHB]

28. That may be the NYC, July 3, tourist factor at work

I would guess the restaurant having a significant tourist clientele in NYC during a holiday week would boost the number of "group shot" takers compared to a great many other restaurants, especially at other times of the year.

It's still a valid comparison for that one restaurant when comparing customer behavior ten years ago at that same location and time of year.

[edhopper]

38. Yes, this

it is quite common in NYC, especially in tourist spots.

[Eleanors38]

47. Umm, in Austin there is a lot of cell phone noodlng

instead of ordering. It continues on well after meals have been eaten and tables cleared, leaving a group with bowed heads as if at prayer. Not so much pics, just complete self-absorption -- and consequent delays.

Worse, one of my favorite spots has spawned a new malignancy: Getting into the car as if to leave, starting the engine & AC, and passin' gas into the cell phone as they are burning gas into the atmosphere. This can -- and DOES -- go on for upwards of 20 mins. Hardly a moment goes by when there isn't at least one car in a 25-car lot, idling with someone venting inside.

[FBaggins]

58. I have no doubt that's true.

There's no question that people too-frequently substitute their smartphones when there are actual human beings around to interact with... but this story just doesn't seem plausible.

[Eleanors38]

60. Maybe so. I just hear restaurant staff complain frequently

of campers doing their business or whatever on the phone. Really chaps me when they idle away in the lot. Being that it's a vegetarian place, these cats would be first in line to bellyache about non-green practices.

[Warren Stupidity]

61. I agree. This is horseshit. The whole story is urban legend material.

[Warren DeMontague]

63. Seriously, that was my reaction- Cool story, bro.

Sounds like someone is trying to pass the buck.

[Phentex]

85. anecdotal but my friends do this for every stinking birthday and holiday...

and I'm the one without facebook so I don't see any of them. There was one meal where the waiter couldn't get the picture to stop being blue or green or something with one of 'ems iphone so he spent forever using the other phones to see if it would make a difference. Hand him phone, take picture, look at it, no it won't do. Take another shot, another angle, next phone, turn flash off, turn flash on, trade phones, try another shot - JFC! Turns out MY non iphone was the only one that would take a decent picture and then my friend used it to send the picture to their phones. I was annoyed by it. I'm about to tell them I won't be in any more of their stupid restaurant pictures.

[KurtNYC]

86. a worse one in there was the bit about getting a password for the WIFI (?!)

An anonymous rant on CL is hardly the best source for research. exactly 45 diners vs 45 diners (?!)

Also they leave out what advice the consulting firm gave them for remedying this situation.

[Android3.14]

13. Bullshit

Craigslist link goes to a posting that is tagged for removal.
Most people order, then pull out their electronics.

[mopinko]

14. i've seen it.

i've done it.
i always tip accordingly.

i am very aware of the need to turn tables over. not enough people wait tables in college any more.
it isnt just the size of the check. if you take twice as long, tip twice as much.
not that this helps the restaurant, but.....

[CrispyQ]

25. That's what we do, too.

Take a long time having a nice lunch, taking a few photos, & tip the waitstaff well.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

16. Sending food back to be reheated because you were farting around...

taking pics? Wow, that's a *major* sense of entitlement.

I see this sort of behavior at a local bagel shop -- the place is very busy with only two registers. There's always someone at the counter holding up the line talking on the cell to so-and-so about what sort of bagels Kaylee or Kody like, oblivious to the long line behind them. Just order a freakin' assortment and go!

I don't doubt this story. I volunteer at a huge hospital and see people on smart phones oblivious to a transporter, nurse, AND respiratory therapist wheeling a patient in a huge bed down a hallway. And they're often still oblivious when one of the staff call out, asking them to move. Helloooo -- IVs, oxygen, vent, heart monitor -- MOVE!

[malaise]

17. Cell phones are killing everything

Some folks don't even recognize their bad manners.

We joined a classmate and another friend for dinner at our favorite open air fish restaurant and she spent the evening either speaking to her man overseas or sending him photos of our meals from soup to dessert. Our regular server knew I was pissed - well everyone was annoyed except her.

I spoke with her about it the day after and told her that if we ever get together for another meal, she will have to turn off her phone.

[tabbycat31]

18. I have dealt with this in my own personal circle

In my experience, the worst offenders have iPhones. I have a friend who I don't see much and she's playing games on her iphone when we're waiting for the food to come. Then the food must be posted to Instagram before you can take a bite, etc. I've finally said "put the damn phone down for 1/2 hour."

My BIL is a fan of 'phone roulette' where everyone puts their phones in a pile. The first person to touch their phone pays the bill (I always get a separate check).

[CrispyQ]

19. That was very informative.

And very interesting.

on edit: I'd hire a digital receptionist - someone who just helped customers with wifi, taking photos, that type of thing. I would make it clear to customers that wait staff only services food requests.

[Divernan]

23. Saw so much of this in Manhattan last month

Upper West Side, near Lincoln Center - absolutely glorious summer evening - light breeze, no humidity - the outdoor seating areas of restaurants were packed with diners enjoying the weather. On both Friday & Saturday nights, I walked by 4/5 such restaurants on the way to the places where I had my dinner reservations.

People may have been enjoying the weather, but they were not enjoying their dinner companions. Solo diners were not enjoying the excellent people watching available to them. They were engrossed in their phones. Period. I felt like shouting they might as well stay at home and order take in.

By contrast, at the totally indoor (& my favorite) French restaurant, La Boite en Bois, the place was packed with diners (it's small; don't try to get in on a weekend night without a reservation), and NOT A SINGLE ONE even checked a phone. However, conversations at each table were non-stop. Moral: People who savor excellent French cuisine appreciate good conversation as well as good food.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

24. I love to read stories about self-absorbed people...

...complaining about themselves.

[mountain grammy]

30. So very true.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

27. I'd say what's killing restaurant business is the continued crappy economy

for the 99%.

[brooklynite]

29. Not in NYC

Restaurant business is booming, and not just for the fancier places.

[NYC Liberal]

66. Yep. I'm around Prospect Park and there are tons of great

little restaurants all over. And new ones opening. My partner and I love trying new places and everywhere we go, it's usually hopping...and not just on the weekends.

[JI7]

69. los angeles also

and yes they do mostly have customers who are not in the 1 percent. they would not survive if they only had 1 percent or even just the top 5 percent as customers.

i think a lot more people celebrate by going out to eat these days than they did in older days. and as a gift for things like birthdays more people pay for a meal at a restaurant rather than give some item.

i would prefer to go out to eat rather than get something i will never wear, use etc and will just take up space.

[freshwest]

34. Ha! Thought the help was on the phone, I shoulda known, never seen that happen. But now...

I understand why doctor's offices post 'please turn off your cellphone' signs. They are so busy that they don't have time to wait for patients who aren't ready to be seen on time.

[hobbit709]

37. Make an announcement: "First person to reach for their phone pays the tab for the entire table."

[flvegan]

40. De-evolution into a hunched over idiot staring at a handheld device.

While walking, eating, talking...DRIVING. I'm not sure how such an advanced species became so goshdarned stupid so quickly.

[House]

41. People need to spend more time eating and less time taking pics.

I don't care about food pics when someone texts me pics of their lunch or food pics on Facebook. Does anyone?

[smirkymonkey]

45. Not me. I absolutely hate it when people even have their iPhones out on the table

when we are eating. I know some people who absolutely cannot be separated from their phones for a minute and it is extremely irritating when you are trying to have a meal. It's so disruptive to the flow of conversation.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

56. Depends on the food and who's sharing the pics.

Far-flung family, friends and I occasionally share food pics -- glorious sushi platters, steamed Maryland blue crabs smothered in Old Bay, interesting microbrews, etc. It's more along the lines of "remember when we went here?" or "can't wait for your next visit!" or "wish you were here!" But in keeping with the article, we don't ignore wait-staff, nor do we send food back to reheat cuz we're playing around with cameras/smart phones. It also depends on how chichi the restaurant is -- I might whip out my phone for a colorful bowl of steaming pho at a dive-y joint and send it to my nephew because he's now a pho fan, but wouldn't be snapping pics of my meal at a place like the Inn at Little Washington.

[Skittles]

71. if I ever meet one of these people who take pictures of food

I swear I will kick their pathetic ass - I WILL

[House]

77. I like the cut of your jib.

[Rozlee]

42. If I whip out my cell phone, it's usually to proudly show people photos of grandchildren or

other family members, home improvements, etc. At least that's the way it is when I'm with an older crowd. It drives me crazy when my kids or nephews and nieces sit there and text message and it horrifies me when they control the behavior of my little grandchildren and grand-nieces and grand-nephews by giving them tablets so they can watch Netflix or play video games. Toddlers can be rowdy and even sometimes disruptive when they're taken to a nice restaurant, but I'd rather have them acting out than playing Minecraft and watching movies on their Kindles while we're in public.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

43. I've always hated talking on the phone

even when I was a teen back in the 60s. I don't have a cellphone. I have very little to say to anyone that can't wait until i see them. I've often been curious to know what others talk about for hours on end on their phones. i know people need to conduct business and I understand that kind of cellphone use (although before I retired as a lawyer I used to welcome any opportunity to be in my car during the day so I didn't have to take office calls). But when I've overheard public conversations of people with cellphones on the streets or in stores, it sounds like the most inconsequential trivia and gossip. I don't understand why some people feel they have to talk to someone non-stop about anything and nothing.

[Nevada Blue]

44. at some point we stop controlling our technology and

it begins to control us.

15 yr old grandson visited us for a week earlier this summer, the first 3 days he was here, his phone was never out of his reach. By day 4, it was finally left in his bedroom and he started to relax and enjoy himself.

Admittedly, I do have a flip-phone for emergency use when I am away from home.

[House]

48. "The things you own end up owning you." - Tyler Durden

Said in the 1999 film "Fight Club". It still applies today.

You're absolutely right.

[hatrack]

83. "First you use machines, then you wear machines, then you serve machines."

John Brunner, "Stand On Zanzibar", 1969

[mike_c]

49. it never ceases to amaze me how people will sit down in a restaurant and immediately...

...begin interacting with their phones, often for the entire meal. I've seen exactly what the OP describes, wait staff struggling to get customers' attention from their phones, nearly every time I've eaten out in recent years.

[fishwax]

50. the "source" for this article was flagged for removal on craigslist

I'm skeptical, but the reactions are amusing

[kentauros]

87. Get a taste of the same behavior in small amounts here:

Not Always Right

[fishwax]

88. oh yeah -- love that site

[maced666]

51. Yea, ok. Maybe the restaurant business is getting a little just dessert.

Before/after cell phones you still had to ask for check.
Wait.
Watch staff walk away as you place credit card in holder as soon as it is handed to you.
Wait.
Staff returns, takes card/check back to run it.
Wait.
Then you are 'allowed' to leave. All this AFTER you have finished your meal.
Not to mention the historically 300% or more markup on beer/wine....

I wonder if this firm they hired to investigate picked up on any of this. Cell phones are the problem. Yea, okay.

[Reter]

59. Can a restaurant legally ban customers from using them?

I don't see why not. They can legally ban shorts with dress codes.

[Warren Stupidity]

64. OHNOES: lingering over your food!

Taking pictures even. WTF! Siddown shaddup order eat and get the fuck out. Yeah, that is a restaurant I'm getting in line to eat at.

[pnwmom]

72. Twenty minutes of using phones instead of ordering isn't lingering over food. n/t

[Warren Stupidity]

76. Indeed, it is also a complete fabrication.

The story is classic bullshit.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

65. Idiocraphones.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

79. Addictophones.

[Terra Alta]

68. don't understand why people would want to take pictures of their food.

I can see it maybe if it was something they cooked themselves and wanted to show it off, but food cooked in a restaurant? I just don't get it.

[Skittles]

75. if I ever receive such a picture

I will hunt down the offender and kick their sorry ass

[JI7]

70. while i am annoyed with the people who are always on their phones, i think this is just an excuse

the restaurant has come up with for not doing well.

[unblock]

78. NOTE: that they compared a weekday 10 years ago to the start of a holiday weekend this year.

thursday july 1, 2004 is not at all comparable to thursday july 3, 2014, given that friday, july 4, 2014, is a national holiday.

i'm no expert, but i'd imagine that holiday weekend diners are more likely than regular weekday diners to want pictures taken, or use their cell phones to connect with other people they are meeting with, or to make travel/weekend arrangements.

i'm sure cell phones still lengthen the stay at a restaurant regardless, but a more fair comparison would be appropriate. july 1, 2014 would probably be better even though it's a tuesday. tuesday vs. thursday is probably much more similar than weekday vs. start of holiday weekend.

[Warren Stupidity]

82. The whole story is horseshit.

[progressoid]

84. 26 out of 45 customers spend an average of 3 minutes taking photos of the food.