Skift Take
Robots aren't going to take over restaurants, ever (you heard it here first) — but tech is creeping into every aspect of dining out, and OpenTable's report proves consumers aren't afraid of it.
OpenTable's New Survey on Technology and Dining Out
Last week, OpenTable released a thorough report on the state of technology and dining out. The report covers topics like tech at the table, preparing for the meal, reservations (duh), restaurant communication, and automation. (The stats on phone usage while dining are particularly thorough.)
It contains a few surprises: 44 percent of respondents think that tech could play a bigger role in fine dining in the future (fine dining, to me, is a human business. Injecting tech can be a real challenge); and that over a third of diners are into having a button on the table to alert the waitstaff to an issue. (Maybe just… raise your hand to flag a waiter?)
It also contains plenty of non-surprises, like the fact that diners prefer to rely on reviews and search sites like Yelp and word-of-mouth to make dining
