Restaurant offers a 5% discount if you eat without your phone on the table

http://money.cnn.com/2012/08/16/technology/restaurant-cell-phone-discount/index.html

by codegeek • 14 years ago

108 97 14 years ago

money.cnn.com

codegeek3• 14 years ago

I find this really interesting. I wonder what other restaurants would make out of this. Is it really that important that the diners do not use their phones while dining ? Does that make them orde rmore food ? How will this 5% discount create more ROI for the restaurant?

yock• 14 years ago

By improving the experience for the surrounding diners. Busy restaurants are noisy enough from the quiet conversations being had between the diners themselves. Ringtones, or even the reverberations of a wireless phone's buzzer on a wooden table, only add to the noise level.

mgkimsal• 14 years ago

I'm far more distracted/upset by large groups of people laughing or yelling - teens/adults/whatever - than I am by someone talking on their phone. Even multiple people on their phone is much quieter than a group of coworkers from an office out to let off some steam before the weekend. But... large groups of people tend to order more and have 20% gratuities tacked on, so I doubt they'll be asked to leave.

pndmnm• 14 years ago

I'd also be curious to see what changes the restaurant sees as a result of this policy. I know that if a good eatery successfully incentivized people away from phone usage, I'd be more inclined to go there, even at a slightly increased cost -- similarly, when I lived in Seattle, there were a few coffeeshops that started turning off wi-fi on the weekends and saw an uptick in business (hard to say whether it was from more turnover, a different kind of customer, or publicity from the act itself).

thesis• 14 years ago

I'd imagine people probably order faster, and they will probably leave faster once they are finished with their meal.

rdtsc• 14 years ago

Sounds like a cool publicity stunt.

Admit it you are already wondering what restaurant this is and what they serve. If that it is the case, they have done their job well.

But taken at face value, it is about the principle. It will push people who like to talk on the phone and disregard everyone around them to either not show up (or it will prompt them to assert themselves and they'll show up and pay 5% but in return will make sure to talk constantly on their phone, so, could backfire).

The apparent intended benefit is to attract many who have been around annoying customers and who would also visit the restaurant out of principle.

It would certainly be interesting. Also, wonder why they can't just ask someone to leave...?

rprasad• 14 years ago

They're in LA. The food is okay, but the no-cell phone thing is really just a marketing stunt to bring in business.

AznHisoka3• 14 years ago

People who use their phones in any social situation, whether in a restaurant, or movie is annoying. It's like you're trying to subconsciously tell others you're popular and have lots of friends.

jopt• 14 years ago

I never experienced that. Seems a little far fetched.

stinos3• 14 years ago

first sentence I agree.. Walking on the streets these days, it seems the amount of people I see bending their neck over some electronic device is growing everyday. A sad evolution if you ask me. Second sentence: I doubt that is the reason, however I have not yet figured out what the reason is. Firstly because I hardly ever use my cellphone, nor feel the need to, secondly because when I ask people that do, they have no clear idea themselves why they cannot keep it in their pocket. Which is even more sad.

irahul2• 14 years ago

> Firstly because I hardly ever use my cellphone, not feel the need to, secondly because when I ask people that do, they have no clear idea themselves why they cannot keep it in their pocket.

I don't use it while walking, but I surely use it when I don't have anything else to do(waiting for bus/cab, in a cab/bus...). I can keep it in my pocket, but I would rather listen to music, browse news, read articles, blogs, check facebook, twitter etc etc rather than sitting on a bus and waiting for my destination.

stinos3• 14 years ago

self-reply: this whole thread makes me wonder: what did people actually do like 15-20 years ago, when there were no cellphones to distract them? Have interesting conversations instead? I'm pretty sure children (well, I was) were playing around (if the particular place allowed so) or else maybe playing boardgames/cards whatever on the table. Not sure what the grown ups did though.

beeneto• 14 years ago

I think evolution is the right word. When I was little I often played a game where I would imagine I'd found a genie who would grant me three wishes, and I'd try to think of what to wish for. Most often, two of those wishes would be to be able to talk to my friends with telepathy, and for a book that would answer any question I wrote in it.

Here I have a machine that grants two of my wishes, I use it very often, and using it is very compelling. I dont think its ridiculous to say that when you carry such a powerful and easy to use machine, you start to think of it as being part of yourself, and "why can't you keep it in your pocket" becomes as strange and unanswerable a question as "why can't you keep your hands in your pocket", or "why can't you keep your eyes closed".

You can argue this is an unhealthy trend in culture, and an unhealthy propensity for people who live in an increasingly technological world, but it's unfair - I think so - to judge/condemn/pity people who have the addiction.

Kiro• 14 years ago

Maybe 10 years ago but not now when the social aspect of your phone is only a tiny bit (as opposed to back in the days when the only reason to check it was texting). I use my phone in social situations all the time reading news etc. Yes, I am addicted to my phone but it has nothing to do with friends or being popular.

blogkitten2• 14 years ago

More like you're giving off the impression that the people you're with aren't as important.

codegeek3• 14 years ago

Now that I think about this, I think this should be adopted by Movie Theatres. Nothing is more annoying than seeing a spot of light in dark theatre with noise of texting.

maxerickson• 14 years ago

The company that owns the theater I usually end up at has a policy of asking disruptive texters to leave:

http://www.gqti.com/TheaterPolicy.aspx

darkstalker• 14 years ago

That would be an easy way to get your phone stolen.

nagrom2• 14 years ago

I get really annoyed when I eat with someone and they have their phone on the table. There's something about that behaviour that seems to say "I'll pay attention to you for now, but I'm really hoping for a distraction.".

I'd much rather go to a restaurant where phone use is discouraged as it seems to have become socially acceptable to fuck around with phones even during face-to-face conversation with someone.

Regarding ROI: if I were to run the restaurant, I'd have opaquely added the same charge to all the menu items and remove it for good behaviour. I guess that rewards for not being a dick are more popular than explicit punishments for being a dick?

geebee5• 14 years ago

Shoot. I often eat with my phone on the table, but I never field a call or text - I just put it there along with my keys because it's uncomfortable to sit with it in my pocket and I usually don't wear a jacket.

I can see how just putting it there could send the wrong message, though, that I'm open to distractions. Argh. Just one more reason to get a "european carry all", I guess. Or maybe I'll just wear a jacket.

debacle• 14 years ago

I do similar. We need to develop a new etiquette. Perhaps placing the phone beyond your reach (in the center of the table) signifies that it's not a distraction, but just a bauble.

dylanz2• 14 years ago

Comfort is the reason I have my phone on the table as well. My glasses and keys end up in the same place... usually in a precarious stack.

felideon• 14 years ago

Same with me: I hate having stuff in my pockets when I sit, specially with jeans.

But now that I'm aware that it might send the wrong message, I'll try to keep just my phone in my pocket (the first Galaxy S, it's not very big) if I have lunch with some I do not know very well.

Edit: As others have commented, I do always leave it face down on top of my wallet which hopefully always comes across as "I'm just leaving my crap here."

Encosia4• 14 years ago

I dislike eating with people who use their phone at the table, but face-down phones on the table don't bother me at all. If you're with someone that you're particularly worried about offending, flip the phone to airplane mode (or off) before you put it on the table and mention that you're doing that.

Gmo• 14 years ago

Being European myself, I wonder what you call a "European carry all" ?

A purse ? (or "man purse")

dromidas• 14 years ago

Yeah I put my phone on the table also just cause of comfort. Also because of a lot of research finding that cell phones in your pockets causes your balls to wither and die (paraphrased).

huggyface7• 14 years ago

Your post is very charged.

If I am at dinner and I decide that I want to keep on top of my device (I have four children and a very busy professional life), those with me have to deal with it. Most of the time my phone is more important than the discardable conversation happening over a meal.

It doesn't make me more important than them, though maybe it means that I have different values.

I generally veer away from these sorts of conversations because they tend to be dominated by angry people who are essentially trying to control other people ("you should do this and you should do that and I will forever be judging and disapproving or approving". You don't hear people living in the real world declaring that everyone must check their phone constantly)

Encosia4• 14 years ago

There's nothing inherently angry or controlling about what nagrom posted. I feel the same way nagrom does, and I don't waste any of my time trying to change others and it doesn't make me mad if they need Facebook open to make it through dinner. I just avoid going out with them as much as possible, in exactly the same way that I avoid eating with people who don't close their mouth when they chew.

geebee5• 14 years ago

I'll give it to you that you aren't a hypocrite - you have no problem with cell phone conversations at the table, and you'd grant other people the right to do this in exchange for your own right to do it.

It doesn't work, though. What you're proposing essentially allows the lowest common denominator to impose a low standard of basic courtesy on everyone else.

Can you think of anything you wouldn't want someone else doing at the table, even in exchange for your own right to do it?

glodime2• 14 years ago

"maybe it means that I have different values."

Id say it means that you generally don't value the time spent with the person you are in the physical presence of. There are always exceptions, but if you agree to meet me for lunch or dinner it is because I value that interaction. If you blow me off for some routine call or SMS/MMS, expect me not to invite you or accept an invitation in the future.

nagrom2• 14 years ago

Your post is similarly charged and you get more confrontational during this thread I think, although I think it may be a cultural thing. In the UK, swearing isn't a big deal, but table manners can be.

Part of basic courtesy (for me) is to pay attention to the person that you're eating with; if you don't want to be here, then don't accept or offer an invitation. There's nothing wrong with that, but if we're out at a restaurant together then it's because I want to be there with you...not because I need to consume a meal. I won't watch television, read a book or do routine paperwork during dinner with someone. I consider messing with texts, checking email or taking a phone call to be similar activities.

For what it's worth, with close friends over a snack, I really don't mind. But with new acquaintances, I do expect a certain level of formality and table manners. There is a large swathe of people who would not watch TV, read a book or do paperwork at a table over dinner but they would mess with a phone.

I'd have absolutely no problems whatsoever with geebee's behaviour as described in this thread; (s)he seems polite, considerate and like someone it'd be nice to share a meal with. Noticing that you've got a potentially important message and leaving the table to check would be fine to me! Fiddling with facebook, taking routine calls or texts would seem inconsiderate. Having the phone on the table, but firmly ignored, isn't all that bad, I guess...but I'd rather leave it in a jacket pocket and not have the potential distraction personally.

If that comes over as controlling, well fair enough. Horses for courses, etc. But if my behaviour comes across as controlling and judging, I must say that yours comes across as self-absorbed and somewhat arrogant. But like I said at the start, that may just be a cultural thing.

reneherse• 14 years ago

The issue isn't about angry people controlling others, or about the balance of who regards who as "more important", a point that I think you've mistakenly identified as the crux of the issue. It's about manners and social courtesy.

If the people you dine with are "getting angry" and trying to "control" your actions, the likely reason is that you're being offensively rude, and are missing the social signals of people's frustration and displeasure.

There's a time and place for everything, and much like farts and taking a piss, using your phone should only follow an "Excuse me" as you leave the dinner table.

Ever turn your phone off for the duration of a movie, concert, or show? You only use your phone in the lobby, or at the more casual bookends of an event. This isn't rocket science.

Folks who dine with someone who is constantly dropping the conversation of a shared meal to look down at their phone will indeed "deal with it". They'll simply think of you as overwhelmed and rude, and will hesitate to invite you again.

bostonpete• 14 years ago

> seems to say "I'll pay attention to you for now, but I'm really hoping for a distraction.".

I put my phone on the table b/c I'm not 100% comfortable (rationally or not) with a device emitting radiation near my genitals for hours at a time.

ereckers• 14 years ago

If I ever ate lunch with you, how would I know you were annoyed when I set my phone on the table, ringer off, and face down? Sometimes, I just don't like having it in my pocket when I'm sitting down to eat. Never thought that I'd be annoying anyone.

Samuel_Michon• 14 years ago

That box doesn't exactly look safe to me. Not just vulnerable to theft, but also to mistakingly taking someone else's phone. And for phones with NFC, it's a great way to have your mobile wallet emptied.

jff• 14 years ago

On sites with classified areas, they'll often have little individual cell phone lockers right outside the turnstile to the limited area. Drop in your phone, lock it, take the key. That would be a much better way to control the phones.

ngilmore031• 14 years ago

Wow. This is awesome. Any way to encourage being more present with your family or whoever you are eating with is a great idea. And by doing something different, this could give them some nice publicity.

typicalrunt• 14 years ago

When I'm dining with someone, and I realize that I'm being rude and looking at my phone, I will put the phone on the table -- face down -- as a sign that I am consciously putting the phone away. The other people can see that I'm not able to discretely look at my phone, and that it doesn't rule me. If the phone was face up, I can see how people would think my attention is being diverted to whatever incoming text/msg is on my phone.

RegEx• 14 years ago

I do the same, but mainly because my 3GS in an Otterbox barely fits in my pocket.

Karunamon5• 14 years ago

  <rant type="indignant" intensity="105%">

Mind your own damn business and I'll do the same. If I'm carrying a phone to a nice restaurant, it's because I'm on call. No, I do not raise my voice to talk, because I've mastered the arcane art known as "volume settings".

If my phone rings, there's a high likelihood I won't be there for long anyways. And in the meantime, if me texting at my own table bothers you, or a couple of low volume buzzes bother you, I highly suggest you disinvolve yourself in the actions of other people's personal lives. Failing that, I invite you to attempt airborne fornication with a gyrating piece of pastry.

  </rant>

More on topic, how much do you want to bet this is just an excuse to raise prices by 5%? Furthermore, the day I give my phone away to some random in a restaurant is the day I've taken full leave of my senses.

_delirium• 14 years ago

My experience is that most people using phones in restaurants have not mastered the arcane art of volume settings, either on their phone's ring tone, or on their voice when speaking on it.

noblethrasher2• 14 years ago

The proprietor of the restaurant is literally minding his own business since a business is just a vehicle for achieving the ends of its owners [1].

In this case, the owners want to create a world in which dining is a more sacrosanct activity. If you don't like it then you don't have to dine there thus it is, in fact, none of your business.

[1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3392357

Karunamon5• 14 years ago

Considering they're penalizing me to the tune of 5% to give up a very expensive device containing untold amounts of personal and business data to an unknown person of questionable trustworthiness, I wouldn't be caught dead there anyways.

I'm a little shocked that people seem okay with this on a site full of people that regularly berate companies for privacy gaffes.

alayne• 14 years ago

Maybe you are the one non-annoying cell phone user at restaurants.

slantyyz2• 14 years ago

>> No, I do not raise my voice to talk, because I've mastered the arcane art known as "volume settings".

This is usually true, but my experience with people who have naturally loud voices is that they have no clue how loud their voice is even when lowering their volume.

tokenadult• 14 years ago

I keep my phone in my pocket unless I am answering a call. (I used to keep my phone in a holster unless I was answering a call, but "smart" phones have an inconvenient form factor for that. So I've modified my wardrobe to include more shirts that can hold a smart phone in one pocket while all the usual things I've put in my primary shirt pocket for years can stay in that pocket.)

One of the most enjoyable aspects of dining with other people is the conversation over dinner. I would hate to miss out on that for telephone calls that I can answer later. Voice mail for the win.

AFTER EDIT:

Other comments here mention using phones in movie theaters. The response of the Austin Drafthouse theater in Austin, Texas is famous. The theater's video with a recorded comment from an ejected customer became a viral video on YouTube,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L3eeC2lJZs

reported on in various news outlets. (The language of the video is rather crude, but it makes the theater's point that it doesn't want customers who use their phones in the theater.)

jobu• 14 years ago

My wife recently bet me $5 that I couldn't go through a meal without looking at my phone... I lost.

Interesting idea though. They know what sort of atmosphere they would like to have, and they're incentivizing people to make it happen.

blogkitten2• 14 years ago

I should do that with my husband! I need some new tech.

I keep my phone in my purse...if I get a notification (email/text), I'll glance at it and act on it only if it's important. If it's a phone call, I'll only answer if it's my mom (who only calls if it's something important) or my husband. Every one else goes to voice mail.

knz• 14 years ago

Using a different ring tone for important contacts takes care of the need to even glance at the phone.

zerop• 14 years ago

One easiest way is to keep a very cheap and down market mobile, So you dont like to take it out in restaurant. It would work!!

svachalek• 14 years ago

Hmm, I often find myself using my phone in restaurants in ways that don't exclude the people I'm with (See this photo I took of you earlier? Oh I think that movie is playing, should I check the showtimes? I can stay a little longer, let me just text my wife.) I know it can be tempting to use it in ruder ways but I'm surprised that defense hasn't been raised by anyone else yet -- maybe I'm giving people around me too much benefit of the doubt.

bryanlarsen• 14 years ago

If I'm at a fancy restaurant I need my cell phone because if it rings, its the baby sitter calling.

blhack• 14 years ago

Hmm.

I very very rarely use my phone during dinner, but it's always on the table.

This isn't because I want to use it, it's because it's relatively uncomfortable to keep it in my pocket.

baddox3• 14 years ago

Then you should be fine with this restaurant, since they let you put your phone in a box at the front desk.

cydonian_monk• 14 years ago

I do the same for pretty much the same reason - comfort. And it'll only get worse as smartphones keep growing.

But when my phone is on the table, it is always face down, muted, and off to the side somewhere. Mostly to show whoever I'm with that I'm not watching it, reading messages, or otherwise fiddling with it. I'd have no issue with getting the mentioned discount.

ggchappell• 14 years ago

> Since then, the chef estimates that 40% to 50% of customers have opted in and ditched their phones.

Less than half. So most of their customers are willing to pay 4-5% more in order to keep their phones during the meal. Amazing.

Restaurant offers a 5% discount if you eat without your phone on the table

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